Macerich became sole owner of Fashion District Philadelphia in early 2024, closing out a decade of shared control that began when the California REIT bought a 50% stake in the former Gallery at Market East in 2014. PREIT, the Philadelphia-based partner that had controlled the property since the 1970s, filed for bankruptcy twice in three years before surrendering its remaining share.
The site has operated as an enclosed retail center since 1977, when developers built The Gallery at Market East in partnership with the city’s redevelopment authority. A $400 million reconstruction closed the property in August 2015 and reopened it as Fashion District Philadelphia in September 2019, keeping Burlington open through the rebuild while replacing the former Century 21 space with Shoppers World in 2021.
Burlington, Primark, AMC DINE-IN and Round1 Bowling & Arcade anchor roughly 900,000 sqft of retail across Center City, with Sephora, Aerie, American Eagle and Old Navy filling the inline mix. Forever 21 closed in May 2025 as part of its national liquidation, one of several departures that left the property near 75 to 80 percent leased through 2025.
A 76ers arena proposal for half the site survived two years of community opposition and won Philadelphia City Council approval in December 2024, before the team itself walked away on January 12, 2025, choosing to rebuild in South Philadelphia with Comcast Spectacor instead. That reversal, not the opposition that preceded it, is what actually freed the site for leasing: Macerich had been unable to commit space it might have had to hand over for demolition until the team’s decision resolved the question.
With the arena question settled, Macerich brought in CBRE for leasing in August 2025 to work through the vacancies, including Forever 21’s May 2025 closure, that had built up during the uncertainty. Center City’s Jefferson Station sits directly beneath the property, giving Fashion District a captive SEPTA and Regional Rail catchment that the surrounding Market East corridor is still rebuilding around.
