CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Shoppers who visited the new Home Depot store on Rio Road East for its grand opening Thursday found vendor tents and food trucks on hand to celebrate the day.

Now, Albemarle County hopes that excitement leads to a resurgence for the Fashion Square Mall property.

“We really saw the first domino for redevelopment of that property,” Albemarle director of economic development Emily Kilroy told Cville Right Now on Thursday. “We were so happy to get onboard and be a partner for that and really help attract meaningful reinvestment into that property. We hope very much that now that that’s open that will spur future, continued redevelopment in that property.”

Sears closed in 2019 and over the next six years, more and more vacancies showed up at the indoor mall, following a national trend.

The number of indoor shopping malls in the U.S. has plummeted over the past two decades, as online shopping and outdoor malls have gained popularity. That trend was furthered by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

The mall closed in January.

“The county had, for some time, been tracking the vibrancy of that really critical intersection,” Kilroy said. “The commercial heart of 29 North was really underperforming relative to other properties in the area. A lot of that was because of the high vacancy rate at Fashion Square Mall.”

And that was particularly concerning to the county, since its operations rely heavily on real property taxes.

Home Depot bought the former Sears location on the site, as well as the indoor mall. Belk still owns and operates its location on the property.

A limited liability corporation purchased the JCPenney location.

Thursday saw the opening of the 108,283-square foot Home Depot home and garden center. That, by itself, will bring new jobs and increased sales tax revenue to the area. The new store, Home Depot’s 51st location in Virginia, will employ 160 associates, 145 of whom will be hired in the coming weeks, the company announced.

“The Home Depot’s expansion into Albemarle County is a meaningful investment of resources, jobs, and opportunity in our community,” said Ned Gallaway, a member of Albemarle’s Board of Supervisors representing the Rio District, in a statement released by the company. “The new store is a tremendous addition to the community that will make Albemarle even more desirable for local families, homeowners, and small businesses. We’re proud to welcome The Home Depot to the Rio District.”

What’s next for the rest of the site is unclear.

“It’s really hard to know what exactly the future of that property might be,” Kilroy said. “You could see a lot of great opportunities there, in real contrast to what we have had there since the 70s with a single-story indoor shopping mall surrounded by a really large swath of parking. Now, the opportunity’s there to dream what’s next and work with the private sector to bring some of that to fruition.”

The County’s Rio/29 Small Area plan envisions a mixed-use area that will include residential space, offices and retail locations.

Home Depot has had some initial conversations with the county regarding how it might use its remaining property at the site.

Kilroy said conversations with other potential developers and businesses have all been preliminary.

“Right now, it’s still something we’re hoping will happen,” Kilroy said of the rejuvenation of the remaining property. “There’s been interest here and there. We think the major construction element of the Home Depot project being done will open the door for some more concrete conversations moving forward.”