Rivertown Crossings JCPenney Among 6 Michigan Locations Sold

Anyone who has entered a mall since the COVID-19 pandemic will have noticed one thing: how empty they feel. In-person retailers have struggled to attract customers compared to online shopping, with malls being the most evident sign of this struggle. Taking a look at Rivertown Crossing in Grandville, the store is littered with empty and closed storefronts. Recent closures of staple businesses in the mall, like TGI Friday's, have continued this trend of closures.

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Now, one of Rivertown's largest businesses, which has been there for years, is entering a strange new chapter as it has been sold to a new owner, along with five other locations around the state.

JCPenney's Nationwide Struggles

It's no secret that JCPenney has been struggling in recent years, with 2025 now having its second wave of closures. JCPenney declared bankruptcy in 2020 and has since experienced progressive closures and sales, most recently in May. Now, in a nearly $1 billion deal, JCPenney has announced the sale of 119 stores around the United States. 

Among these sales is the JCPenney in Rivertown Crossings, one of what I always referred to as the "big six" stores (Macy's, Kohl's, JCPenney, Dick's Sporting Goods, Younkers, and Sears). Also included in the sale were the locations in Novi, Troy, Sterling Heights, Traverse City, and Chesterfield Township. The new owners of these stores have not commented on what this means for JCPenney's operations, so the fates of the storefronts are currently unknown. They remain operational for now.

An investment group bought Rivertown Crossings last year with plans to revitalize it. Some of the projects Poag Development Group has already undertaken include inserting a trampoline park in the old Younker's space and overhauling Celebration! Cinema Rivertown, demolishing the old parking ramp, and possibly adding residential space to the mall.