Saks Fifth Avenue to close at Fashion Mall amid major redevelopment
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Saks Fifth Avenue plans to close its location at The Fashion Mall at Keystone in Indianapolis, as part of a larger plan to redevelop a portion of the upscale shopping center.
The store is expected to close at an unspecified time later this year. It will be a significant shift for the Simon Property Group-owned mall, where Saks has operated its 120,000-square-foot store since 2003, when it replaced a vacant Jacobson’s store after the Jacobson’s chain went bankrupt.
Simon has not shared specific details of the planned overhaul, but said Thursday the redevelopment will feature a “curated selection of highly sought-after retail brands,” along with first-in-market dining and entertainment, an outdoor plaza and new shopping space. The project will be focused on the southeastern section of the property, but the company did not disclose if other stores will be affected by the effort.
“Simon is leading the evolution of today’s retail landscape with the strategic transformation of key properties across the country into best-in-class lifestyle destinations,” Mark Silvestri, president of development at Simon, said in written remarks. “The redevelopment further solidifies The Fashion Mall at Keystone’s dedication to providing a stand-out retail, lifestyle and community- focused destination for the region.”
Saks is the second-largest anchor at the Fashion Mall after Nordstrom, which occupies 130,000 square feet. Crate and Barrel is the third biggest store, at 33,000 square feet.
Nationally, New York City-based Saks operates about 40 full-service stores, down from more than 50 a decade ago. The Keystone store is the chain’s only store in Indiana, with the closest other Saks found in Chicago and Columbus, Ohio.
The 157-year-old retailer also operates nearly 100 Saks Off Fifth off-price stores, but none of those are in Indiana.
Hudson’s Bay Co., or HBC, which acquired Saks in 2013 for almost $3 billion, has been struggling with debt problems. Bloomberg reported in January that HBC, the oldest company in North America, was trying to refinance a $1.3 billion loan.
This story will be updated.