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Dead Malls

Started by The Premier, January 25, 2011, 05:38:18 PM

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The Premier

Went online on the Akron Beacon Journal earlier today and I stumbled on this story that the final two chain stores in Rolling Acres Mall was closing. Sears was closing that store there by April 3. The J.C. Penney outlet store will be closing either this year or next year. :-(

I have went to that mall on several occasions; at one point it had dozens of stores. The last time I went there there was only the J.C. Penney outlet store (which I went in) and Sears and each were cut off from the closed off mall.

So the question is this: Did anyone ventured to a dead mall or went to a mall that would be closed down the road? And what were your memories?

Alex P. Dent


jdb1234

Quote from: The Premier on January 25, 2011, 05:38:18 PM
Went online on the Akron Beacon Journal earlier today and I stumbled on this story that the final two chain stores in Rolling Acres Mall was closing. Sears was closing that store there by April 3. The J.C. Penney outlet store will be closing either this year or next year. :-(

I have went to that mall on several occasions; at one point it had dozens of stores. The last time I went there there was only the J.C. Penney outlet store (which I went in) and Sears and each were cut off from the closed off mall.

So the question is this: Did anyone ventured to a dead mall or went to a mall that would be closed down the road? And what were your memories?



I have been in 2: Eastwood Mall and Century Plaza in Birmingham.

mightyace

The 100 Oaks mall died then was revived in the mid 90s and has died again.

Vanderbilt Medical took over the old mall area.

However, many of the shops with exterior access still exist as a kind of strip mall below the Vanderbilt offices.

Another dead mall was the Church Street Centre in downtown Nashville.  The main branch of the Nashville Public Library occupies that space today.

I also remember Rolling Acres Mall.  I went there some when I first moved to Akron.  But, as the Chapel Hill Mall area (which was also closest to me grew), I stopped going to Rolling Acres.
My Flickr Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mightyace

I'm out of this F***KING PLACE!

PAHighways

Greengate Mall in Greensburg, PA was a dying mall for a long time.  The last time I visited it was when Wards was still in business, and their closure basically signaled the end as J. C. Penny had moved out in 1992 and Lazarus closed in the late 90s.  I remember there being only a handful of stores remaining.

It was demolished in the middle of the last decade and replaced with a big box center called "Greengate Centre."

Revive 755

Been in a few (using the list at deadmalls.com as a basis); granted my memory has faded on many:

Missouri
* Crestwood Plaza around St. Louis - maybe had I-44 been built with MO 366 as the north outer road, this one would have more signs of life
* St. Louis Centre
* Wentzville Crossing (or whatever the now-defunct mall near the I-70/US 40- 61 interchange was - was out here long before the interstate upgrades to US 40-61 really began in St. Charles County
* Northwest Plaza - not on the list, but it doesn't sound like it is doing well either.  Haven't been to this one since before the decline really started.

Iowa
* Old Capital Mall in Iowa City - should have been catering to students more
* Westdale Mall in Cedar Rapids - wasn't exceptionally busy, but never seemed excessively dead to me

Pennsylvania
* Parkway Center Mall in Pittsburgh - just stopped here once when in the area, this mall definitely seemed to be having a lack of business

golden eagle

The old Jackson Mall has now been converted into a medical complex known as the Jackson Medical Mall. At one time, the Department of Defense was look at the mall for a huge project that would've created 7,000 jobs here during the Clinton administration, but the idea was eventually scrapped. Another dying mall is across town at Metrocenter, but there are plans to revive it as a mixed-used development. In fact, the city of Jackson recently announced that a couple of city agencies will move into the space once occupied by Belk.

english si

#6
There's a couple of eeriely empty malls in Southampton, but the worst is Eastreet - It now has just one shop (a charity shop), but it only had about 3 (and more than a few store spaces available to let) the one time I went there in the 5 years I lived in the city, at the height of the economic bubble. Outside is fairly busy, but inside it's empty. It's not helped by being an old and ugly building that isn't that pleasant to be inside, nor is it helped by later malls pulling the retail centre of the city westwards (it took me about a year of living in the city before I realised there was a big Debenhams department store on East Street) - but that doesn't explain why the street outside isn't doing badly and is fairly busy at weekends.

Hopefully it'll get turned into something useful (would have made a good site to put the Titantic Museum, but they are building it already. Perhaps build the permanent ice-rink the local paper has been complaining about the lack of for years?).

Stephane Dumas

There a website called Deadmalls.com www.deadmalls.com who listed a list of dead malls in the US as well as some in Canada.

berberry

Quote from: golden eagle on January 25, 2011, 11:21:23 PM
The old Jackson Mall has now been converted into a medical complex known as the Jackson Medical Mall. At one time, the Department of Defense was look at the mall for a huge project that would've created 7,000 jobs here during the Clinton administration, but the idea was eventually scrapped. Another dying mall is across town at Metrocenter, but there are plans to revive it as a mixed-used development. In fact, the city of Jackson recently announced that a couple of city agencies will move into the space once occupied by Belk.

Yep, Metrocenter looks really crappy these days.  Stay out of the parking lot, unless you're in a humvee or something like.  But there's potential for it beyond a few city offices:  it might actually be re-born as a shopping mall once again.  If and when the project to upgrade US 80 actually gets started, then I won't be surprised to see renewed interest in the mall from retailers, IF the city can keep the area sufficiently crime-free long enough.

A few months ago there were news reports about the 80 project that made it sound as though the contracts had been let and everything was a go.  But the last time I drove through there, a little over a month ago, I saw no sign of construction.  I'm not sure if that means funding somehow fell through or, I think more likely, the project won't commence until the I-20 Gallatin interchange rebuild is finished, owing to the detours that have no doubt increased the traffic load on the highway temporarily.

If the 80 project is still on, then I think there's no question that something big is going to happen at Metrocenter.  Whether it'll involve renovators or wrecking crews, I dunno.

US71

Phoenix Village Mall in Ft Smith is seeing new life as an expo center & professional office complex. I wonder if they'll ever remove the old Venture sign ?  :-P

Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

Andrew T.

The Mid-Cities Mall:


http://www.flickr.com/photos/andrew-turnbull/sets/72157613143693564/


This enclosed shopping center was built in 1967-68 and was successful for about twenty years.  Inline tenants began to leave as early as the 1980s and continuing until 2000, when the interior closed and maintenance was deferred.  One anchor store remained open until January 2011.  As of last Thursday, however, the entire structure is completely empty, and most of it is in very poor physical condition.
Think Metric!

OracleUsr

I fondly remember some of the malls on that list.  Greenville Mall in SC had a Camelot Music, which had sheet music books I liked to buy and play around with.  McAlister Square was okay, not much there Haywood didn't have.

In NC, I remember the ice skating rink at Carolina Circle, and the Ruby Tuesdays overlooking the rink.  And, of course, the huge arcade nearby.

Signal Hill Mall is barely breathing but still going, however.  Nice to be able to pop in there for a quick part from Radio Shack or a book from Bookland.

As for Burlington Square, it is being revitalized and reverted back to its original name, Holly Hill Mall.  Remember going there from my grandparents' house for Baskin Robbins...
Anti-center-tabbing, anti-sequential-numbering, anti-Clearview BGS FAN

Mr_Northside

I don't think Century III Mall, south of Pittsburgh on PA-51, has been doing all that well the last couple of years (Occasionally the local papers will have articles about it's vast vacancies.)
I don't have opinions anymore. All I know is that no one is better than anyone else, and everyone is the best at everything

Bryant5493

Union Station Mall, formerly Shannon Mall, in Union City (GA) is a dead mall. Big Poppa (the property owner) from "Real Housewives of Atlanta" owes Georgia Power over $200,000.00, and Georgia Power cut off the power. The only places that had their own meters were Sears and Macy*s, and Macy*s is closing.


Be welll,

Bryant
Check out my YouTube page (http://youtube.com/Bryant5493). I have numerous road videos of Metro Atlanta and other areas in the Southeast.

I just signed up on photobucket -- here's my page (http://s594.photobucket.com/albums/tt24/Bryant5493).

Scott5114

Quote from: english si on January 26, 2011, 07:41:52 AM
There's a couple of eeriely empty malls in Southampton, but the worst is Eastreet -

It's merely getting what it deserves for using the Chicago typeface in its logo. Exacerbated by horizontally stretching it. :P
uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef

The Premier

Quote from: Bryant5493 on January 26, 2011, 02:29:31 PM
Union Station Mall, formerly Shannon Mall, in Union City (GA) is a dead mall. Big Poppa (the property owner) from "Real Housewives of Atlanta" owes Georgia Power over $200,000.00, and Georgia Power cut off the power.

That's the exact same thing that happened with Rolling Acres; the previous owners owed FirstEnergy nearly $130,000 and Summit County nearly $269,000.
Alex P. Dent

golden eagle

Quote from: berberry on January 26, 2011, 09:59:01 AM
Quote from: golden eagle on January 25, 2011, 11:21:23 PM
The old Jackson Mall has now been converted into a medical complex known as the Jackson Medical Mall. At one time, the Department of Defense was look at the mall for a huge project that would've created 7,000 jobs here during the Clinton administration, but the idea was eventually scrapped. Another dying mall is across town at Metrocenter, but there are plans to revive it as a mixed-used development. In fact, the city of Jackson recently announced that a couple of city agencies will move into the space once occupied by Belk.

Yep, Metrocenter looks really crappy these days.  Stay out of the parking lot, unless you're in a humvee or something like.  But there's potential for it beyond a few city offices:  it might actually be re-born as a shopping mall once again.  If and when the project to upgrade US 80 actually gets started, then I won't be surprised to see renewed interest in the mall from retailers, IF the city can keep the area sufficiently crime-free long enough.

A few months ago there were news reports about the 80 project that made it sound as though the contracts had been let and everything was a go.  But the last time I drove through there, a little over a month ago, I saw no sign of construction.  I'm not sure if that means funding somehow fell through or, I think more likely, the project won't commence until the I-20 Gallatin interchange rebuild is finished, owing to the detours that have no doubt increased the traffic load on the highway temporarily.

If the 80 project is still on, then I think there's no question that something big is going to happen at Metrocenter.  Whether it'll involve renovators or wrecking crews, I dunno.

The mastermind on renovating Metrocenter is David Watkins, a local attorney who, along with former New Orleans Saint Deuce McAllister, was also instrumental in restoring the once-abandoned King Edward Hotel in downtown Jackson. His vision for Metrocenter is make it a mixed-use development with shops, office, living space and with an indoor water park. Watkins was actually prepared to make an offer to buy the Metrocenter when it was in danger of being foreclosed, but the owners paid up. I'm not sure where the plans are at this time beyond moving some city offices there.

njroadhorse

One mall that comes to mind for me in New Jersey is the Livingston Mall.  While not dead yet, I think it will be in the foreseeable future.  Businesses vacated it left and right, and the existing businesses are scrambling around filling up the open spaces.
NJ Roads FTW!
Quote from: agentsteel53 on September 30, 2009, 04:04:11 PM
I-99... the Glen Quagmire of interstate routes??

Brandon

Quote from: The Premier on January 25, 2011, 05:38:18 PM
So the question is this: Did anyone ventured to a dead mall or went to a mall that would be closed down the road? And what were your memories?

Been in more than a few that were obviously dying, or later would die.

Orland Park Place - A "what the hell were they thinking!?!" location for this mall.  Anchored by Ward's and Wieboldt's (there's an auspicious pair of anchors), as well as MainStreet (later Kohl's), this mall was located across the street from Orland Square, a rather successful mall in Orland Park, IL.  It's been converted to a series of big box retailers using the former mall building.  The only sole surviving store from the mall days is Kohl's.

Jefferson Square Mall (Joliet, IL) - Died from anchor starvation.  Anchored by Ward's and Wieboldt's (there's that pair again), this mall lost Wieboldt's and never recovered.  20 years of failed reviving efforts after the exit Wieboldt's, then Ward's at the end of that chain, ended in the mall's teardown for a Walmart Supercenter and Menards.

Charlestowne Mall (St Charles, IL) - Should've been successful but...  This mall was loacted on the east side of St Charles, away from the Randall Rd corridor, and too close, IMHO, to the pre-existing Stratford Square Mall (itself struggling a bit).  Anchored by Sears, JCPenney, and Carson Pirie Scott in 1991, this lost Penney's in 2000 (became Von Maur), gained a B-level Kohl's, and will lose Sears this year.  The corridors between the anchors are empty and dead quiet.  Had this mall been built on the west side of St Charles at IL-64 and Randall Rd instead of IL-64 and Kirk Rd, it would be thriving.

Randhurst - This mall in Mt Prospect, IL, was designed by Victor Gruen and was successful for years.  It was anchored by Ward's, Wieboldt's (yes, those two again), and Carson Pirie Scott.  It gained Joseph Spiess and MainStreet (later Kohl's) before Wieboldt's failed in 1986.  Bergner's took up the slack until merging with Carson's, then the anchor shuffles began.  JCPenney took over the Carson's spot while Carson's moved into the Bergner's/Wieboldt's spot.  Within ten years, it fell apart and Penney's and Ward's were gone.  Now it is being turned into a lifestyle center with Carson's at its core.

Lincoln Mall (Matteson, IL) - Location seems good, crime is not high, but the mall still started to die.  It all comes down to the anchors again.  The mall was originally anchored by Ward's, Wieboldt's (uh-oh), Carson Pirie Scott, and JCPenney.  Wieboldt's failed to be replaced with Sears (stolen from Park Forest Plaza) a full decade later, then Ward's and Penney's left five years after that, leaving the mall half-empty.  The Ward's wing is rubble, the center court exists as do the Sears and Carson's wings (with stores).  Target set up shop on the ring road, and ironically, JCPenney is back on the ring road.

Brickyard Mall (Chicago, IL) - I went there while it was still very busy.  Anchored by JCPenney and Ward's, you can see the anchor problem again.  Ward's left (chain folded), followed by Penney's (one anchor cannot support a large mall).  Now, it's a shopping center of a different sort.

Dixie Square (Harvey, IL) - Never been in it, but drove around the closed structure.  Anchored by JCPenney, Ward's, and Trunstyle, it had three problems" 1. Viewed as a high-crime are due to changing demographics. 2. Not near enough to major highways (I-294, I-57). 3. Anchor loss and failure - Ward's was never really strong and left early in 1977, Turnstyle was fairly weak as well.  Penney's held on to the end in 1979.

Lakehurst (Waukegan, IL) - Again, never went in it, but just around it.  Anchored originally by Carson Pirie Scott, JCPenney, and Wieboldt's, this mall suffered from a few different ailments.  1. Poor location - it was hard to reach from I-94, and required exiting IL-120 and US-41 to reach.  2. Poor visibility - One would never know this mall existed along I-94, less than a mile away.  3. Anchor loss and failure - first Wieboldt's, then Ward's (which filled up half of Wieboldt's).  Carson's was the last to leave.

I've noticed a trend in dead and dying malls, and do not believe the mall is an outdated concept of any sort.  We merely had too many of them in poor locations.  The reason's I've seen malls die are as follows:

1. Poor location/accessibility.  The location is hard to see from the main roads, or is so far off the main roads it is difficult to reach.  South Commons Mall in Bolingbrook, IL is a classic here.  Located between Bolingbrook and Romeville, the location seemed good, but...  No one from Romeville went that far north to shop, and Bolingbrook residents did not venture south of I-55 to shop.

2. Poor anchor choices.  Ward's was an obvious one in the long run, but malls with other strong anchors could survive the loss of Ward's (see North Riverside Park Mall, Yorktown SC).

3. Poor management.  Fairly obvious, IMHO.  A great location, solid anchor choices, even decent demographics, but nothing can save it due to crappy management.  Lincoln Mall (see above) is a great example.

4. Perception of high crime.  This is what killed Northridge Mall in Milwaukee, WI.  Good location, anchors, even the management was supposedly good but, the perception of crime drove shoppers away.

5. Mall is too big for community.  I've never seen malls too small for a community.  These can, and do expand.  Malls however, can be built too big for the area they serve.  A classic example is Northfield Square in Bradley, IL.  This mall was originally built too big for the Kankakee area, and never got to full capacity.  Today, it survives at 60-70% capacity and completely filled anchor spots.  Had it been built with 30% fewer inline stores, it would be at 90-100% capacity.  Too much space can make the mall lose some cache and exclusivity for merchants.
"If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention." - Ramsay Bolton

"Symbolic of his struggle against reality." - Reg

golden eagle

Quote from: Bryant5493 on January 26, 2011, 02:29:31 PM
Union Station Mall, formerly Shannon Mall, in Union City (GA) is a dead mall. Big Poppa (the property owner) from "Real Housewives of Atlanta" owes Georgia Power over $200,000.00, and Georgia Power cut off the power. The only places that had their own meters were Sears and Macy*s, and Macy*s is closing.


Be welll,

Bryant

Since you're in the ATL, what's the status with North Dekalb and Greenbriar Mall? I know they were on the down swing ten years ago when I was living over there.

Scott5114

I'm sort of surprised that Indian Springs Mall in Kansas City, KS never showed up on DeadMalls.com. I only remember going there twice; once when we ate in the Italian restaurant there with my grandma, and another time when we had to visit some government office that had set up shop there. (Yeah, that's when you know your mall is dead.) I remember there being some sort of Mexican rug place next to one of the anchor spots, which had been replaced by an antique store. (Most of the space was unused and blocked off by the antique store tables.)
uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef

Landshark

The two I am familiar with have both successfully transitioned into open air giant box complexes.

South Sound Center in Lacey, WA (next to I-5 on the eastern border of Olympia) was one of the first indoor shopping centers in the state.  In the late 70's a larger mall was built on Olympia's westside, but that did not hurt South Sound Center as the new Capital Mall poached its anchors from downtown Olympia.  South Sound Center was anchored by Sears, Peoples/Mervyn's, Woolworth, and Place Two, a smaller footprint Nordstrom.  The mall's decline began when Nordstrom discontinued Place Two.  The second strike was when it lost Woolworth when the company died. 

The mall recovered by improving and expanding the adjacent strip mall frontage and adding strip mall frontage to a portion of the old mall, where Radio Shack, Hallmark, a jewelery store, Red Wing Shoes, and a bunch of other mall tenants relocated to.  Then the entire mall between Mervyn's (now Kohl's) and Sears was demolished and replaced with a Target Store. 


The other mall around here that died and brought back to life in another form is Lakewood Mall in Lakewood, just outside of Tacoma.  Lakewood Mall was built on the site of a large strip mall in the late 80's.  It was anchored by JC Penny, Lamonts, Mervyn's, and Emporium.  The mall was also ringed by big box stores.

Lakewood Mall, the indoor portion at least, suffered because of its location.  It was 2 miles from I-5, so it was out of sight and out of mind for most people.  It was also 5 miles away from the giant Tacoma Mall, which was conveniently located adjacent to I-5.  Another hit was the growth of South Hill Mall in Puyallup, located adjacent to a freeway 10 miles east.  Lakewood was built out older suburbs while the new suburban growth was happening around Puyallup. 

In the early 00's, the indoor portion was demolished and Lakewood Towne Center was born.  A power center and a civic center/city hall was added with the space opened up by demolishing the mall.

Bryant5493

Quote from: golden eagle on January 27, 2011, 05:26:40 PMSince you're in the ATL, what's the status with North Dekalb and Greenbriar Mall? I know they were on the down swing ten years ago when I was living over there.

Greenbriar Mall is still open. It's a shell of its former self, of course. Circuit City closed and moved to the Camp Creek MarketPlace, and then, the Circuit City stores closed down in Georgia not long after that.

North DeKalb Mall, I've not been there in awhile, but I think that it's still open.


Be well,

Bryant
Check out my YouTube page (http://youtube.com/Bryant5493). I have numerous road videos of Metro Atlanta and other areas in the Southeast.

I just signed up on photobucket -- here's my page (http://s594.photobucket.com/albums/tt24/Bryant5493).

golden eagle

Quote from: Bryant5493 on January 26, 2011, 02:29:31 PM
Union Station Mall, formerly Shannon Mall, in Union City (GA) is a dead mall. Big Poppa (the property owner) from "Real Housewives of Atlanta" owes Georgia Power over $200,000.00, and Georgia Power cut off the power. The only places that had their own meters were Sears and Macy*s, and Macy*s is closing.


Be welll,

Bryant

And Big Poppa hasn't updated the mall's website. Edgwood Mall in McComb, MS has a much better website and they're in a much smaller location.

3467

Sandburg Mall Galesburg. It has 4 decent anchors-Sears, Pennys,Bergners and Kmart but unlike the other cases  almost no other stores. It lost those to the bew WalMart Complex. Location is good and the buildings are solid. Bad managemnt. Overpaid for teh buildling and overcharged for the retail space. Galesburg was the Canary in the coal mine for the Great recession. I recall Obama mentioned that in the last STOU.
For instance McDonalds liked it business volume but could not make money because of rent



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