Valley View hobbled this shopping season with anchors missing

The Valley View Mall in La Crosse isn’t quite the destination it once was for holiday shoppers.

And, maybe won’t be again, with just one of the mall’s four anchor stores to survive the holiday shopping season.

La Crosse Economic Development Planner Andrea Schnick says the city is working to find solutions for the spaces left vacant by big retailers like Macy’s, Herberger’s and Sears moving out.

“We work very closely with both the mall management and the owners in Pennsylvania,” Schnick said. “We’re constantly in contact regarding trends in retail.

“Trading contacts with people who are looking for a place to locate in the mall, coming up with new ideas to re-purpose the mall that’ll make it much better use than it is right now — meaning something in there besides vacant stores.”

Macy’s and Herberger’s have been gone well before this shopping season. Sears is scheduled to move out this month. JCPenney will be the mall’s sole anchor by the end of this year.

It is, however, far from the only troubled retail property in La Crosse, Schnick said, with other issues involving the Bridgeview Plaza and the former Kmart.

“Retail in general is a big deal with Valley View Mall being on the top of that list,” she said, adding because its assessed value is nearly $80 million.