Eastland Mall in Bloomington is for sale, and it could soon have a new owner.
Global real estate firm CBRE said the 53-acre property at 1615 E. Empire St. was quietly listed on its website about two months ago.
There is no price on the listing. CBRE declined to comment on any price range for the property, which has become one of the most high-profile eyesores in Bloomington-Normal. Most of the anchor stores are vacant, with one currently occupied by Spirit Halloween.
The mall is owned by CBL Properties, based in Chattanooga, Tennessee. WGLT reached out to CBL Properties and Eastland Mall management multiple times via phone and email. Neither responded to those requests.
Bloomington Mayor Dan Brady stressed the mall is privately owned but confirmed it's for sale — and that a deal might be reached by the end of September.
“I believe before the end of the month,” he said. “I have not heard back officially from CBL, and I want to say the window of that time has closed or is closing very shortly, so we should be hearing something soon.”
It’s unclear if the property is being sold as one large piece, or split up into smaller properties.
CBL Properties did sell off a one-acre portion of the mall property to the Bank of Springfield for $1.1 million in June 2026, property records show. The outlying building is currently bordered by construction fencing.
Brady said he would like to see retail space return to the mall site, or "potentially mixed-use with some type of housing or medical" use.
The listing, though, advertises the property as a redevelopment opportunity.
"The property has significant value-add potential due to limited tenant control, providing investors with a blank slate to redevelop the property with their distinct vision,” the listing read.
"With few zoning restrictions, almost no long-term leases and limited tenant control rights, the future owner will be able to quickly exercise their business plan,” it continued.
Brady said the city does not "control" or "have an input" on CBL's bid process for the property. But he has preferences about what happens.
"The last thing we want to see is someone that gets the mall property for a very reduced price and intends to do nothing but sit on it. That's referred to in the real estate world as a 'bottom feeder,'" Brady said.
It's possible that the city offers incentives to the new owner to support redevelopment of the site. The existing Empire Street Corridor tax increment financing [TIF] district, for example, has helped revitalize the shopping center just across the street from the mall. That TIF does not include the mall.
"I'd certainly look at it," Brady said. "I don't know without that how the significance of bringing redevelopment back in is going to happen."
Mostly vacant mall
CBRE reported a net operating income of $511,345 for the mall, and said buyers can control 82% of the property’s leasable land within 5 years.
Property tax records and the CBRE listing show a majority of the Eastland Mall property is vacant. A map of the mall layout show the eastern half of the building is unoccupied, except for La Patrona and David’s Pretzels in the food court.
The fact is obvious to mall-goers. On a September afternoon, the frequency of gated, empty storefronts seemed to outnumber the amount of patrons.
The CBRE listing reports a 70% vacancy rate. A property tax appeal record from 2025 reported 60% of stores were vacant.
As the property is up for bid, it’s unclear how much – or how little – it could sell for. In 2025, government assessors valued the property at $20.45 million. CBL Properties appealed, arguing the market value was closer to $12.9 million.
In 2024, CBL said the mall’s market value was $14.6 million. In 2023, they said the property was worth $15.6 million.
In each appeal, the owner points to the “Amazon Effect” as the reason why the mall is in decline, saying more people are shopping online instead of in person.
District 87 is the biggest beneficiary of Eastland Mall's property tax bill among local taxing bodies.
WGLT recently crowdfunded ideas for revitalizing Eastland Mall, gathering over 2,000 ideas from McLean County residents. Here are the Top 5 ideas that emerged — visualized by a team of ISU student illustrators.
WGLT's Charlie Schlenker contributed to this report.
