204 housing units, office space, restaurants, movie theatre + more

On Monday, the City of Asheville’s Technical Review Committee reviewed a $45 million redevelopment plan for the Sears at the Asheville Mall (3 S. Tunnel Rd.).

The 15.88 acre redevelopment site will include 204 residential units (with an allotted 306 parking spaces), a central plaza for pedestrian use that will be open on one side to Tunnel Rd., charging stations for electric vehicles, + a possible public transit stop across. Also in the works: office space, new restaurants, a movie theater, and additional retail.

New York-based Seritage Growth Properties bought 250+ Sears + Kmart stores in 2015 as part of a deal worth $2.7 billion, including our own.

So your middle school dreams of actually living at the mall? Might just be a reality.

Developers see the project as working in conjunction with the city's Living Asheville plan, which aims to increase diverse, affordable housing and mixed-use developments in areas along transit corridors across the entire region (not just in downtown).

Seritage Sears plan. Source: seritage.com

Sears, an Asheville Mall OG

Sears was one of the original anchor stores at the Asheville Mall when it opened in 1973, along with Belk and NC-owned Bon Marche.
Sears stores across the country have closed over the past few years as the brand fights for a new niche in a shifting market.
Seritage now owns 107,100 sq. ft. in the mall, plus the Sears auto center, which is an additional 30,430 sq. ft.

Not their first rodeo

An earlier plan from September of last year showed Alamo Drafthouse, a cinema started in Austin, TX, that’s known for its craft beer + gourmet food, as a tenant in the space, but it has since been removed and Alamo and Seritage have both declined to comment. A location in Raleigh is currently under construction.

What do you think?

We’ve taken the conversation over to Facebook to see Ashevillians think about the new plan.

“People fear change and people also hate seeing forest torn down, this is a happy medium compromise.”

“The retail malls of the last 20-30 years are slowly dying, this is a great initiative to re-purpose space that has already been developed and provide mixed use housing with a lot that already has ample parking.”

“Sure beats another hotel.”

Do you love or hate the plan? Tell us here.