'The mall is in limbo': Alexa Gagosz breaks down the future of Providence Place

Alexa Gagosz, who covers business for the newspaper, has spent years reporting on the mall. She described it as currently being in a state of limbo. “It’s this place that used to be a luxurious place to shop with the Nordstrom’s — with classic mall stores like The Gap, J. Crew and a lot of those have been replaced and gone,” Gagosz said. “When we say the mall is in limbo, it’s like, what is the future of this major development?” The mall has been under court-ordered receivership, a state-level version of bankruptcy, since the former operator defaulted on millions of dollars of debt in 2024. Gagosz and her colleague Steph Machado detailed the current state of the mall’s vendors, including a mounting number of empty storefronts alongside businesses that continue to bustle. The duo also looked at what it would take to reinvent the struggling shopping complex, which is poised to lose a longstanding tax break with the city in 2028. “If it failed, it would completely transform downtown Providence in such a negative way,” Gagosz said. “luckily though, it is literally at the front door of the state House, lawmakers have to drive by it in order to go park and get into the State House and deliberate over whatever they’re going to deliberate that day,” she added. “I think the same with City Hall, and I don’t think that there is an appetite for anybody to allow this mall to fail. It just can’t.” Later in the show, Dan and Eli talked about the “stories we wish we wrote,” including: Dan’s pick Families now being affected by SNAP benefit changes by Mara Hagen-Spath, The Valley Breeze Jamestown boy captures world record with a spoon and his nose by Joe Tasca, Ocean State Media Eli’s pick How two troubled RI lives came to an end in room 207 of a CT Super 8 by Jack Perry, The Providence Journal GoFundMe raising money for ‘John’ the Brown University tipster by Melanie DaSilva and Shiina LoScuiuto, 12 News Watch “Behind the Story” Thursdays at 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. on the WPRI 12+ TV app.   How to download the free WPRI 12+ smart TV app It airs on TV (Sundays at 8 a.m. on FOX Providence and 11 a.m. on The CW Providence), and will be available on demand through the WPRI 12+ app and right here on WPRI.com. “Behind the Story” is hosted by Eli Sherman and Kim Kalunian of 12 News, along with Dan McGowan of the Boston Globe.