With occupancy down and shopping habits shifting, the owners of the Fashion Outlets mall are seeking renewed tax breaks and financial relief.
The documents for this week’s Niagara County Industrial Development Agency board meeting show two separate applications for renegotiated tax assistance related to the mall. One is from Fashion Outlets II LLC and the other from its parent company, Macerich Niagara LLC.
The two requests seek more than $17 million in property tax exemptions from the agency, with other payments to the Town of Niagara and other jurisdictions set up. Its reasons for the request are in response to evolving consumer habits, declining foot traffic, rising operating costs, and the continued shift in consumer spending toward e-commerce.
The applications say that mall occupancy has steadily declined since 2019, with more than one-third of current leases set to expire this year. The property’s assessed value has also decreased by around $82 million since 2010.
“Collectively, these factors have created a challenging environment for shopping centers throughout the Northeast,” the applications read. They also note they have worked with the Town of Niagara to negotiate a new tax stabilization agreement, with the proposed host community agreements and annual tax payments intended to provide greater financial predictability and long-term stability for both parties.
Fashion Outlets and Macerich would provide a combined $350,000 host community payment and $600,000 in tax payments that would increase annually by 2%. The total revenue to its various taxing jurisdictions over the next 10 years would be $10.07 million.
Currently, the nearly 44-year-old Fashion Outlets provides a combined 778 jobs to the county with an estimated payroll of $35.01 million. Its website lists more than 100 stores, kiosks, and food vendors.
The mall is one of several local victims of a decline in Canadian visitors last year due to strained U.S.-Canada relations. It lost at least 15 of its retailers over the past few years, including Saks Off 5th and Eddie Bauer, due in part to less foot traffic from Canadians, which makes up 20% to 30% of its business.
Canadian researchers had found a year-over-year median decline of 42% of Canadian visits to U.S. metropolitan areas, a significantly higher amount than 25% from border crossing estimates.
Buffalo Business First had reported the mall was at 71% occupancy during the first nine months of 2025, with a $76.4 million balance on a loan with an Oct. 1 maturity date.
Macerich representatives could not be reached for comment.