Dillard’s is closing its store at Citadel Mall in West Ashley, posting signs on Thursday that read “This store will be closing” without giving shoppers a specific closing date. The retailer has operated at the mall for 34 years, according to The Post and Courier, though a photo caption put the figure at 32 years.
The closure was first reported by The Post and Courier, whose reporters Teri Errico Griffis and John McDermott noted that Dillard’s did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday and did not provide details on timing. Store signage directed shoppers to the company’s website and to its Northwoods Mall location in North Charleston. Dillard’s, based in Little Rock, Arkansas, also filed a layoff notice earlier in the week for a South Florida location, according to the Palm Beach Post, with that store set to close after the holiday shopping season.
Dillard’s has deep roots in the Charleston market. The chain expanded into the region in February 1992 when it acquired Citadel Mall and Northwoods Mall locations from rival Thalhimers, converting and reopening the stores over a single weekend under its own name and merchandise, according to news reports from that era. Dillard’s later built a larger store at Citadel Mall and expanded its North Charleston location as well.
A Mall Already in Transition
The Dillard’s closure comes as Citadel Mall undergoes a broader transformation. J.C. Penney left its big-box space at the mall in 2017, and Sears followed in 2018, according to AP News, which reported separately on J.C. Penney’s decision to close its Citadel Mall store as one of its two Charleston-area locations. Those vacated big-box spaces have since become the center of a different kind of overhaul, led by MUSC Health.
MUSC Health’s board voted in December to buy 330,000 square feet of the shopping center along with nearly 2,300 parking spaces for $83.5 million, a figure that included 126,000 square feet the health system was already renting. A later report on the finalized deal described the purchase differently, putting it at five parcels totaling 550,000 square feet, while a separate account put the acquired space at 556,600 square feet — figures that have not been reconciled in available reporting. The sale encompassed 53.03 acres, according to the Post and Courier’s reporting on the finalized purchase.
Conflicting Accounts on Tenant Impact
Reports on the MUSC acquisition differ on how existing retailers are affected. One account said tenants leasing inline mall space were given 90 days to vacate following the acquisition, while MUSC Health stated separately that the move would not displace existing retailers. Dillard’s, Belk and Target, by contrast, own their own buildings and retain parking rights at the mall, while Dillard’s has announced plans to close its store.
The MUSC acquisition included a vacant Sears building, as well as other space. Live 5 News reported that MUSC Health described the project as a multi-phase, multi-year effort, with all decisions subject to approval by its Board of Trustees.
A Tight Retail Market Surrounds the Mall
The shakeup at Citadel Mall is unfolding against a backdrop of an unusually tight Charleston-area retail market. Market-wide vacancy stood at approximately 3.2% in the third quarter of 2025, according to a report from NAI Charleston, with West Ashley among several submarkets reporting vacancy between 0% and 2.6%. Average retail rents in the region reached $25.90 per square foot in the same period.
NAI Charleston characterized the broader market as defined by limited supply, robust demand and ongoing investment, while noting that new retail construction projects have faced lengthy timelines for entitlements and building. That scarcity of available retail space could shape what, if anything, eventually fills the Dillard’s storefront once it closes.
