Sears, located on the south side of the Broadway Square Mall, is pictured on Monday April 30, 2018 in Tyler, Texas. (Sarah A. Miller/Tyler Morning Telegraph)

The building holding Sears at the Broadway Square Mall will be demolished as part of a plan for major changes on the property.

The mall owner is seeking to tear down the building where Sears is located and construct a new building in its place “to accommodate a new tenant,” according to city of Tyler staff.

The new building will have less square footage than the building currently holding Sears, Michael Howell, the principal planner for the city of Tyler, said at a meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission on Tuesday.

At the meeting, the Planning and Zoning Commission approved the plans for making changes at the Broadway Square Mall. The Tyler City Council will make a final decision on whether the changes happen.

Simon Property Group, which owns the mall, submitted paperwork to the city in March seeking approval for a new site plan for the property.

The proposal is to demolish the Sears building and build about 118,000 square feet of retail space, including the Sears building’s replacement and an additional building with room for two tenants. 

The proposal also would build two new restaurants near South Broadway Avenue and change the parking layout on the land. There would be less square footage on the property devoted to parking, but there would be more devoted to landscaping. 

Howell said the parking changes would “definitely be a positive impact.” He said when the property was developed in the 1960s, the mentality was to pave over everything. The additional landscaping would allow for more drainage.

The current property has about 630,000 square feet of retail space on 45 acres of land. The building with room for two tenants that would be added represents about 71,000 square feet of new retail space on the property, according to city of Tyler staff.

A spokesman for Sears Holdings did not return voicemail messages seeking comment left Monday and Tuesday. A spokesman for Simon Property Group said Monday that more details would be released “in the coming months.”

The Broadway Square Mall was the largest retail establishment in Tyler until the Village at Cumberland Park reached 650,000 square feet of retail space in January. The Village has been working on filling another 60,000 square feet.

The Broadway Square Mall last updated its site plan in 2010, when the city approved additional space for BJ’s Brewhouse, Chipotle and AT&T. The proposed new restaurant space will be on either side of the Chipotle and AT&T building.

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