Savannah Mall: Difference between revisions
→History: Updated history with local knowledge of the mall's history. |
Added additional history from personal, local knowledge. Tag: Disambiguation links added |
||
| Line 30: | Line 30: | ||
[[Belk]], [[J.B. White]], [[Miller & Rhoads]], and [[Jordan Marsh]] were the original anchors. Belk (the third in Savannah at the time) and J.B. White opened with the mall in August 1990. Miller & Rhoads filed for bankruptcy during the mall's construction, and subsequently went out of business before ever opening. Jordan Marsh already operated a store at Oglethorpe Mall and scraped plans for a new store when parent company [[Allied Stores]] filed for bankruptcy in 1990. [[Parisian (department store chain)|Parisian]] and [[Montgomery Ward]] backfilled Miller & Rhoads and Jordan Marsh respectively. They opened in 1991. |
[[Belk]], [[J.B. White]], [[Miller & Rhoads]], and [[Jordan Marsh]] were the original anchors. Belk (the third in Savannah at the time) and J.B. White opened with the mall in August 1990. Miller & Rhoads filed for bankruptcy during the mall's construction, and subsequently went out of business before ever opening. Jordan Marsh already operated a store at Oglethorpe Mall and scraped plans for a new store when parent company [[Allied Stores]] filed for bankruptcy in 1990. [[Parisian (department store chain)|Parisian]] and [[Montgomery Ward]] backfilled Miller & Rhoads and Jordan Marsh respectively. They opened in 1991. |
||
The area around the mall also began to develop. In 1990, construction began across the street from Savannah Mall on the very first [[Publix]] outside the state of Florida. [[Kroger]], [[Wal-Mart]], [[Food Lion]], [[Taco Bell]], [[McDonald's]], [[Blockbuster]], several banks, and many auto centers all opened within a year of the mall's opening. |
|||
Montgomery Ward pulled out of the mall in 1998. Later that year [[Dillard's]] acquired J.B. White parent company [[Mercantile Stores Company, Inc.]] and rebranded the store. Parisian and Belk both left the mall in early 2003. At this point, many stores were leaving the mall and by 2005, there were more than 20 vacancies, with some stores relocating to [[Oglethorpe Mall]], and others exiting the Savannah market altogether. |
Montgomery Ward pulled out of the mall in 1998. Later that year [[Dillard's]] acquired J.B. White parent company [[Mercantile Stores Company, Inc.]] and rebranded the store. Parisian and Belk both left the mall in early 2003. At this point, many stores were leaving the mall and by 2005, there were more than 20 vacancies, with some stores relocating to [[Oglethorpe Mall]], and others exiting the Savannah market altogether. |
||
Revision as of 04:00, 19 September 2021
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2015) |
.jpg) Entrance to Savannah Mall, September 2012 | |
 | |
| Location | Savannah, Georgia, United States |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 31°59′02″N 81°10′19″W / 31.98384°N 81.17191°W |
| Opening date | August 29, 1990 |
| Developer | Hocker and Associates, Inc. and R.F. Coffin Enterprises, Inc. |
| Owner | Kohan Retail Investment Group[1] |
| No. of stores and services | 110 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 5 (3 open, 2 vacant) |
| Total retail floor area | 962,529 sq ft (89,421.9 m2) (GLA) |
| No. of floors | 2 |
| Parking | 3,783 spaces |
| Website | savannahmall |
.jpg)
Savannah Mall is an enclosed regional shopping mall on the southside of Savannah, Georgia, that opened August 29, 1990. Anchor stores include Target, Bass Pro Shops, and Dillard's. There are 2 vacant anchor stores that were once Montgomery Ward and Burlington Coat Factory.
History
The land the mall sits on was originally subdivided in the 1940s as Forest River Farms (named for the nearby river) and was a swampy lowland of nearly 80 acres. It was proposed to be a residential subdivision in then-rural, unincorporated Chatham County. This never came to fruition.
In the 1970s, Abercorn Expressway was extended down to Interstate 95 and the mall tract was annexed into the City of Savannah. Subdivisions were sprouting up nearby and by the mid 1980s, the only remaining tract of land was the Forest River Farms subdivision. By 1988 the land had been rezoned commercial and a development plan for the Savannah Mall was approved by the Metropolitan Planning Commission. Real Estate developers David Hocker Associates and R.F. Coffin Enterprises began construction in early 1989. The architect was Birmingham, Alabama based Crawford, McWilliams, Hatcher Associates, Inc. Civil engineering and Land Surveying were provided locally by EMC Engineering. Construction began in 1988.
When Savannah Mall opened on August 29, 1990, it was expected to succeed Savannah's older Oglethorpe Mall. Savannah Mall was considered upscale and featured stores exclusive to the market like Abercrombie & Fitch, Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, United Colors of Benetton, and The Disney Store. It also contained many duplicate stores already found in Oglethorpe Mall such as GAP, The Limited, Lerner Shops, B. Dalton, Spencer's Gifts, and other common mall shops in that era.
Belk, J.B. White, Miller & Rhoads, and Jordan Marsh were the original anchors. Belk (the third in Savannah at the time) and J.B. White opened with the mall in August 1990. Miller & Rhoads filed for bankruptcy during the mall's construction, and subsequently went out of business before ever opening. Jordan Marsh already operated a store at Oglethorpe Mall and scraped plans for a new store when parent company Allied Stores filed for bankruptcy in 1990. Parisian and Montgomery Ward backfilled Miller & Rhoads and Jordan Marsh respectively. They opened in 1991.
The area around the mall also began to develop. In 1990, construction began across the street from Savannah Mall on the very first Publix outside the state of Florida. Kroger, Wal-Mart, Food Lion, Taco Bell, McDonald's, Blockbuster, several banks, and many auto centers all opened within a year of the mall's opening.
Montgomery Ward pulled out of the mall in 1998. Later that year Dillard's acquired J.B. White parent company Mercantile Stores Company, Inc. and rebranded the store. Parisian and Belk both left the mall in early 2003. At this point, many stores were leaving the mall and by 2005, there were more than 20 vacancies, with some stores relocating to Oglethorpe Mall, and others exiting the Savannah market altogether.
In August 2003, Bass Pro Shops opened in the space vacated by Parisian.[2] Target opened its first Savannah area store in the mall in October 2004. Target demolished the Belk building to construct a new 213,735-square-foot (19,856.6 m2) building. Target occupies the second level, and Burlington Coat Factory took the ground floor and remained in this location until relocating across town in 2020. Steve & Barry's opened in 2004 in the former Montgomery Ward, and closed in 2009. A.C. Moore opened as a junior anchor in 2007 and lasted until 2019.
In 2008, the mall's owners undertook multimillion-dollar renovations with improvements focused on energy conservation, lighting and additional ADA access. The mall also received a new logo and modern features like Wi-Fi internet access.
Today
From late 2019 through 2020, the mall experienced another exodus of sorts of retailers. A.C. Moore, Victoria's Secret, Nails 4 U, My Eye Dr., Shoe Dept, Texas Roadhouse, and Burlington all left during this period. The COVID-19 pandemic only made things worse as most of the vendors in the food court did not reopen including Sbarro, Subway, and Sarku Japan. As of 2021, the mall has about 19 businesses remaining. Aside from the anchors, remaining national retailers include Bath & Body Works, Champs Sports, Cato, It's Fashion, Rainbow, Glamour Nails, Hibbett Sports, and China Max. The rest are either regional or mom-and-pop operations.
References
- ^ Savannah, Business in (September 7, 2016). "Savannah Mall sold to New York developer". Savannah Morning News. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
{{cite news}}:|first1=has generic name (help) - ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on April 10, 2016. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)