Westfield Citrus Park

Citrus Park Town Center is a regional shopping center in the Citrus Park area of Tampa, Florida. The property opened on March 3, 1999, under the Citrus Park Town Center name and developed as a multi-anchor retail and entertainment destination serving the Tampa area. Its tenant mix has included department stores, specialty retailers, restaurants, and cinemas, with the center organized around a conventional enclosed-mall format. Westfield Group acquired the shopping center in May 2002. Following the acquisition, the property was renamed Westfield Shoppingtown Citrus Park and later shortened to Westfield Citrus Park in June 2005. The Westfield identity positioned the center within an international portfolio of large-scale shopping destinations, while the mall continued to operate as a local and regional retail venue rather than as a standalone consumer-products brand. The center's anchor history reflects broader changes in American department-store and entertainment retailing. Sears operated one of the major anchor spaces until its closure on September 2, 2018, following the announcement of a nationwide Sears store-reduction program. The former Sears premises were subsequently repurposed for Elev8 Fun, a family entertainment complex that opened in May 2023. This conversion expanded the property's emphasis beyond traditional shopping by adding an entertainment-oriented use to a large former department-store box. Cinema operations also changed. Regal Cinemas closed its theater at the center in June 2023. NCG Cinemas later assumed the movie-theater space in March 2024, although the replacement operator uses only one of the two floors previously associated with the theater. Other reported anchor tenants include Dillard's, JCPenney, Macy's, NCG Cinemas, Dick's Sporting Goods, and Elev8 Fun. In December 2020, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield surrendered the mall to its lenders. The property consequently reverted to its earlier Citrus Park Town Center name rather than continuing under the Westfield branding. Because the available reference material does not identify the current legal owner or a current corporate parent, those fields are left unspecified. The property nevertheless remains an active shopping and entertainment center, with its present identity reflecting the post-Westfield operating period.

Citrus Park Town Center opened on March 3, 1999, in the Citrus Park area of Tampa, Florida. It was established as a regional shopping mall with a collection of department-store anchors and smaller retail tenants intended to serve the surrounding Tampa market. Its business model combined leased retail space with customer-oriented services and entertainment uses, making the property a destination rather than a single-store retail operation. A significant ownership and branding transition occurred in May 2002, when Westfield Group acquired the shopping center. The acquisition brought the property into the Westfield portfolio and led to the name Westfield Shoppingtown Citrus Park. In June 2005, the name was simplified to Westfield Citrus Park. During this period, the Westfield name functioned as the property's principal consumer-facing identity, although the center retained its role as a locally focused regional mall. The tenant and anchor composition changed over time. Sears was formerly one of the center's major anchors, but its parent company's national retrenchment resulted in the announcement of the Citrus Park closure on May 31, 2018. The Sears store closed on September 2 of that year, leaving a substantial vacant anchor space. In May 2023, that space was reused by Elev8 Fun, a family entertainment complex. The conversion represented a shift in the use of large mall premises from conventional department-store retail toward experiential entertainment. The property's ownership position changed again in December 2020, when Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield surrendered the mall to its lenders. Following that event, the center reverted to its earlier Citrus Park Town Center name. The available reference material does not establish the current legal owner or identify a replacement parent company, so ownership information should be treated as unresolved rather than attributed definitively to Westfield or Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield. Cinema operations provide another example of the center's ongoing tenant turnover. Regal Cinemas closed its theater in June 2023. NCG Cinemas took over the theater premises in March 2024, although only one of the two floors is used under the new operation. The center's reported anchors now include Dillard's, JCPenney, Macy's, NCG Cinemas, Dick's Sporting Goods, and Elev8 Fun. Together, these tenants indicate a mixed retail-and-entertainment proposition that combines department stores, sporting goods, cinema, and family leisure. The property is therefore best understood as an active Tampa-area shopping and entertainment center whose naming and ownership history mirrors wider changes in the U.S. retail-property sector. Its major transitions include the 2002 Westfield acquisition, the 2005 branding change, the 2018 Sears closure, the 2020 surrender to lenders and return to the Citrus Park Town Center name, the 2023 arrival of Elev8 Fun, and the 2024 replacement of Regal by NCG Cinemas.

• 2024

  NCG Cinemas replaces Regal

  [1]Citrus Park Town Centeren.wikipedia.org

  NCG Cinemas takes over the former theater space in March and operates on one of the two floors.

• 2023

  Elev8 Fun opens

  [1]Citrus Park Town Centeren.wikipedia.org

  A family entertainment complex opens in the former Sears space in May.

• 2023

  Regal Cinemas shuts down

  [1]Citrus Park Town Centeren.wikipedia.org

  Regal Cinemas closes its theater operation at the center in June.

• 2020

  Property reverts to Citrus Park Town Center

  [1]Citrus Park Town Centeren.wikipedia.org

  Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield surrenders the mall to lenders, after which the property returns to its earlier name.

• 2018

  Sears closes

  [1]Citrus Park Town Centeren.wikipedia.org

  The Sears anchor closes on September 2 after being included in a nationwide store-closure program.

• 2005

  Name becomes Westfield Citrus Park

  [1]Citrus Park Town Centeren.wikipedia.org

  The longer Westfield Shoppingtown Citrus Park name is shortened to Westfield Citrus Park in June.

• 2002

  Westfield Group acquires the center

  [1]Citrus Park Town Centeren.wikipedia.org

  Westfield Group acquires the property in May and begins operating it under the Westfield portfolio.

• 1999

  Citrus Park Town Center opens

  [1]Citrus Park Town Centeren.wikipedia.org

  The shopping center opens in the Citrus Park area of Tampa, Florida, on March 3.

Regional shopping and entertainment center serving the Tampa, Florida market.

• Retail property · 1999

  Regional shopping center

  The core offering is an enclosed regional shopping center in Tampa's Citrus Park area. It provides leased premises for department stores, specialty retailers, sporting-goods merchants, restaurants, services, and entertainment operators. The center's value proposition is based on aggregating multiple shopping and leisure uses in one destination.

• Retail · 1999

  Department-store and specialty retail tenancy

  The center has historically supported major department-store anchors and a broad range of specialty retail. Reported current or recent anchors include Dillard's, JCPenney, Macy's, and Dick's Sporting Goods. The tenant roster has changed over time, including the departure of Sears in 2018.

• Family entertainment · 2023

  Elev8 Fun

  Elev8 Fun is a family entertainment complex occupying the former Sears anchor space. Its arrival in May 2023 repurposed a large department-store box for an experiential use, broadening the center's mix beyond conventional retail.

• Cinema entertainment · 2024

  NCG Cinemas

  NCG Cinemas operates in the theater premises previously used by Regal Cinemas. It began operations in March 2024 and uses one of the two floors in the former theater space.

• 2024

  NCG Cinemas takes over the theater spaceProduct launch

  Background

  Regal Cinemas closed its operation at the property in June 2023.

  Action taken

  NCG Cinemas began operating in the former Regal theater premises in March 2024.

  Aftermath

  The replacement operator uses one of the former theater's two floors.

  Source

• 2023

  Conversion of the Sears anchor to Elev8 FunProduct launch

  Background

  The former Sears space had been vacant since the store closed in 2018.

  Action taken

  Elev8 Fun opened a family entertainment complex in the former anchor premises in May 2023.

  Aftermath

  The reuse added an experiential entertainment component to the center's retail and leisure mix.

  Source

• 2020

  Surrender of the mall to lendersStrategy

  Background

  Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield surrendered the property to its lenders in December 2020.

  Action taken

  The mall was transferred through a lender surrender rather than continuing under the same Westfield operating identity.

  Aftermath

  The property reverted to the Citrus Park Town Center name. The current legal ownership is not identified in the available material.

  Source

• 2002

  Westfield acquisition and rebrandingM&A

  Background

  Westfield Group acquired Citrus Park Town Center in May 2002.

  Action taken

  The property was incorporated into the Westfield portfolio and renamed Westfield Shoppingtown Citrus Park.

  Aftermath

  The name was later shortened to Westfield Citrus Park in June 2005.

  Source

1. 1Citrus Park Town Centeren.wikipedia.org
2. 2Westfield Citrus Park official websitewestfield.com