Discount retailer Burlington will move out of The Citadel mall in Colorado Springs and return to the Citadel Crossing shopping center across the street, where it operated a store several years earlier.

Burlington’s website shows it plans to open Oct. 18 at 545 N. Academy Blvd. at Citadel Crossing, which runs along the east side of Academy between Galley Road and Platte Avenue.

Its stores and restaurants include Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse, PetSmart, Office Depot, Five Below, Chick-fil-A, Chipotle Mexican Grill and Black Eyed Pea.

The retailer’s move follows a series of violent incidents over the past few years at The Citadel, the enclosed shopping mall northwest of Academy and Platte Avenue. They included the fatal shooting of an 18-year-old on Christmas Eve; an April 3, 2023, shooting at the Burlington store in which police say a teenage suspect died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after a confrontation with detectives; and a shooting in the mall’s parking lot on May 12, 2022, in which a 12-year-old bystander was paralyzed and another juvenile was injured.

What role, if any, those and other incidents played in Burlington’s decision to relocate isn’t known.

Asked why the retailer was moving and whether crime at the mall was a factor, a Burlington spokeswoman didn’t respond directly to questions from The Gazette and instead issued this statement via email:

“We are excited to continue offering Colorado Springs residents our amazing prices on a wide assortment of brand name merchandise for the entire family and home at our current location at 820 Citadel Drive East. This store is anticipated to close later this year when our new store location will open at 545 N Academy Blvd. This new location will be an improved store experience for shoppers providing an even better environment for our customers.”

Namdar Realty, the New York-based owner of The Citadel, said via a spokeswoman’s email that the company “was disappointed to learn that Burlington would be closing its doors, but welcomes the opportunity to work alongside the brand, which owns its space, in helping to coordinate a sublet or a sale to enable new leasing efforts. Ownership has experience successfully backfilling vacant anchor tenant spaces with healthcare providers, call centers, and entertainment venues, and is optimistic about the potential for Burlington’s block.”

In response to a question from The Gazette about crime at the mall, Namdar added: “Since the beginning of the year, management has made significant strides in reducing the number of crime-related incidents through its enhanced security measures, which include an increased police presence and the hiring of a third-party armed security team.”

New Jersey-based Burlington, formerly known as Burlington Coat Factory, describes itself as a leading off-price retailer that sells men’s, women’s and children’s clothing, shoes, home décor items, accessories and gifts.

Burlington operated at the Citadel Crossing from around 1990 to March 2007. It then moved to The Citadel mall, where it took over a 99,700-square-foot, two-level space formerly occupied by a Mervyn’s department store.

The retailer’s new store at Citadel Crossing will be much smaller at 24,124 square feet, said Ross Carpenter, Denver-area leasing director for national commercial real estate firm NewMark Merrill Cos. and who markets the shopping center.

Most new stores that Burlington opens these days are around 25,000 square feet, he added.

Carpenter said he’s heard from retailers at The Citadel mall about their concerns over store thefts and violence at the retail complex. Shoppers no doubt have the same worries, he said.

“You have shootings there and suddenly, if you’re a family and you have options, maybe now I’m going to go to a different mall or I’m going to kind of pick a different thing than go hang out at the (Citadel) mall given that recent event,” Carpenter said.

The Christmas Eve shooting at The Citadel prompted an anti-violence rally at the mall in late December by the Men of Influence, a nonprofit community group. In March, The Gazette and KOAA News5 brought together city leaders at a town hall discussion at The Citadel to address solutions to crime at the mall and in the community in general.

Burlington, meanwhile, has made other store moves in Colorado Springs in recent years.

In early 2020, Burlington closed its 41,000-square-foot store at the north-side Chapel Hills Mall, which is also owned by Namdar.

A Chapel Hills spokeswoman said at the time that the retailer had failed to agree with a third-party owner on new lease terms for its mall space. In May 2021, Burlington returned to the north side when it opened a 34,000-square-foot store at 7710 N. Academy in the open-air Chapel Hills shopping center.

In 2018, Burlington opened a 38,000-square-foot store in leased space at the Powers Pointe retail center, southwest of Powers Boulevard and Barnes Road on the city’s east side.