Old Macy’s building at Landmark Mall could house the homeless

Macy’s at Landmark Mall in 2013.

The vacant Macy’s building at Landmark Mall could be used as a temporary homeless shelter for two years until construction begins on a mixed-use redevelopment project.

The Carpenter’s Shelter, in the northern section of Old Town, Alexandra, has been looking for a temporary place for its clients while it undergoes an expansion project.

The shelter is negotiating a lease with the Howard Hughes Corp., which is eventually planning to replace Landmark Mall with apartments, restaurants, retail, and a movie theater.

The 60-bed Carpenter Shelter’s serves single men, single women, and families plus 30 additional people during the winter, says Rebecca Hightower, development and communications associate. Relocating temporarily to the former department store, which already has bathrooms, would be much more cost-effective than a warehouse, which the shelter had been considering.

The City of Alexandria approved a redevelopment plan for Landmark Mall in 2013, calling for an open-air town center to be built between Macy’s and Sears. But then Howard Hughes acquired the Macy’s building in 2016, so the plan is being revised. Now there’s a possibility the company will acquire the Sears property, too. Sears is the only store still open at Landmark.

According to the Washington Business Journal, Howard Hughes could start working on the redevelopment plan for the entire 51-acre Landmark Mall site in the first half of 2018, and the Carpenter’s Shelter would have to vacate the property by January 2020.