PROVIDENCE — Inside the former Tiffany & Co. store at the heart of the massive downtown Providence Place mall, the jewelry cases remain illuminated, but empty. Dust clings to the glass shelves where diamonds once sparkled. There isn’t a little blue box in sight.
The darkened first-floor storefront has sat vacant for more than a year. Just two doors down, customers line up at a thriving Apple Store for iPhones and laptop repairs. Across the hall, two other stores sit empty: Banana Republic and Swarovski Crystal closed in January. Farther down, teens crowd into Pop Mart for Labubus beside another empty storefront.
It’s a portrait of a mall in limbo. After the owners defaulted on $259 million in debt, the mall is in receivership and headed for sale. Nearly three decades after it opened as a bet on downtown, luxury brands are retreating and vacancies are mounting. The question is not which store will close next, but whether Providence’s signature shopping center that once drew New Englanders to the city still makes economic sense, or instead must reinvent itself to survive.
“Malls in general, if they don’t change, are doomed,” said Dante Bellini, the mall’s spokesperson from its 1999 opening until 2016.
Malls across the country – if they haven’t closed – have converted spaces for new uses ranging from apartments to sporting facilities to lab space. Some New England malls have transformed, finding new life outside of retail. In Waterford, Conn., the Crystal Mall will close this spring to be converted into offices for General Dynamic Electric Boat. At the Natick Mall in Natick, Mass., — run by Providence Place’s most-recent owner — a shuttered anchor store became 21 pickleball courts, a restaurant, and a child-care center.
Copley Place in Boston’s Back Bay remains stable, even when tenants restructure or close, because it’s buoyed by luxury offerings and tourists. Neiman Marcus — whose parent company Saks Global is restructuring under Chapter 11 bankruptcy — will close its Copley store this year, but the mall’s owner, Simon, has already lined up a new tenant for the space.
Providence Place sits between the Rhode Island State House and Providence City Hall, straddling the Providence River and Amtrak train tracks. It draws about 6 million visitors annually, according to a spokesperson.
The mall opened as a $460 million bet on downtown Providence’s revival. Anchored at the time by Filene’s (now Macy’s), Lord & Taylor, and Nordstrom — which drew shoppers from all over New England as one of the first stores in the region — and a roster of national brands, it was seen as an economic catalyst for Providence.
“It brought new life into the downtown,” said former Providence mayor Joe Paolino, an early supporter of the mall who helped lure Nordstrom there. After seeing Copley Place in the 1980s, he said, “‘Wow, if we could ever do this in downtown Providence, it could really help the city out a lot.’”
But nearly three decades after Providence Place opened, most of its original anchor stores are gone. Nordstrom left in 2019. Ann Taylor and Loft, Talbots, Michael Kors, Godiva, Vera Bradley, Crate & Barrel, and dozens of other stores followed. Street-facing restaurants, such as Fire & Ice, Uno Pizzeria & Grill, and Melting Pot, have been empty for years. Nearly a quarter of prime space on the first level, typically reserved for the highest-end stores, is vacant. Macy’s survived widespread store closures, but listed its Providence Place location for sale. The company did not answer questions about the status of that listing.
Of the 1.1 million square feet of leasable space, 80 percent is occupied, spokesperson Sarah Dell said. In mid-February, the Globe counted 20 empty storefronts and restaurants. Many brands have relocated to Garden City Center, a suburban open-air shopping center less than 10 miles away.
There, dozens of stores and restaurants surround a parking lot, lawn, and gazebo, where summer concerts are held. A farmer’s market and a beer garden operate in warmer months. On any given day, people are seen walking dogs, pushing strollers, or eating takeout in Adirondack chairs outside.
“We love how open it is,” said Jody Decosta from Bristol, while shopping on a recent morning. “It feels like you’re on vacation.”
Joe Koechel, the general manager of Garden City, said the easy parking, mix of retailers, and outdoor element attracts shoppers. “It’s the product, it’s the events, it’s the ambiance,” he said.
Paolino, now a major real estate developer, said he’d like to see a “game-changer” like IKEA or Costco move into Providence Place. The owners “started letting in stores that maybe should not have been allowed,” he said.
J.Crew downgraded its prime first-floor location to an outlet. The Gap, a mall staple, was replaced by Five Below, a discount store usually found in strip malls. (Neither Gap nor J.Crew responded to the Globe.)
“When I saw the Five Below, I said, ‘These are the end times,’” said Caroline Cooper, a librarian from Pawtucket and mall shopper.
“It’s felt like it’s just been a downward spiral,” said Gabriel Giella, a regular shopper.
At Akira Clothing, a fast-fashion chain that moved in two years ago, senior manager Laura Roe put it bluntly in an email: “The less competition the better =).”
External pressures have come from all directions: the rise of online shopping, a perhaps exaggerated perception of crime among suburban shoppers, and increasing operating costs. The mall changed hands several times, racking up debt. The mall’s property tax bill is set to balloon from about $1 million a year to $21 million in 2028, when its tax deal with the city expires, unless a new one is negotiated.
With a movie theater, restaurants, and arcade, Providence Place is still a big draw for events, said Tom Riel, senior vice president of the Providence Warwick Convention and Visitors Bureau, which lures conventions and events such as NCAA basketball tournaments downtown.
The mall is “a huge part of our pitch,” said Riel. “We’ll bring in 5,000 cheerleaders for a weekend, and the mall supports all of the needs and entertainment of these kids and families while they’re here in town.”
In November 2024, a judge appointed Mark Russo and John Dorsey as receivers to run the mall, after creditors got fed up with owner Brookfield Properties’ failure to pay its debts. (Dorsey later became a judge and left the project.)
A towering attorney better known for courtroom strategy than food courts, Russo concedes he “is not a shopper.” His Providence Place memories include lunch at Joe’s American Bar & Grill — which has been closed for a decade.
When he first took over, the mall “was kind of a mess,” Russo said.
He’s brought in a property management firm to lease vacant space, increase security, clean, and paint. The receivers also drummed up attention by hosting a screening of the “Secret Mall Apartment” documentary about Michael Townsend, an artist who illegally lived part time in the mall in the 2000s. The documentary hit No. 4 on Netflix in January.
Russo said these actions have stabilized the mall. But major changes, including possible redevelopment, won’t come until the mall has a new owner.
“From an investment standpoint, Providence Place is sellable, but not easily,” said Ramesh Mohan, an economics professor at Bryant University in Smithfield. “Filling former Gap or Banana Republic boxes with tenants like Five Below or discount-oriented department stores is a defensive strategy; these tenants pay rent, drive foot traffic, and reduce visible vacancy, even if they don’t carry the same brand prestige.”
In the meantime, the mall is neither dead nor thriving. The former JCPenney now houses Night Shift Brewing and the interactive games of Level 99. Fogo de Chão, a Brazilian steakhouse chain, opened where Joe’s was. Business is brisk at Sephora and Dave & Buster’s. Original tenants like Brooks Brothers and Old Navy never left. Apple Cinemas, the mall’s new movie theater, plans to knock down some screens to build a bowling alley.
But Providence Place was also built for growth that never arrived.
Behind an unmarked door, there’s an unfinished 8,000-square-foot expanse above the Cheesecake Factory. The drywall has yellowed, the concrete floor bare, save for some naked mannequins and old clothing racks. Sunlight spills through a dozen oversized windows that frame Providence’s skyline.
In total, nearly 40,000 square feet of space has never been finished. That’s the equivalent of 60 one-bedroom apartments.
Those undeveloped sections of the mall suggest “weak demand,” said Mohan.
City leaders and shoppers alike have floated housing as an option, though converting stores to apartments would be pricey. Others suggest medical or corporate offices, higher education, or a mix of retail and other uses.
Nothing major will be decided until a buyer takes over. There’s no asking price; a competitive bidding process will determine what the behemoth mall is worth, and what it might become.
For many, closing down the mall is not an option.
“I hate to even think of that,” said Riel, from the visitors bureau. “It’s the center of everything.”
Alexa Gagosz can be reached at alexa.gagosz@globe.com. Follow her @alexagagosz and on Instagram @AlexaGagosz. Steph Machado can be reached at steph.machado@globe.com. Follow her @StephMachado.