Homart Development Company, a Chicago-based subsidiary of Sears, was one of the largest builders of shopping centers and malls in the United States from 1959 to 1995.
As retail development in the United States shifted away from downtowns with the growth of suburbia after World War II, some major department stores such as Sears moved into the business of developing malls in which to place new anchor tenant locations.
[1] Homart Development Company was founded in 1959 for the purpose of building regional shopping malls for Sears.
[10] General Growth Properties completed an acquisition of Homart in late 1995 in a transaction valued at $1.85 billion, then one of the biggest real estate deals in history.
[23][24] Notable shopping centers developed by Homart include: The Nanuet Mall in Rockland County New York opened in 1969- 101 stores anchored by Sears and Bambergers, (first enclosed mall in the county and about 25 miles from Manhattan).