The Boynton Beach Mall will close early next year, and homebuilder Lennar plans to buy the property and possibly turn it into a mixed-use development, according to WPBF 25 News.
The mall opened in 1985 and has declined in recent years, with empty storefronts and vacant anchor spaces. Sears has already left. The current owner, Washington Prime Group, notified several businesses inside the mall this past week that their leases will be terminated and that they must vacate by Jan. 15, 2027.
Lennar’s early concept includes single-family attached homes, retail, commercial space, open space and civic uses. The company said planning is still in its early stages and that it expects community input later. No final development plan or construction timeline has been announced beyond the planned purchase.
Michael Raad, who has run a jewelry shop in the mall for 12 years, said he is working to relocate his business. He said he is not opposed to the redevelopment but worries about losing a long-running gathering place. A mall visitor who has shopped there for more than 30 years said the closing feels like a second loss after Sears.
For Boynton Beach residents and mall tenants, the next milestones are the January lease deadline and the public input process Lennar has said it will seek.
