Orlando Fashion Square Mall is for sale. Residents hope it will finally lead to a new chapter

ORLANDO, Fla. – Orlando Fashion Square Mall is not the hotspot it used to be.

“For the last 4-5 years it’s been empty just like this,” said George Lane, a former mall security guard. He said the parking lot used to be full of cars when he was on duty.

“I heard when I was working here four years ago that they were planning to put condos here and also apartments,” Lane said.

Lane said he heard dozens of plans to revitalize the area over the years, but none have come to fruition.

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“This has been in the community for so many years. I don’t think Fashion Square or Macy’s should go,” Lane said.

Now that the mall is up for sale, people hope it can be turned into something new and regain its former glory. The shopping center first opened in 1973.

“We have lots of shopping centers. This has to be something else that serves the community in a different way. Also add value so we can increase tax revenue,” Barney McAuley said.

Edge Capital Markets, a Dallas-based real estate firm, is helping the owners sell the two-story, 625,000-square-foot shopping center.

CEO Barney McAuley believes this is an opportunity for three future owners to create a $500 million mixed-use development, a combination of hotels, restaurants, housing and more.

“There are about 20 groups nationally that are buying these types of malls and remaking them and turning them into something else. This mall was the center of this community 20 years ago, and they’re doing things that will make it the center of their community again ,” McAuley said.

McAuley said 550 of the 1,000 shopping centers across America will become mixed-use developments because of the growing need in their communities.

He said it usually takes five months to sell a building like Fashion Square Mall, but because of the holiday season, it can take 6-7 months.

A look at past plans for Fashion Square

Efforts to renovate or redevelop the Orlando Fashion Square Mall have circulated for a decade, perhaps more.

They include efforts to turn the mall into a place for local businesses or a multi-purpose venue with bowling and other activities.

In 2013, crews were supposed to break ground on an Element by Westin Hotel as part of a renovation project that would have included a family entertainment zone and new restaurants like BJ’s Brewhouse, Outback and Red Robin.

In 2019, Unicorp National Developments president Chuck Whittall put a deposit on a $23 million contract for nearly 50 acres of land under the mall, saying he would demolish it and turn it into an outdoor, mixed-use entertainment area.

Then in 2021, lawyers for Bancorp, which owns the mall itself, applied to redevelop it into a mixed-use property that would keep the anchor stores but demolish the center structure to create outdoor commercial space along with a hotel and up to 1,400 apartments, which giving it a similar feel to Winter Park Village.

In December 2021, the Orlando City Council approved Bancorp’s overall master plan.

However, no progress has been made since then.

According to Orange County Property Appraiser records, the address where the mall is located is owned by the Fashion Square Land Trust, which is managed by Unicorp.

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