Is Boise’s Mall Turning Into a Ghost Mall? Anchor Store Will Shutter For Good

Whether you call them dead malls, ghost malls or zombie malls, America has a fascination with watching the places we shopped as teens wither away and become abandoned places.

Don’t believe us? Search YouTube or Facebook for “dead malls,” you’ll find huge collections of videos and photos put together by “dead mall enthusiasts.”

READ MORE: 9 Big Brands Most Likely Closing Idaho Locations in 2025

It’s where you’ll find pictures of what they looked like while they were bustling with hundreds of shoppers and others of what they looked like after time forgot them. Yes, even locally! The Vintage Karcher Mall group on Facebook is full of photos of what Idaho’s first indoor shopping mall was like in its prime. 

When Does a Mall Become a Dead Mall?

DeadMalls.com defines a “dead mall” as one with a high vacancy rate, low consumer traffic level or is dated or deteriorating. Malls listed on their site are ones showing an occupancy rate decline of 70% or less. Wikipedia defines a “dead mall” as one where there are no surviving anchor stores or a successor that could attract people to the mall. 

Boise Towne Square Mall Is One Step Closer to Becoming a Dead Mall

On Thursday, Kohl’s shocked shoppers with a news release announcing the closure of 27 underperforming stores and ecommerce fulfillment center when its lease expires this spring.  According to the release, the underperforming stores will close by April and employees were given an opportunity to accept severance or opportunity to apply to other stores. 

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Much to the Treasure Valley’s dismay, the location inside Boise Towne Square Mall is on that list. However, the locations on Eagle Road in Meridian and Marketplace in Nampa are not affected. 

With Kohl’s exit, the Boise Towne Square Mall will have two vacant anchor spaces, as the mall never replaced Sears after it closed in 2018. It might surprise you that the empty Sears store actually has a different owner than the rest of the mall. 

The three remaining anchor tenants are JC Penney, Dillard's and Macy’s. We counted more than 25 vacancies, mostly on the second floor, on the mall's most recent directory.

Regionally, Kohl's is also closing a location at Portland Gateway in Portland and a free standing location in Riverton, Utah.