On April 29, 2015, Highland Mall officially closed its doors;[2] the space has since been repurposed primarily as a campus for Austin Community College.

The owners countersued, claiming that the suit is part of a scheme to help Dillard's get out of its lease early.As Austin grew and expanded in the years since Highland Mall's opening, the demographics of the surrounding neighborhoods, once considered somewhat upscale, remained stagnant; the mall is the closest major regional shopping center serving the eastern portion of the city, which has traditionally been populated primarily by working-class African American residents.

[9] During the 2009 Texas Relays, management decided to close the mall several hours earlier than normal, presumably in an attempt to control the crowds and promote safety, prompting protests from the local chapter of the NAACP and a possible boycott of the mall (all part of a larger controversy over perceived negative attitudes in Austin towards the Texas Relays and its largely younger Black fan base, which uses the Relays as a social event comparable to the controversial Freaknik events in Atlanta in the early 2000s).

[11] Despite Highland Mall's relative proximity and convenience to the University of Texas at Austin, many UT students elect to use these other shopping venues.

In 2012, Austin Community College purchased Highland Mall to redevelop the site as a regional education center.

[19] Over the long term, space not used by the college at the Highland Mall site will be available for private mixed-use development.