The former Sears store location at Devonshire Mall will be demolished.
Chris Savard, general manager at the mall, confirmed Thursday that it will be torn down.
It's unknown when the demolition will take place or what will become of the space.
Speaking on AM800's The Shift with Patty Handysides, Savard says it's been an ongoing process over the years but the good news is they're now heading into an exciting time.
"We've been sitting on it for some time, we've had a couple of false starts due to COVID and some other changes in the retail landscape. But we're now ready to move forward, we will be knocking the building down, and the exciting part about that is it creates an 18 and a half acre site for development. And arguably it's potentially the best piece of commercial real estate in Windsor-Essex," he said.
Savard says the project is out for tender now, with the work expected to begin in the spring.
"It's tough to fit a new use into an existing use. When we take it down you'll remember where the mall entrance would've gone into the former Sears box, so that will become a new mall entrance. We're assembling some of the smaller retail units in that area to form one larger retail box, and in the coming months we'll announce who that tenant will be."
He says it's been a positive run for Devonshire, despite that end of the building being closed for a while.
"We announced today as well the additions of Canadian Brewhouse which will be taking over the former Buffalo Wild Wings space. Miniso will be joining us in one of the vacant units in the former food court, and Today Cafe from right here in Windsor will also be joining us in the existing food court. So, lots of positive change happening in the months ahead here," he said.
After 48 years in business, the Sears store in Windsor closed in January of 2018.
Savard says they'll have more news related to what comes next in the months ahead.
- with files from AM800's The Shift with Patty Handysides