Some Central Florida malls are thriving, others are struggling to pay the bills

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. - All across the nation, we hear about malls closing or being converted into something new.

But over in Altamonte Springs, City Manager Frank Martz says the half-century-old mall is doing just fine.

"One of the reasons why leveraged investment in Altamonte does so well that we're not planning for today," said Martz. We planned for today 30 years ago, and today we're planning for 30 years from now."

A new shuttle, CraneRides, a partnership with the Florida Department of Transportation and operated by Beep, will connect to SunRail and take people directly to the mall.

"This is where we focus a lot of our infrastructure dollars. It's where we focus a lot of our event planning dollars. So there's a natural symbiotic relationship between us and the mall because of where it's located," said Martz.

The location is one of the things people who frequent the Uptown Mall like about it, too.

"I definitely like the scenery and I like the accessibility," said Ronald Wolfe, who says he comes to the Uptown area once a week or more.

But Sanford’s Mall?

Wolfe described it as a "Desolate place kind of fighting for dear life."

Sanford’s mall is called Seminole Towne Center, but the area isn’t as built up as Altamonte’s.

"It's definitely struggling," said Sanford Mayor Art Woodruff. "Shoppers aren't going to the malls anymore."

The mall’s current owners took the place over in 2020.

Last month, Mayor Woodruff said they failed to pay their electric bill, and the mall spent 3 days without power.

Last year, the Seminole County Tax Collector put the owners on notice that they could lose the building if they didn’t pay the $800,000 they owed in property taxes.

"The image of a mall that's empty and in disrepair is not good for any of the businesses around it, and certainly not for the city," said Mayor Woodruff.

The Mayor says Code Enforcement is working with the mall’s owners; the City is trying to re-zone the area; they’re bringing in some different businesses; and they might add apartments and medical services.

And the Mayor says they’ve got something in the works that could be the "light at the end of the tunnel."

Altamonte Springs has some things up and coming, too. The City Manager says that’s easier to accomplish in Altamonte Springs than in Sanford because the area's zoning allows for almost any type of business. Pivoting and adapting to changing demands is more fluid.

"The Altamonte Mall has been in Central Florida for more than 50 years. It has adapted when business and climates change," said Martz. "But one of the things it has is the underlying zoning is in place. So when they need to pivot, we have already put in place those tools to allow them to do that."