Local investors buy East Memphis Macy’s, will decide what to do with Oak Court Mall

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A group of local investors who bought Oak Court Mall says Macy’s will stay open; now they will decide what to do with the property after they purchased the anchor store.

More than 40 local investors, including Poag Development Group , closed a $7 million deal Thursday with the Macy’s on Poplar Avenue.

Josh Poag, President of Poag Development Group, said they agreed to buy the 400,000-square-foot store and lease it back to Macy’s.

“Macy’s said they were going to sell 150 stores, and part of that is that the value of the real estate around the country is very valuable, so they are looking for ways to create liquidity to that real estate,” Poag said. “The agreement is, we bought their store but we leased back to them, so they’re staying open.”

Poag and the other investors purchased Oak Court Mall for $14.25 million in December of 2023. In June, Macy’s announced it was for sale.

Macy’s opened its doors in East Memphis in 1963, 25 years before Oak Court Mall was built. Poag said Macy’s approached investors about buying the local store.

“Obviously, Macy’s controls their box, but this gives us more flexibility in developing a parking lot. To go to Macy’s and say, are you interested in shrinking your footprint? Because 400,000 square feet is a huge department store,” Poag said. “It allows us to dream big on a bigger piece of property.”

Poag said now that the sale is complete, they will begin a listening tour to find out what neighbors and the Memphis community want them to do with the mall.

“What is it you want to see? Do you want to keep it as a mall? If so, what does it look like? Do you want to redevelop it? Do you want to intensify it?” Poag said.

Poag said while malls in some smaller communities are struggling to stay open, Oak Court and Wolfchase are still viable.

He said Oak Court Mall is a Memphis asset, and they are looking for a plan that will benefit the city 10 or 20 years down the road.

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