Recent updates regarding Independence Mall’s tenant mix include an opening scheduled this week of a Vans store in the mall's Belk wing.

The Wilmington location of the nationally known shoe and clothing company is set to begin welcoming customers in 3,000 square feet of space in the mall, 3500 Oleander Drive, on Wednesday, mall officials said in an email Monday.

“Vans is a terrific addition to Independence Mall and yet another example of why Independence Mall ‘Mid-Town Wilmington’ is becoming ‘the’ location for hot retail concepts,” said Meaghan Holmes, the mall’s marketing director, in the email.
 
Although another foreclosure sale date on part of the mall property is approaching in April, some good news for the mall came in the form of anchor tenant JCPenney renewing its lease, which had been set to expire in August this year, for five years, according to Fitch Ratings, a credit rating and research firm.

Foreclosure proceedings for Independence Mall began after Centro Independence LLC, owner of part of the mall property, defaulted on a $110 million J.P. Morgan loan in 2014. The sale has been postponed six times since a notice was filed in May last year. The most recent sale is scheduled for 11 a.m. April 7. At the same time, according to the latest information that Fitch Ratings had as of this month, the loan’s special servicer is discussing a loan modification with Centro Independence.

Almost 500,000 square feet of the mall, which includes JCPenney, serves as collateral for the loan. Anchor tenants Belk, Sears and Dillard’s own their buildings.

A few other tenants have been or are expected to be in a state of flux. Life Community Church leases about 21,000 square feet of space in the mall's Sears wing, but the 800-member congregation has been outgrowing that space, said pastor Tim Blevins in a recent email.  The church wants to build a 30,000 square foot church in the northwest quadrant of the intersection of Carolina Beach Road and Independence Boulevard. 
 
The proposal is under review by city officials. The project currently has a two-year timeline if all goes as planned, Blevins said.  
 
“We have loved being in the Mall and the staff at Independence Mall have been great but our growth is driving this decision,” Blevins wrote in the email. “We also believe owning property and a larger facility will give us a better opportunity to further our vision and serve our city.”

At the end of February, the Independence Mall location of Vom Foss, a retailer specializing in European, Asian and Mediterranean oils, vinegars and spices, closed its doors. Longtime mall store Fleishman’s Fine Clothiers is expected to close soon because of medical reasons, owner Neal Fleishman said Monday.

“We’ve had a very long and pleasant relationship with the mall owners,” said Fleishman, whose store opened at Independence Mall in 1979.