Gulfstream Commercial Services is keeping its options open for the former Towne Square Mall, with a portion of the property being approved for a zoning change on Thursday.
Specifically, 5000 Frederica Street and 5015 Back Square Drive were rezoned from General Business to Light Industrial. Gulfstream Chief Operating Officer Ed Ray said those changes are a continuation of when the management company similarly rezoned the former Sears location.
“What that does is it opens up that whole side of the property and the back side of the property for a lot more variety of uses. It can be warehousing, a shop area, a lot of different things, distribution sites even,” Ray said.
Ray said that since the Ellis Park expansion is no longer part of the property’s future, Gulfstream had to set sights on a different direction and reconsider how to pursue various tenants. The loss of the project was a primary factor in the mall officially closing on September 5. Most tenants moved out the week prior; some relocated, while others didn’t know their future at the time.
There are no concrete plans for the future of the former mall building, Ray said, but he noted the current plan is for the Frederica-facing side to continue to house retail businesses.
He said the northmost portion of the building — the former JCPenney’s space — has a lot of potential.
“We’re open to any and all opportunities,” Ray said. “It could be a fantastic place for a community center — the senior citizen center could go out there. Planet Fitness is building now. The space looks phenomenal, and it just goes to show what good bones are at the mall and how that can be expanded out, built out, and customized for almost any use.”
