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Dillard's Closes West Ashley Store at Citadel Mall

The department store's Citadel Mall location is closing as the mall's space is converted to a medical hub.

Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Openings & Closings

Wide photograph of a weathered mid-century mall exterior with shut loading doors, a half-empty parking lot with painted stall lines, and live oaks under overcast daylight.
Dillard's posted closing notices on November 5, 2026, shuttering its 34-year-old Citadel Mall store in West Ashley as MUSC Health converts the mall into a medical hub. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Dillard's posted closing notices for its Citadel Mall store in West Ashley on November 5, 2026, directing shoppers to its website and its Northwoods Mall outlet in North Charleston. The closure comes as MUSC Health's board voted last year to buy 330,000 square feet of the mall plus nearly 2,300 parking spaces for $83.5 million.

Why it matters

The closing marks the end of Dillard's 34-year run at Citadel Mall and reflects the mall's transformation into a medical hub for Charleston residents. Several inline tenants were also given 90 days to vacate after the acquisition.

MUSC Health's board voted to buy 330,000 square feet of Citadel Mall plus nearly 2,300 parking spaces for $83.5 million, including 126,000 square feet it already rented. Dillard's has not disclosed when the West Ashley store will close.

The players

Dillard's

Dillard's is a department store chain headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas, that operated the West Ashley store at Citadel Mall for 34 years.

MUSC Health

MUSC Health is the health system of the Medical University of South Carolina, whose board voted to buy the Citadel Mall property to expand its medical presence.

The details

Dillard's posted signs directing customers to its website and its Northwoods Mall outlet in North Charleston. Dillard's, Belk, and Target own their buildings at Citadel Mall, while JC Penney and Sears vacated their big-box spaces there in 2017 and 2018.

Timeline

  1. February 1992: Dillard's acquired its Citadel and Northwoods Thalhimers locations.

  2. 2017: JC Penney moved out of its Citadel Mall big-box space.

  3. 2018: Sears moved out of its Citadel Mall big-box space.

  4. Last year (2025): MUSC Health's board voted to buy the Citadel Mall portion.

  5. November 5, 2026: Dillard's posted its Citadel Mall closing notices.

Market Landscape

Dillard's exit follows JC Penney and Sears vacating their big-box spaces at Citadel Mall in 2017 and 2018, marking a third anchor department store departure from the mall. The shift reflects a broader pattern of traditional department store anchors giving way to non-retail uses such as medical facilities.

Shoppers at the West Ashley Dillard's will need to use the company's website or the Northwoods Mall outlet in North Charleston for purchases. Dillard's has not announced a specific closing date for the Citadel Mall store.

The takeaway

Dillard's closure at Citadel Mall signals how the mall is being reshaped around medical services rather than traditional retail anchors. Readers who shop at the West Ashley store should plan for alternatives in advance of the closing.

Further reading

For more on retail changes across the region, see Openings & Closings in Charleston business coverage.

Source note: This article includes information reported by Post and Courier.

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