[maccoinnich]

Lloyd Center on the brink as businesses depart en masse: ‘This mall is going down’

Ishmail Chorduky, the owner of Stitchworks Custom Embroidery, has operated two centrally-located kiosks at the Lloyd Center mall for almost a decade. From his post next to Lloyd Center’s iconic ice skating rink, Chorduky has witnessed the Northeast Portland mall’s rapid decline firsthand.

The mall lost Nordstrom in 2015. Sears and Marshalls then moved out in 2018. Lloyd Center’s problems only intensified last year amid the coronavirus pandemic as anchor tenants and signature businesses departed en masse.

Chorduky said he was shocked when Victoria’s Secret vacated its long-held spot across from his kiosks. Macy’s then announced in December that it would leave its 298,000-square-foot space and lay off all 83 of its Lloyd Center employees, becoming the fourth anchor store to depart in the last six years. All three floors the department store occupied on the mall’s south side are now completely empty, leaving a massive void.

Chorduky said he has asked mall management multiple times whether the center might close for good. He said he has received no response. But he no longer sees a future at the mall for his business. He is planning to leave and open a store elsewhere.

“I have been at Lloyd Center for almost 10 years, but I feel like this mall is going down,” Chorduky said.

...continues at the Oregonian (subscription required).