Photo by Jon Anderson
An entrance sign to the Riverchase Galleria in Hoover, Alabama.
The owner of the Riverchase Galleria, Chicago-based General Growth Properties, has put the 40-year-old Hoover mall up for sale.
The retail property with 1.5 million square feet of leasable space is being marketed for sale by Jones Lang LaSalle Americas, also known as JLL.
The Galleria for many years has been in the hands of a special servicer called Rialto Capital Advisors, which manages the finances of the property due to its distressed financial state.
Hoover Mayor Nick Derzis, who has made redevelopment of the Galleria campus a primary goal of his administration, said in a written statement that the Galleria going on the market actually is a positive development toward that end.
“For years, the property’s status under a special servicer has limited the long-term planning and investment necessary to create the transformational development the site deserves,” Derzis said.
“The forthcoming listing of the Galleria property represents a positive turning point, creating the opportunity to bring a new vision, new capital and renewed energy to one of the most important commercial assets of the city,” he said. “This moment is the catalyst Hoover has been waiting for. It opens the door for meaningful redevelopment not only of the Galleria itself, but throughout the surrounding commercial corridor. The city of Hoover intends to be a strong and active partner in the next phase of this property’s future.”
The Riverchase Galleria has long been a cornerstone of Hoover’s identity and a key driver of economic activity for the city and the region, Derzis said.
“From the outset of my administration, I made it a priority to engage with current ownership and clearly communicate the city’s expectations, goals and commitment to seeing the Galleria thrive again,” Derzis said. “We will continue to closely engage throughout this transition process and remain actively engaged going forward.”
The property that is for sale does not include many of the anchor stores at the mall (Macy’s, JC Penney, Belk and the former Sears space), large retailers on outparcels such as Costco and Home Depot, the Hyatt Regency Birmingham — The Wynfrey Hotel or the 14-story office tower attached to the mall called The Offices at 3000 Riverchase.
Those are all separately owned, but the property for sale does have 1.5 million square feet of leasable space, including the 185,000-square-foot Von Maur department store, the 76,000-square-foot Belk Home store, Dave and Buster’s, and the two large parking decks.
The Galleria property, when combined with Costco and Home Depot, is estimated to generate more than $450 million in gross annual sales, according to information from JLL.
However, a study conducted for the city of Hoover and other owners of property on the Galleria campus, found that visits to the Galleria had declined by 33% between 2019 and 2024, dropping from 6.3 million visitors to 4.2 million visitors per year.
It’s part of a national trend with indoor malls. In the 1980s, there were more than 2,500 indoor malls in the United States, but by 2022, that number had dropped to about 1,150, according to the study by the Hunden Partners.
The Hunden Partners last year recommended a $241 million makeover of the Galleria, including demolition of the former Sears store and the Macy’s store that was put up for sale in the summer of 2024.
In place of those department stores and a small section of the mall, the consultant recommended construction of 542 apartments, an 1,100-seat Center for the Arts, 44,000 square feet of new retail space and 44,000 square feet of green space for gatherings.
But the newly elected Derzis and some members of the new Hoover City Council said they found that study lacking. Since taking office, Derzis and his staff have been communicating with General Growth Properties and other players on the Galleria campus.
Meanwhile, JLL also is the listing agent for The Offices at 3000 Riverchase, which owner Jim Wilson & Associates last year advertised for sale for $20 million.
Alan Paquette, manager of the office tower, today said Jim Wilson & Associates hasn’t necessarily taken the tower off the market but is not aggressively marketing it right now.
“We actually have some decent leasing activity right now, and we’re just going to kind of see where that goes,” Paquette said.
The 277,000-square-foot office tower is slightly more than 50% leased, he said.
As for the Galleria going on the market, Paquette said “it’s probably the best thing that could have happened.”
Meetings between the mayor’s staff, Jim Wilson & Associates and General Growth Properties kind of pushed GGP officials to the point where they felt they had to make a decision on the Galleria instead of keeping it in the hands of a special servicer.
“The best thing we could do is get that out of the hands of these giant publicly traded companies” and get the Galleria property front and center with people who understand real estate in Alabama, Paquette said. “I think it’s its best opportunity to get redeveloped.”
Derzis has said the Galleria campus and adjacent Patton Creek shopping center still have great potential. More than 100,000 vehicles pass by them every day, he said. The properties have easy access to the north, south, east and west, the median income of Hoover has been increasing year after year, and Hoover is one of the safest communities in the country among those with about 100,000 people, he said.
“There’s absolutely no reason both of these properties cannot be a retail destination,” Derzis said. “We want to restore Hoover to be the premier retail destination as we were years ago.”
The day after he was elected, he was on the phone with owners of the Riverchase Galleria campus and Patton Creek and let them know they need to partner with the city to achieve what is possible or be willing to sell to other owners who will, he said.
“We’re not going to accept putting lipstick on a pig,” Derzis told the Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce in his state-of-the-city address in January.
Progress can be slow , but since day one, there is not a week that goes by that either himself or a member of his team is not on the phone with those owners pushing them for progress, he said.
“Failure is not an option,” Derzis said. “We’re not going to accept the decline of Patton Creek and the Galleria. We deserve better than to watch the slow erosion of our most visible commercial site in the city. We’ll pursue real reinvestment and reimagination.”
