Kitsap Mall

History

After many years of planning, Kitsap Mall opened on August 1, 1985. As a result, the retail core of Kitsap County was shifted from Bremerton, Washington to the Silverdale area. The mall's original anchors were Lamonts, Sears, and The Bon Marché. In the coming decades, and after much success, Kitsap Mall nearly doubled in size, adding Mervyns on March 4, 1988, followed by JCPenney in 1989. The Bon Marché was expanded to the east in 1993, nearly doubling its size. Meanwhile, Sears also underwent an expansion, as a result of establishing its standalone HomeLife furniture branch north of the mall in 1994 near the planned Bon Marché Furniture Gallery next to the NorthPoint at Kitsap strip mall, a satellite shopping center developed by Winmar.

In September 2000, Lamonts became Gottschalks after the latter's acquisition of the former in a bankruptcy sale earlier that year. The Bon Marché was re-branded under the Macy's name plate, first as Bon-Macy's in 2003, becoming Macy's in 2005. In 2006, Kitsap Mall received a big change as Gottschalks closed down. The building which housed Gottschalks was torn down and replaced by a new building, which now houses Barnes & Noble and Cost Plus World Market. In 2007, Mervyns closed its Silverdale location, a precursor to the chain's eventual demise in the coming year. It has since been replaced by a new building for Kohl's, which opened on November 11, 2007. 2008 featured the opening of the region's first Hollister store in November, replacing the former Disney Store. Remodelling of the mall's façade and interior was performed in 2011 through 2012.

In June 2013, Kitsap Mall and its surrounding properties (NorthPoint at Kitsap, Kitsap Place) were bought by Starwood Capital Group from Macerich for around $127 million, of which nearly $77 million was from a loan taken from the Royal Bank of Scotland. Revitalization of the mall soon followed, with the addition of Buffalo Wild Wings to the dormant food court, a relocated Victoria's Secret coinciding with the debut of its PINK store, and a newly-built H&M throughout 2015. Dick's Sporting Goods was added as an anchor store in 2016.

On August 22, 2019, it was announced that Sears would be closing as part of a plan to close 85 stores nationwide. The closure came as a surprise an unannounced addition to a simultaneous round of store closings in Washington state and nationwide. The store closed on October 20, 2019 after nearly 35 years at the mall.

On May 26, 2021, it was reported that the Kitsap Mall would be sold at a foreclosure auction on August 27 of that year. The original satellite properties, NorthPoint and Kitsap Place, were divested of earlier in the year, preceding the mall's foreclosure. On the day of the planned auction, the auctioneer announced that it would be postponed to September 24. Following the delay, the Kitsap County Assessor appraised the property at $34.5 million against a debt of $74.56 million.

U.S. Bank, which held the loan defaulted on by the owner of the Kitsap Mall, will gain ownership after it was the sole bidder at the mall's foreclosure auction on December 17, 2021.

On August 22, 2022, WinCo Foods, opened in the space formerly occupied by Sears.

On January 9, 2025, it was announced that Macy's would be closing as part of a plan to close 66 stores nationwide. The store closed on March 23, 2025.

References

References

1. (December 2, 1998 }}{{Dead link). "SILVERDALE: Mall may change ownership". [[E.W. Scripps Company]].
2. "Kitsap Mall, 10315 Silverdale Way NW". Jones Lang LaSalle IP, Inc..
3. "The Macerich Company".
4. (August 1, 1995 }}{{Dead link). "KITSAP MALL TURNS 10". E.W. Scripps Company.
5. (October 11, 2021). "From the film archives of the Bremerton Sun: 1988". [[Gannett]].
6. (December 24, 2016). "The day Zsa Zsa came to Bremerton". [[Gannett]].
7. (13 October 1992 }}{{Dead link). "Bon Marche plans furniture outlet". [[E. W. Scripps Company]].
8. (April 21, 1993 }}{{Dead link). "Silferdale Sears: Retail chain to open furniture outlet near mall". [[E. W. Scripps Company]].
9. (June 12, 1994 }}{{Dead link). "BUSINESS GLANCE". [[E. W. Scripps Company]].
10. (August 19, 2000). "GOTTSCHALKS DEPARTMENT STORE: A stylish debut". [[E. W. Scripps Company]].
11. (May 23, 2003). "The name's Bon -- Bon-Macy's". [[E. W. Scripps Company]].
12. (March 3, 2006). "Mall Not Worried Over Loss of Anchor Retailers". [[Gannett]].
13. (November 2, 2006). "Hundreds Flood World Market Opening at Kitsap Mall". [[E. W. Scripps Company]].
14. (June 11, 2008). "Kohl's opens with record numbers". [[E. W. Scripps Company]].
15. (August 22, 2008). "Hollister to give clothing trend setters reason to rejoice". [[E. W. Scripps Company]].
16. (January 22, 2015). "Buffalo Wild Wings opening Feb. 9 in Silverdale". [[E. W. Scripps Company]].
17. (May 30, 2015). "New Victoria's Secret store celebrates opening". [[Journal Media Group]].
18. (May 28, 2015). "Victoria's Secret PINK store to open at Kitsap Mall May 30". [[Journal Media Group]].
19. (December 17, 2015). "Clothing store H&M opens at Kitsap Mall". [[Journal Media Group]].
20. (October 6, 2016). "DICK'S Sporting Goods opens its doors". [[Gannett]].
21. (August 31, 2019). "Kmart, Sears store closings: More locations to shutter by end of 2019". [[USA Today]].
22. (22 August 2019). "Sears in Kitsap Mall signals an impending shutdown". [[Gannett]].
23. (May 26, 2021). "Kitsap Mall bound for foreclosure". [[Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce]].
24. (August 27, 2021). "Kitsap Mall foreclosure auction gets postponed". [[Kitsap Sun]].
25. (October 1, 2021). "Kitsap Mall in Washington State Gets Hammered in Latest Appraisal". Trepp.
26. (18 December 2021). "U.S. Bank is the sole Kitsap Mall bidder at foreclosure auction". Gannett.
27. "Silverdale Macy's to close as company announces reorganization plan".
28. Tyko, Kelly. (January 9, 2025). "Macy's closing 66 more stores in 2025. See the closure list.".