Westland Mall
A shopping mall in Hialeah, Florida, anchored by Macy's and JCPenney.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Westland Mall is an enclosed shopping center in Hialeah, Florida, serving the Miami metropolitan area. The property opened in the summer of 1969 east of an existing Burdines department store and was established with a multi-anchor format that included Sears, Burdines, JCPenney, and Mays. Over time, the mall's tenant mix evolved with changes in the American department-store sector, ownership transitions, store closures, and the addition of restaurants and entertainment-oriented retail. The center is currently known as Westland Mall, although it operated as Westfield Westland for part of its history. The Westfield Group acquired the property from the Mills Corporation in November 2007 and changed its name to Westfield Westland. After Starwood Capital Group acquired the mall in 2012, the Westland Mall name was restored. This sequence reflects the mall's movement through several major commercial-property ownership structures rather than a change in its underlying location or community role. The mall contains more than 100 stores and has traditionally combined department-store anchors with specialty retail, dining, and food-court businesses. Macy's and JCPenney are identified as the principal anchor stores. Food and beverage offerings have included Fuddruckers, Chili's, Outback Steakhouse, IHOP, and food-court operators such as Subway and Charleys Cheesesteaks, with tenant rosters changing over time. A McDonald's location and a newer food court were reported in 1994, while the IT'SUGAR confectionery retailer opened at the mall in 2023 and was later listed as permanently closed in early 2025. Westland Mall has also been affected by the restructuring of traditional department stores. Sears Holdings transferred the Sears property into Seritage Growth Properties in 2015 as part of a broader real-estate spin-off. The Sears space was subsequently reduced, allowing room for tenants including Forever 21 and Xfinity. Sears announced in November 2019 that its Westland Mall store would close in a nationwide round of closures, and the location shut in February 2020. In 2024, the mall's food-court McDonald's was reported to have permanently closed. By 2026, the former Sears site had been purchased by a development company and was undergoing redevelopment into a lifestyle center. The planned concept is described as combining retail stores, restaurants, and housing, indicating a move from a purely enclosed-mall configuration toward a mixed-use destination. Westland Mall therefore represents both a long-running local retail institution and an example of the adaptation of older suburban shopping centers to changing retail formats. Its market is primarily regional and community-based, centered on Hialeah and the wider Miami metropolitan area.
History
Westland Mall opened in the summer of 1969 in Hialeah, Florida. It was built to the east of a standalone Burdines department store and initially used a broad department-store anchor strategy. The original anchor roster included Sears, Burdines, JCPenney, and Mays. This format positioned the center as a major local shopping destination, combining large department stores with smaller retailers and dining businesses. Its early food offerings included two cafeterias and a Farrell's ice-cream parlor. The property continued to add and revise its amenities as retail habits changed. In the spring of 1994, a McDonald's location opened in the mall alongside a new food court. Over subsequent decades, restaurants and food-court operators became an important part of the center's customer proposition. Reported tenants have included Fuddruckers, Chili's, Outback Steakhouse, IHOP, Subway, and Charleys Cheesesteaks, although individual occupancy has changed over time. Ownership and branding shifted in the 2000s and 2010s. In November 2007, the Westfield Group acquired the mall from the Mills Corporation and renamed it Westfield Westland. The Westfield identity lasted until 2012, when the property was sold to Starwood Capital Group and the Westland Mall name was restored. These transactions placed the center within the broader consolidation of American shopping-center ownership while preserving its established Hialeah identity. The mall was later affected by department-store rationalization. In 2015, Sears Holdings spun off 235 properties, including the Sears site at Westland Mall, into Seritage Growth Properties. The Sears store was downsized, and portions of the former footprint were used by Forever 21 and Xfinity. Sears announced in November 2019 that it would close the Westland Mall location in a nationwide closure program; the store shut in February 2020. Westland Mall continued operating with Macy's and JCPenney as its identified anchor stores and a specialty-retail inventory of more than 100 stores. The center also maintained a restaurant and food-court component. IT'SUGAR was reported to have opened at the mall in 2023, but the store was later listed as permanently closed in early 2025. The food-court McDonald's was likewise reported to have permanently closed in 2024. By 2026, the former Sears site had been acquired by a development company and was under redevelopment. The proposed replacement is a lifestyle center intended to include retail stores, restaurants, and housing. This project marks a significant physical and strategic transition for the property: rather than relying only on the traditional enclosed-department-store model, the former anchor site is being repositioned as a mixed-use component of the broader Westland Mall destination. The mall remains an active Hialeah retail property, but its future identity is increasingly tied to adaptation, tenant turnover, and the integration of lifestyle and residential uses.
- 2026
Former Sears site planned for lifestyle-center conversion
[1]The former Sears property is reported to be under redevelopment with proposed retail, restaurant, and housing uses.
- 2025
IT'SUGAR closure reported
[1]The mall directory is reported to list the IT'SUGAR location as permanently closed.
- 2023
IT'SUGAR opens
[1]IT'SUGAR is reported to open a store at Westland Mall.
- 2020
Sears store closes
[1]The Sears location closes in February, leaving its former site available for later redevelopment.
- 2019
Sears closure announced
[1]Sears announces that the Westland Mall store will close in a nationwide closure program.
- 2015
Sears property moves to Seritage
[1]The Sears site is included in Sears Holdings' transfer of 235 properties to Seritage Growth Properties.
- 2012
Westland Mall name returns
[1]After a sale to Starwood Capital Group, the property returns to the Westland Mall name.
- 2007
Westfield acquisition and rebranding
[1]The Westfield Group acquires the property from the Mills Corporation and renames it Westfield Westland.
- 1994
New food court and McDonald's location reported
[1]A new food court opens in the spring, together with a McDonald's restaurant at the mall.
- 1969
Westland Mall opens in Hialeah
[1]The shopping center opens east of a standalone Burdines store with Sears, Burdines, JCPenney, and Mays as its initial anchors.
Products and positioning
A community and regional shopping destination serving Hialeah and the Miami metropolitan area through department stores, specialty retailers, restaurants, and food-court services, with redevelopment intended to broaden the property into a mixed-use lifestyle center.
Department store
Macy's
Macy's is one of Westland Mall's current principal anchor stores. Its department-store format provides apparel, accessories, home goods, beauty products, and other general merchandise, serving as a major destination within the mall's tenant mix.
Department store
JCPenney
JCPenney is identified as a current anchor store at Westland Mall. The chain contributes broad apparel, home, beauty, and family-oriented merchandise and helps maintain the center's traditional department-store traffic base.
Mall retail
Specialty retail stores
Westland Mall has more than 100 stores, covering apparel, footwear, communications, specialty merchandise, services, and other everyday shopping categories. The exact tenant roster changes as leases expire and new businesses enter the center.
Food and beverage
Restaurants and food court
Dining has been a recurring component of the mall since its early cafeterias and Farrell's ice-cream parlor. Reported restaurant and food-court businesses have included Fuddruckers, Chili's, Outback Steakhouse, IHOP, Subway, Charleys Cheesesteaks, and McDonald's, with availability varying by period.
Mixed-use redevelopment
Former Sears site lifestyle center
The former Sears department-store site is being redeveloped as a lifestyle-center concept. Reported plans call for a combination of retail stores, restaurants, and housing, potentially expanding Westland Mall beyond its historic enclosed-mall format.
Brand decisions
2026
Conversion of former Sears site into a lifestyle centerStrategyBackground
Following the closure of the Sears anchor, the former department-store site became available for a new development concept.
Action taken
A development company purchased the site and began work on a lifestyle center planned to include retail, restaurants, and housing.
Aftermath
The project is intended to diversify the property and connect the long-running mall with mixed-use development, although the reported project remains under development.
2019
Sears closure decisionOtherBackground
Sears announced a nationwide program to close 96 stores as part of its continuing retail contraction.
Action taken
The Westland Mall Sears store was selected for closure and ultimately shut in February 2020.
Aftermath
The former anchor site later became the subject of a proposed lifestyle-center redevelopment.
2015
Sears footprint restructuringStrategyBackground
Sears Holdings separated a large portfolio of real-estate assets into Seritage Growth Properties.
Action taken
The Sears property at Westland Mall was transferred to Seritage, and the store was downsized to make room for Forever 21 and Xfinity.
Aftermath
The change reduced dependence on the traditional Sears anchor and introduced additional uses into the former department-store footprint.
2012
Sale to Starwood Capital Group and name restorationM&ABackground
The property changed ownership after several years under the Westfield brand.
Action taken
Starwood Capital Group acquired the mall, and the Westland Mall name was restored.
Aftermath
The property resumed its established local identity while continuing as an operating shopping center.
2007
Acquisition by the Westfield GroupM&ABackground
The Mills Corporation sold the Hialeah mall during a period of consolidation among large shopping-center owners.
Action taken
The Westfield Group acquired the property and renamed it Westfield Westland.
Aftermath
The center operated under the Westfield Westland identity until its subsequent sale and renaming in 2012.
Recent events
- 2026
Former Sears site enters lifestyle-center redevelopment[1]
Other
The former Sears location was reported to have been purchased by a development company and to be under redevelopment as a lifestyle center with planned retail, restaurants, and housing.
- 2024
Food-court McDonald's reported permanently closed[1]
Other
The McDonald's restaurant operating in the mall's food court was reported to have permanently closed in the middle of 2024.
- 2023
IT'SUGAR opens at Westland Mall[1]
Product launch · Other
IT'SUGAR was reported to have opened a store at the mall during the middle of 2023.
- 2019
Sears announces closure of its Westland Mall location[1]
Bankruptcy · Other
Sears announced on November 7, 2019, that the Westland Mall store would close as part of a nationwide program affecting 96 stores. The location closed in February 2020.
- 2015
Sears property transferred to Seritage Growth Properties[1]
M&A
Sears Holdings included its Westland Mall property in a portfolio of sites spun off to Seritage Growth Properties. The Sears footprint was subsequently reduced for other tenants.
- 2012
Westland Mall name restored after sale to Starwood Capital Group[1]
M&A · Other
Following a sale to Starwood Capital Group, the shopping center reverted from Westfield Westland to the Westland Mall name.
- 2007
Westfield Group acquires Westland Mall and renames it Westfield Westland[1]
M&A · Other
The Westfield Group acquired the Hialeah shopping center from the Mills Corporation and changed the property's name to Westfield Westland.
Sources3 sources
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