# Annapolis Mall

Annapolis Mall (formerly Westfield Annapolis) is a shopping mall in Parole, just east of the intersection of Interstate 97 and U.S. Route 50 and in close proximity to the mall's namesake of Annapolis, Maryland. Owned and managed by Centennial Real Estate Management, the mall features 1,416,744 sq ft (131,622.6 m$^2$) of GLA, making it the second-largest shopping mall in Maryland after Arundel Mills. As of 2022, the mall features two traditional anchors Macy's and JCPenney, as well as an 11-screen AMC Theatres and prominent specialty retailers such as Forever 21, The Container Store and Crate & Barrel.

## History

The site was at one time the location of the Annapolis terminus of the Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Electric Railway, and was known as the "Best Gate" station, which had three single-ended and four double-ended sidings, where rail cars could be shunted on or off of the single-track WB&A east–west railway which ran to the north–south Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and Pennsylvania Railroad lines. This "Best Gate" station gave the name to the nearby Bestgate Road, which today runs along the northern perimeter of the mall.
A free-standing, single-level Montgomery Ward store occupied the site during the 1970s. Following the construction and opening of a single-level mall on the site in 1980, Montgomery Ward became an anchor. Additional anchor stores included Washington, D.C.–based Garfinckel's and Hecht's, both with two levels. The mall was expanded in 1983 with the addition of a single-level JCPenney. Garfinckel's closed in 1990 after the company went bankrupt. After the mall was acquired by Westfield Group, it was expanded again in 1994 with the addition of a two-level Nordstrom store as well as an expanded food court. In 1998 a two-level Lord & Taylor store opened which was followed by the opening of an 11-screen movie theater. The Montgomery Ward store closed in 2001 and in 2002 was replaced with a Sears store. Hecht's became Macy's in September 2006.
In 2007, the mall completed a $150 million expansion. The expansion added an additional 240,000 square feet (22,000 m$^2$) of retail space featuring 60 new stores such as Pottery Barn and H&M.
The former Garfinckel's space once housed a two-level Borders Books and Music store which operated during the mid-2000s until its closure in 2011. A two-level Forever 21 store now occupies the space.
In August 2017, Lord & Taylor announced that they would close their store at Westfield Annapolis. In December of that same year, the mall's owner Westfield Group was acquired by French firm Unibail-Rodamco, becoming Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield. In January 2020, Westfield announced the former Lord & Taylor space would be reconstructed into a “retail district” featuring stores such as The Container Store.
In April 2018, Anne Arundel County Public Library opened a temporary branch called "Discoveries: the Library at the Mall", in Westfield Annapolis. It moved to a permanent location in the former American Eagle and Charlotte Russe stores in February 2020. Since July 2021, the library includes a Community Pantry where staff distribute diapers, baby supplies, hygiene items and menstrual supplies twice a month.
In May 2020, Nordstrom announced it would shutter their Annapolis location during a wave of secondary store closures. The store closed on July 15 of that same year.
The SPCA of Anne Arundel County opened an animal shelter called "Paws at the Mall" at the mall in September 2020. It was the first animal shelter of its kind to operate inside of an indoor shopping mall.
In April 2022, AMC Theatres announced the acquisition of seven Bow Tie Cinemas locations, including their location at Westfield Annapolis. The theater reopened as AMC Annapolis Mall 11 on the weekend of April 21, 2022.
On May 10, 2024, a listing by local retail broker H&R Retail confirmed that the mall's JCPenney department store would close in 2025 and be replaced by five new tenants, including Hobby Lobby, Grocery Outlet and Onelife Fitness, leaving Macy's as the last traditional department store. On May 16, 2024, it was confirmed that mall owner Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield were in negotiations to sell the mall. This came after a prior announcement in 2022 that the company was seeking to sell their American malls, later amended to only selling non-flagship properties. On August 5, 2024, it was reported that Centennial Real Estate Management acquired the property for an undisclosed sum. Following the sale, all Westfield branding was removed and the mall was renamed to Annapolis Mall.
On September 3, 2024, Centennial formally announced their acquisition of the mall as part of a consortium that also includes former WeWork and GGP CEO Sandeep Mathrani, Waterfall Asset Management and Lincoln Property Company. Through Mathrani's company Atlas Hill Real Estate, both Centennial and Mathrani will serve as owners of the property. The announcement also came with news that two new anchors would be joining the mall, both slated to open in the winter of 2025: Dick's House of Sport and Dave & Buster's.
On December 30, 2024, Sandeep Mathrani announced that the former Sears site was to be replaced by “half retail and half rental apartments.” He also announced negations to fill 200,000 sq ft (19,000 m$^2$) of vacant space throughout the mall. These negotiations include two tenants to fill about 80,000 sq ft (7,400 m$^2$) in the mall’s 2007 expansion corridor.
On February 9, 2025, Centennial CEO Paul Kurzawa announced that another new anchor for the mall was "in the works," although he declined to reveal the name of the anchor or where in the mall it would be located. Less than two weeks later, on February 22, Forever 21 announced that they would be closing their location at the mall as part of a plan to close over 200 locations.

### 2006 shooting

On Saturday, November 18, 2006, an off-duty United States Secret Service agent was at the mall when he witnessed a fight in progress in the food court. During the attempt to break up the fight, one of the combatants pulled a gun and fired at the agent, wounding him. The agent returned fire, hitting the shooter twice. A third person was wounded in the altercation. A midshipman from the U.S. Naval Academy ran toward the sound of gunshots and provided first aid for the Secret Service agent. That midshipman later received the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal. The mall was closed shortly after the incident, with all patrons asked to leave over the public address system. The associated trial ended in December 2007 and the shooter was sentenced to 65 years in prison.

## Current anchors

* JCPenney (since 1983, closing in 2025)
* Macy's (since 2006)
* Crate & Barrel (since 2009)
* Forever 21 (since 2013, closing in 2025)
* The Container Store (since 2021)
* AMC Theatres (since 2022)
* Dick's House of Sport (opening 2025)
* Dave & Buster's (opening 2025)

## Former anchors

* Montgomery Ward (1980–2001)
* Hecht's (1980–2006)
* Garfinckel's (1980–1990)
* Nordstrom (1994–2020)
* Lord & Taylor (1998–2018)
* Borders Books and Music (2001–2011)
* Sears (2002–2020)
* Bow Tie Cinemas (1998–2022)