Lincoln’s Gateway Mall sold for $51.5 million | Local Business News
Lincoln’s largest mall has a new owner.
Washington Prime Group, which owns nearly 90 malls in the U.S., including several in the Midwest, purchased Gateway Mall earlier this month.
“We are pleased to add Gateway Mall to our nearly 100 open-air and enclosed retail assets throughout the U.S.,” the company said in a statement. “As the largest and only enclosed shopping center in the Lincoln area, Gateway Mall features more than 100 retailers, including many of which are first-to-market and market-exclusive, providing a business-friendly environment that is attractive to new tenants.”
Among Washington Prime’s holdings are Southern Hills Mall in Sioux City, Iowa, Empire East in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Lindale Mall in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It also owns two malls in the Kansas City area.
Washington Prime Group is majority owned by investment firm SVPGlobal, which rescued the company from bankruptcy last year.
According to a local real estate transfer filed earlier this month, a company called Gateway Mall Propco LLC purchased the mall for $51.5 million. The address listed for that company is the same one as SVPGlobal.
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SVPGlobal declined to comment through a spokesperson.
Gateway had been owned since 2012 by Starwood Capital Group, which bought the mall from Westfield, an Australian company.
Starwood, which went on a mall-buying spree several years ago and at one point was the fifth-largest mall owner in the U.S., sold a number of its malls after the pandemic and also defaulted on some others.
Gateway was one of only a handful it still owned, although the mall was actually being managed by a company called JLL.
Lincoln stores that have closed in recent years or are slated to close
Fresh Thyme, October 2020
Fresh Thyme Farmers Market at 52nd and O streets was one of the major new retailers to open in Lincoln in the first half of 2016. It closed in October 2020.
Bed Bath & Beyond, 2020
Bed Bath & Beyond closed its north Lincoln location, shown here on the far right in the Lincoln Crossing shopping center.
Scooter’s, October 2020
Scooter’s Coffee closed two of its three downtown locations in October 2020, including the location at Eighth and P streets and the one in the Gold’s Building at 11th and O streets. The stores did not close because of the pandemic, but because the company is moving all locations to drive-thrus.
Photo Shoppe, May 2020
Photo Shoppe in Piedmont closed in May 2020.
Jos. A. Bank
Jos. A. Bank, shown at far right, closed its Lincoln location at The District at O Street because of its parent company’s bankruptcy filing.
Pier 1, January 2020
Pier 1’s store at SouthPointe Pavilions closed in January 2020.
Matt Olberding
Gordmans
The Gordmans store at Lincoln Crossing closed after its owner, Stage Stores, declared bankruptcy.
Wright’s Jewelers, November 2019
Wright’s Jewelers in the Pioneer Woods shopping center at 70th Street and Pioneers Boulevard closed in November 2019.
Post and Nickel, November 2019
The Post & Nickel at 14th and P streets closed in November 2019 after 52 years.
Forever 21, November 2019
Forever 21 opened a store at Gateway Mall in June 2013 and closed in November 2019.
Charming Charlie
Charming Charlie closed its store at SouthPointe Pavilions.
Matt Olberding
Dressbarn, May 2019
Dressbarn, with a SouthPointe location, closed in May 2019.
Victoria Ayotte Brown
Banana Republic
Banana Republic closed its Lincoln store at SouthPointe Pavilions.
Charlotte Russe
Charlotte Russe closed its Gateway location and all other stores.
Victoria Ayotte Brown
Shopko
Shopko closed its four Lincoln stores, including its location at 27th Street and Nebraska 2.
Rogers Jewelers, 2019
Rogers Jewelers at Gateway Mall closed in 2019.
Sears, March 2019
Sears’ Lincoln location at Gateway Mall closed in March 2019.
Gap, January 2019
The Gap store at SouthPointe Pavilions closed in January 2019.
Beauty Brands, January 2019
Beauty Brands in Centro Plaza at 48th and R streets opened in 2016 (shown in photo) but closed Jan. 19, 2019.
Mattress Firm, October 2018
The Mattress Firm location at 5001 O St. closed in October 2018.
Younkers, August 2018
The 100,000-square-foot Younkers store at Gateway Mall closed in August of 2018.
Matt Olberding
Akin’s Natural Foods, June 2018
The Akin’s Natural Foods store at 6900 O St. in Meridian Park closed in June 2018.
Toys ‘R’ Us, June 2018
The 30,000-square-foot Toys ‘R’ Us store at 5220 N. 27th St. in Lincoln closed in June 2018.
Matt Olberding
Husker Headquarters north location, April 2018
Husker Headquarters in Lincoln Crossing on 27th north of Superior Street closed in April 2018. There is another location downtown, at Gateway Mall and at 5631 S. 56th St. in The Alamo Center.
U.S. Bank
The U.S. Bank branch at 13th and L streets closed in January. It became the fourth branch to close in Lincoln and was one of more than a dozen that closed across Nebraska.
Christopher & Banks
Christopher & Banks, which has two stores in Lincoln, declared bankruptcy in January and said it may close all of its stores.
Reach the writer at 402-473-2647 or [email protected].
On Twitter @LincolnBizBuzz.
