Indian River Mall was supposed to be the place that kept Vero Beach’s retail spending in the county. For a while, that is exactly what it was.
The mall opened in 1996 on 20th Street with four department-store anchors and a full concourse of specialty shops and restaurants. A food court and 24-screen theater followed the next year. Occupancy held above 87 percent into the mid-2000s.
Burdines became Macy’s in 2005. Sears closed in October 2019, and Macy’s followed six months later. By mid-2019, 24 storefronts sat empty, and the food court had thinned to a handful of options…