Rick Murray would like to help Walmart pitch its vision of a mixed-use development on the site of the Monroeville Mall, because he thinks it could someday be a real asset to the community.

The problem is, despite being a mall tenant, he has no idea what the future of the property will be.

“We’ve asked numerous times for information — what’s the plan? How can we plan for our future?” said Murray, owner of the SpectroDolce confection shop that has been a mall tenant for three years.

Murray found out some very general plans this week: The mall is expected to be demolished and replaced with retail and public space, according to a state grant application.

Walmart submitted the application last month through a limited-liability corporation, South Saturn Ridge.

The Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program, state funding awarded by the Office of the Budget, recently posted its applicants for 2025 — including Monroeville Mall. Applicants must provide a description of their intentions for grant funding. The window to apply for funding closed Sept. 23.

“We really haven’t had any communication with Walmart or Cypress Equities (the real estate firm working on the redevelopment with Walmart),” Murray said.

Walmart spokesperson Mark Rickel would only confirm this is the first mall Walmart has purchased.

“We’ll be sharing information as soon as we can,” he told TribLive.

Monroeville Assistant Manager Makayla Zonfrilli-Lang said grant applicants must show their project will provide a “regional and multi-jurisdictional impact that creates a substantial increase in employment, tax revenue or other measurable economic impact.

“Whatever their plan is, and whether they showed it to the state yet, it will have to have those components for them to have any chance of getting that grant,” Zonfrilli-Lang said. “Cypress has been very cooperative and professional, but we to tend to get information last-minute.

“I don’t think it’s intended to be malicious, but this is all new. Walmart has never done a project like this before, and there are going to be some hiccups along the way.

“I think they want to help the community, but it’s moving a little more slowly than they planned.”

Zonfrilli-Lang said the project could end up serving as a model for Walmart’s mixed-use developments going forward, “and I think that’s something our community can be really proud of.”

Murray agreed.

“I truly believe, in the end, this could be a great thing,” Murray said. “Walmart’s making an investment in the community. But there’s mixed perception out there. There was a big push to keep a Walmart out years ago. And I think the lack of clarity and transparency with the mall plans isn’t helping that perception at all.”

Murray said SpectroDolce has invested in store upgrades, remodeling and additional products.

“We were looking to grow and develop here,” he said. “We were off to a great start, but the sale announcement has really worked against us. People (who shop here) don’t know the situation. We have people come in all the time who tell us they thought the mall had closed.”

Several mall tenants have met with developers, according to Saga restaurant owner and tenant David Wang, and were informed that when Walmart officially takes over the property in 2027, it plans to demolish the mall and redevelop the 186-acre property into a large, open-air shopping center featuring a Walmart, a Sam’s Club, shops and restaurants.

Murray and Bryan Kiger, who owns the Pickle Parlor store at the mall, said he was neither aware of nor invited to take part in that meeting.

“My guess is that meeting consisted of anybody who had a lease that extends beyond April 2027,” Kiger said. “They didn’t meet with us, and they haven’t communicated proactively with us at all.”

Some participated in meeting

Wang, who has owned Saga since 2014, was part of the meeting. Saga’s current lease runs until 2030, and Wang said he has hired an attorney to try to preserve his rights as a tenant.

“I’m the longest lease holder at the mall,” he said. “I don’t know if they wanted to talk with us, but they kind of had to. They told us that April 2027 is when we have to be moved out. That’s why we hired an attorney.”

Wang said that, in the meeting, Cypress officials said the plan is to demolish the mall and create an open-air shopping center anchored by Walmart at one end and a relocated Sam’s Club at the other.

Ahmad Matouk, manager at Rémo Menswear at the mall, said the only information he’s received about the mall’s future came from former owners CBL.

“We were told by CBL that Walmart would take over management in 2027 and they would not be renewing any leases,” Matouk said. “We’ll probably be looking for a new location soon.”

Murray and Kiger both said the lack of communication is frustrating.

“We opened Pickle Parlor in February, only to find out that same month that the mall was being sold,” Kiger said.

Murray said SpectroDolce is extending its lease every three months, with no real idea what the future holds.

“It’s a moving target,” Murray said. “I reached out to Walmart and Cypress to say, from our perspective, this could be a great thing for the community. It really could be. And I’d love to be part of it.

“The problem is, no one will tell us what ‘it’ is going to be. So we’ve been left, unfortunately, in a position where we’re looking for another space in the area, and our traffic at the mall has decreased drastically.”

A public comment period on the projects applying for Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program is set to run through Oct. 30.

The mall, built in 1969, was once a commercial anchor for the community. But the 1.2 million-square-foot property, similar to malls nationwide, has seen better days.

In 2008, it lost its anchor retailer, Boscov’s, when the company went through a bankruptcy and restructuring.

In 2011, JCPenney — which has since closed and sold numerous locations nationwide — moved into the former Boscov’s space to make way for the Cinemark movie theater.

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