PHOTOS: Hull Property Group’s teardown of Regency Mall will make room for grocer

Georgia-based Hull Property Group on Monday used an excavator to start the redevelopment of Regency Mall in Racine, with plans for a Woodman’s Food Market followed by apartment and restaurant construction.

The first phase of the project calls for demolition of 400,000 square feet of the historic mall to make way for a 243,500-square-foot Woodman’s Food Market at 5502 and 5500 Durand Ave., according to John Mulherin, the vice president of government relations at Hull. The second phase will include around 280 apartments, and phase three will have opportunities for building retail and restaurants, he added.

The project across all phases is expected to cost around $120 million. 

Mulherin said it’s not clear when all phases will be done, but the developer plans to complete Woodman’s in the third quarter of 2025. The overall project could take between five to seven years, with most of the construction completed in July 2024, he added.

New Berlin Grading is the demolition contractor for phase one of the project. Hull Property Group’s in-house general contractor, Gemini Construction, will deliver the overall project, Mulherin noted.

The project is supported by a $39.4 million tax increment district Racine officials approved in spring of 2023. Through a “pay-go” deal that requires the developer to find an anchor tenant with at least 200 jobs, the city expects to raise $54 million in around 20 years during the life of the TID and project, said Kathleen Fischer, finance director for Racine, at a previous meeting.

Racine Mayor Cory Mason said he worked four jobs in the mall during its heyday, but added it was time to bring the property into the 21st century after losing tenants over the years.

“While it seems like initially, we might be taking something away, it’s adding something new and relevant for the 21st century,” he added.

The mayor and the developer on Monday joined members of the Common Council, city community development, media and a dozen community members. Together they watched an excavator chew through the facade of a former Boston Store near the southeast entrance, officially starting the multiphase project.

“We’re in the failed mall business. We stabilize, transform and try to reimagine them,” Mulherin said. “We’ve done the first two. You wait and be patient and wait for the opportunity to present itself to you. Woodman’s is the one who came to us and saw the potential here,” he added.

Discussion around redeveloping Regency Mall started in 2017, Mulherin said. Hull Property Group, based in Augusta, Georgia, owns 35 malls in 17 states, and worked on at least 30 malls, he added.

Madison-based FoxArneson submitted plans for grocery store construction in fall of 2023. Rockford, Illinois-based Larson & Darby Group provided design services.