A new Home Depot opens soon at the site of Charlottesville’s shuttered Fashion Square Mall. The store is expected to open by July 24, 2025. Albemarle County approved an agreement with Home Depot in 2024 to support redevelopment of the former Sears and Sears Auto Center buildings.
The $26 million project includes demolishing the existing structures and constructing a new 134,000-square-foot store with a garden center. It’s expected to generate hundreds of thousands in annual tax revenue and bring approximately 100 new jobs to the area.
Location History
Fashion Square Mall opened in March 1980, developed by the Leonard L. Farber Company. It originally featured anchors such as Miller & Rhoads, JCPenney, Leggett, and Sears. Historic aerials show the site was undeveloped farmland until between 1968 and 1984, aligning with the mall’s documented opening date.
The Sears store operated for decades but eventually closed in the wake of national department store bankruptcies. The full mall officially closed in January 2025, after leases for all remaining tenants were terminated. A June 2018 Street View still shows the Sears building intact but with a largely empty parking lot.
Redevelopment efforts now include Home Depot and a planned Hobby Lobby in the former Belk Outlet space. The transformation comes as the mall’s property value dropped from $70 million in 2014 to below $20 million.
Company Background
Home Depot, based in Atlanta, is the world’s largest home improvement retailer, with over 2,300 locations across North America. The Charlottesville store will be the company’s first directly in the city and reflects a broader trend of transforming underperforming mall sites into large-format retail anchors.
Albemarle County is supporting the project through a tax increment financing agreement known as Project Julius, which will provide up to $750,000 in future property tax rebates. As part of the deal, Home Depot has also agreed to market adjacent vacant parcels and dedicate land for the future realignment of Hillsdale Drive.
The store will be a central piece in the county’s Rio Road/29 Small Area Plan, which aims to create a walkable, higher-density corridor that blends retail, transit, and housing.
Last Updated on May 18, 2025 by F.E.M