TIAA, Simon to Lock In $615M for Orlando Mall

February 4, 2026

Retail Finance News Orlando More Southeast

The property is the largest shopping center in Central Florida.

Exterior shot of The Falls, a 734,967-square-foot retail property in Miami. — Simon Property Group owns more than 20 retail properties in Florida. One of them is The Falls, an open-air shopping mall in Miami. *Image courtesy of Yardi Matrix*

TIAA and Simon Property Group Inc. will secure a $615 million loan for The Florida Mall, a 1.7 million-square-foot super-regional mall in Orlando, Fla., according to a Fitch Ratings report. The transaction, involving only 1.1 million square feet of the property, is slated to close on Feb. 18.

Bank of America, German American Bank, Société Générale, BNP Paribas and PNC Bank are to co-originate the two-year note with three one-year extension options. Midland Loan Services—a division of PNC Bank—and Torchlight Loan Services will act as servicer and master servicer, respectively.

Proceeds will retire an existing $600 million CMBS loan issued by Barclays in 2022, according to Yardi Matrix data. That note was due to mature in 2027.

Completed in 1986, The Florida Mall is the largest shopping center in Central Florida, featuring nine buildings across a 142-acre site. The property comprises a 177,000-square-foot Sears, a 204,000-square-foot Macy’s and a 256,000-square-foot Dillard’s store. Primark, Uniqlo, JCPenney, H&M, Zara, Foot Locker and many more are also on the roster.

Located at 8001 S. Orange Blossom Trail, the mall is just east of U.S. Route 441 and close to Florida state routes 482 and 528. Downtown Orlando is less than 9 miles north, while Orlando International Airport is within 6 miles east.

Orlando retail market stabilizes

Retail demand strengthened in Orlando last year, with 4.1 million square feet of leasing activity by year-end, according to a recent Cushman & Wakefield report. Net absorption totaled 374,725 square feet in 2025 and the vacancy rate clocked in at 3.7 percent in the fourth quarter, both metrics showing improvements that mirror the national retail trends.

Meanwhile, the metro’s malls registered the highest vacancy rate among all retail property types, at 6.7 percent. However, asking rents averaged $43.06 per square foot—the largest figure in the sector—and rent growth reached 5.5 percent year-over-year, reflecting steady demand.