Academy Sports + Outdoors has signed a lease for a large-format space at Fairview Town Center, taking over a portion of the former Macy’s box at the open-air retail destination in Fairview. The former Macy’s footprint totals 130,000 square feet within the property, which is described as a 921,075-square-foot lifestyle center located roughly 30 miles north of downtown Dallas. The transaction marks a significant backfill of space that had been vacated by Macy’s, advancing the ongoing repositioning of the center’s anchor lineup.
The new Academy Sports + Outdoors store is currently under remodel within the former department store premises. When complete, the retailer’s space will encompass 65,400 square feet. The store is expected to open by this summer, adding a major sporting goods and outdoor recreation offering to the center’s merchandising mix. The conversion of a portion of the former Macy’s into a new big-box retail format reflects continued demand for large, experience-oriented retail concepts at established suburban lifestyle centers.
Shop Companies played a central role in arranging the lease, with a team led by Thomas Glendenning. According to the parties involved, the firm assisted in securing Academy Sports + Outdoors as the tenant and was closely involved in repositioning the large-format vacancy. The backfill addresses one of the most visible dark spaces at Fairview Town Center and illustrates how leasing and merchandising strategies can be used to re-tenant legacy department store boxes.
Academy Sports + Outdoors, founded in 1938, is described as one of the nation’s largest sporting goods and outdoor recreation retailers. The company carries a wide assortment of apparel, footwear, and sports and outdoor equipment. It serves customers across hundreds of U.S. stores as well as through its digital channels. By expanding into the Fairview Town Center location, the retailer increases its physical store footprint within a regional trade area that can draw from communities north of downtown Dallas.
The lease at Fairview Town Center also highlights the ongoing evolution of lifestyle centers that were originally developed with traditional department store anchors. As legacy anchors vacate, operators and leasing teams have been working to introduce new credit tenants and category leaders to maintain traffic and sales volume. In this case, the introduction of a prominent sporting goods and outdoor retailer is intended to help reinforce the property’s regional draw and sustain the performance of surrounding inline and shop tenants, while bringing a high-traffic, activity-focused use into a former department store space.
