Fencing is up, equipment is staged, pipes are stacked, dirt is piled up, some shrubbery and trees are down and boards cover some of the entrances to the former Regency Square Mall in Arlington.
The visible signs of impending work signal the start of parking lot demolition several months after the city issued a permit April 6 for site-clearing at a project cost of almost $3.7 million.
Fencing surrounds part of the parking lot on the east end of the mall where outparcels are being prepared for development.
Urban Partners Construction, a design-build and general contracting company, put a sign behind the fencing indicating it will be working on the project.
Blackwater Development LLC intends to redevelop the property at 9501 Arlington Expressway into The Nexus at Regency, with first-phase work to create outparcels for restaurants, a bank, a gas station and other retailers.
The fencing ends near Impact Church, which is separately owned in the center of the mall property. Impact Church remains accessible from Arlington Expressway and within the mall property.
There is no fencing at the west end and north face of the mall where the closed Sears and the Dillard’s Clearance Centers also are separately owned.
The approved demolition work includes asphalt removal, sidewalk removal, curb removal, storm drainage, sanitary sewer, water main, fire main, subgrade, base, curb, sidewalk, asphalt paving, striping and signage, the permit application says.
The demolition permit came less than two weeks after the city approved civil engineering development and sketch plans March 26, a move that allowed the developer to work on infrastructure to prepare outparcels along Atlantic Boulevard and Monument Road.
With those approvals, Blackwater can start to prepare what plans show as eight outparcels from 1.1 acres to 2.25 acres at the mall property’s southwest corner.
The mall is at northwest Arlington Expressway/Atlantic Boulevard and Monument Road in Arlington. It is between the Southside Connector and Monument Road, north of Arlington Expressway and Atlantic Boulevard.
Blackwater President Rurmell McGee declined comment about the current state of demolition.
He said March 26 the approvals mean his group can “take this next step in the transformation of the Regency Square Mall.”
Besch and Smith Civil Group Inc. of St. Augustine is the civil engineer.
Civil engineering plans initially showed seven outparcels along the front and a portion of the East Mall to be demolished.
Blackwater and EnVision Design + Engineering LLC submitted civil engineering plans to the city Sept. 24, 2025, that provided a clearer look at what might be planned at the 59-year-old mall. Thomas Duke Architect is the principal architectural firm for The Nexus at Regency.
Blackwater said upon buying the property in April 2025 that it would rename the property The Nexus at Regency and redevelop it with multifamily residential communities, financial institutions and nationally recognized retail brands.
First steps
Blackwater Development announced Sept. 18, 2025, that it was submitting an application for civil engineering permits with the initial phase focusing on the front 11 acres along Atlantic Boulevard and Monument Road.
The company said the area is designed “to set the tone for the broader 77-acre project.”
It said the permits would encompass construction of new roads and infrastructure providing access to future outparcels; the installation of water, sewer and electric systems to service the outparcels; development of a new roundabout at the main entrance; and a landscaping plan.
“With roads, utilities, and landscaping in place, we can begin unlocking the front 11 acres and creating opportunities for new tenants to join this transformational project,” McGee said in the release.
Previously filed plans had indicated up to 11 total outparcels wrapping around the southeast corner of the property.
Blackwater said that outparcels would be available for retail, banking and other uses.
Users so far have been identified in regulatory filings as:
• Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers on Lot 1 at what will be the main entrance to Nexus at Regency.
• A Circle K gas station and convenience store on Lot 5.
• Chase Bank on Lot 6.
• The existing Firestone Complete Auto Care on Lot 7 on the corner.
• There also was interest by Dutch Bros Coffee for a kiosk on the property.
Civil engineering plans also indicated:
• The closed JCPenney store would remain a freestanding building at the east end of the mall.
• The rest of the East Mall from Impact Church to the JCPenney would eventually be demolished.
• The closed West Mall from Impact Church to Dillard’s and Sears remains for now.
• A roundabout would be built at the front entrance into the property.
Plans also include improvements of parking, landscaping, pavement, driveways, sidewalks and curbing.
Demolition permits for parts of the East Mall are expected as well.
In April 2025, Blackwater paid $20,000 to the city to settle $1.92 million in code compliance fines that the seller piled up as the mall deteriorated with damaged ceilings, floors and other issues.
Blackwater has up to two years to comply with the settlement obligations or lose the money and face the resumption of fines.
One way to comply is demolition, which is what Blackwater said it intends to do.
The purchase
Lake City-based Blackwater bought the bulk of the mall, while the separately owned Impact Church, Dillard’s Clearance Center and closed Sears are not part of the redevelopment plans.
Blackwater Development bought the property April 9, 2025, for $19.1 million from New York-based limited liability companies associated with Mason Asset Management and Namdar Realty Group.
The company bought 960,162 square feet of commercial space, much of which is expected to be demolished and the acreage redeveloped.
The East Mall was developed in 1967, while the West Mall was added in 1981-82, and more space was built in the early 1990s.
The West Mall has long been closed. The last two interior East Mall tenants closed May 31, 2025.
Litigation
It’s unclear to what extent the project can be fully developed until litigation is resolved.
Impact Church of Jacksonville Inc., which owns its building on the former mall grounds, filed two complaints since late 2025 in the 4th Judicial Circuit Court against Blackwater Regency LLC, Blackwater Regency Acquisition LLC, McGee, real estate developer Ramzy Bakkar, Xera Realty Inc. and Mustard Tree LLC.
The lawsuit accuses Blackwater of diverting a deal from the Jacksonville church to acquire the property.
Eric Lawson, corporate counsel for Impact, said the church wanted to buy the mall property and began working with McGee in his capacity as a real estate broker for the purchase to earn a commission on the sale.
Impact Church alleges McGee breached the agreement by purchasing the property without the church’s knowledge.
McGee and Blackwater deny the claims.