Indoor Malls in Atlanta

[SBrown]

Do any of you guys remember Cobb Center mall? It was off South Cobb Drive near Pat Mell Road in Smyrna. It died a long, slow death unfortunately. Eventually, all that was left was Rich's and even that closed about a year ago. Much of the mall was torn down, but some was converted into a Publix. The former Rich's is just a big vacant building collecting graffiti. I liked Cobb Center Mall because it was really the first major mall in metro Atlanta outside the perimeter (it came before Cumberland) and was very convenient to my home. There was even a movie theater, which has also been dead for years.

Also, there are three outdoor shopping areas called The Avenues you might have heard of. One in Peachtree City, and two on Highway 120 in Cobb county. I'm not sure if you would consider these malls, but they are definently "Lifestyle Centers."

[Martinman]

You mean a la' the original World Trade Center complex? I don't really know how to answer that. Honestly it never crossed my mind to even think about it. Gee thanks Moonshield!!! 

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Well when you think about it, many buildings are built atop parking decks these days so the only difference is the sheer size of it and the parking deck for several buildings in the retail district being built all at one time.

[cosmoboy]

I was really depressed by the way Underground Atlanta had changed in less than a year. Not enough people were down there, some of the name-brand reatail stores had gone away, and it just looked in a sorry state of condition.

[Lady Celeste]

I was really depressed by the way Underground Atlanta had changed in less than a year. Not enough people were down there, some of the name-brand reatail stores had gone away, and it just looked in a sorry state of condition.

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The Underground Atlanta complex has under gone a major tranformation. I truly feel that it has stopped trying to be a mall....which I should have....and has gone towards a more viable match. Underground is transforming to a club venue so naturally if you go during the day you may not find it packed...although I don't think you would find it desserted with it being so close to the Five Points Marta Station.

Underground is reaping the benefits of Atlanta's hardline stance on clubs in the rest of the city. It's been ages since I was in the club scene but if I recall correctly, it's been about two years since Atlanta's "last call" was changed to 2am. This was to keep riff raff down in Buckhead and the club district there. Well what do you know, Underground Atlanta had a grandfathered clause written in where it could pour until 4am. I don't know if that was the city's way of shoring up Undergorund or not but many of the clubs have since opened up bars there to capitalize on the new law.

The Underground has changed to a minature Bourbon St. You are able to walk outside the establishment with your alcohol although it must be confined within the streets of Underground. There have been a couple of nice sized events there recently. One sponsored by a local radio station. The transformation is still in the process so perhaps in a few years the Underground you see today will not be the Underground you see tomorrow.

Come again and visit Cosmoboy.....but this time you might want to go after 10pm.

[cosmoboy]

Come again and visit Cosmoboy.....but this time you might want to go after 10pm. 

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Well I heeded your advice and I went! Totally alot of fun! Thanks for changing my perspective on this....no,really I mean that!

[Florida]

Wow thats alot of shoppng space.

I'm a big fan of the Lenox Square Mall. I love that whole Buckhead area.

[GeorgiaRoadGuy]

Do any of you guys remember Cobb Center mall? It was off South Cobb Drive near Pat Mell Road in Smyrna. It died a long, slow death unfortunately. Eventually, all that was left was Rich's and even that closed about a year ago. Much of the mall was torn down, but some was converted into a Publix. The former Rich's is just a big vacant building collecting graffiti. I liked Cobb Center Mall because it was really the first major mall in metro Atlanta outside the perimeter (it came before Cumberland) and was very convenient to my home. There was even a movie theater, which has also been dead for years.

I really miss Cobb Center despite its forlorn life.  It is a sister to North Dekalb Mall, which was also anchored primarily by Rich's upon opening.  My mother took me there often as a kid, and I even remember the bakery there on the north entrance.

Some background on the mall:

The mall opened as "Cobb County Shopping Center" in 1964.  It was an open-air center originally.  I do not know if Kessler's was an original anchor, but it was one of only a few Kessler's locations outside of downtown Atlanta and the only one anchoring a mall.  I do remember dad going there and it looked like it was trapped in 1965.  It closed in the early 1990's.

Cobb Center (actually Cobb Centre on the sign) was enclosed sometime in the early 1970's (I'm guessing 1973 or 1974) to make a feeble attempt to compete with Cumberland, but it was hopeless because the mall was too far from interstates in a Post WWII neighborhood that was already beginning to decline.  It was a very dark mall with the dark wood, ferns, etc.  Cobb Center wasn't very big as it was and it was a one-sided mall meaning half the mall space was basically the wall of Rich's because it literally wrapped around the store.

In 1986-1987, Cobb Center attempted again to save itself-obviously reacting to the opening of Town Center Mall.  Cobb Center survived because there were only two Rich's in the whole county at the time, and it was more convenient for those that did not want to brave the crowds and traffic at Cumberland Mall.  Town Center is what dealt it the death knell.

The mall never did truly die, but it had many vacancies.  I was also told that a fire there resulted in part of the mall being sealed off, but I do not recall where that was (I am guessing the back entrance).  Up until the end, the mall had an Eckerd's (former Dunaway Drugs), Woolworth's, Florsheim Shoes, Friedman's Jewelry and I do know at one point that they also had a Turtle's Record Shop in one of the wings.  A Howard's Restaurant also occupied the former Davis Brother's Cafeteria on the front of the mall (where Publix is now) briefly after the 1986 renovation was completed.

What I noticed with Cobb Center was that with no attempts at expansion, they pretty much got rid of it as soon as Woolworth's went bankrupt.  Just as fast as Woolworth's closed in 1997, the mall was demolished in 1998, three Rich's entrances sealed off except the front and the Publix strip attached to each end of the store as if it was trying to prop up a tired old store.  Rich's, in turn, shifted from a full-line store to a clearance center in its final lap before it closed in early 2004.

Here are some pics of the Cobb Center Rich's from my Rich's tribute site (ignore the formatting errors): http://www.angelfire.com/ri2/richstribute/..._cobbcenter.htm

I am also going to research old MDJ articles to see if I can find any info or photos on Cobb Center Mall.  The entire structure was a masterpiece of classic 1960's architecture, and with so many early childhood memories attached to walking the corridors of Rich's and peering into the near-empty mall in fascination (I went to the Woolworth's there a few times), the death of the place has been very sad for me.

Also, there are three outdoor shopping areas called The Avenues you might have heard of. One in Peachtree City, and two on Highway 120 in Cobb county. I'm not sure if you would consider these malls, but they are definently "Lifestyle Centers."

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[GeorgiaRoadGuy]

Underground is not a mall in the sense as the ones listed. Also it has been dramatically changed to a mini Bourbon St so no it is not a mall at all.

Avondale Mall does not exist anymore.

There is no Roswell Mall.

Ahem.  Roswell Town Center is the ghost of Roswell Mall.  There are a few remaining pieces of the former structure there.  Check the backside where they have some restaurants.

Roswell Mall, like Cobb Center, mostly met the wrecking ball in 1998.  It had a SPOOKY abandoned Morrison's Cafeteria in the basement that sat vacant for over 10 years.  That was yet another childhood haunt, and haunted looking it was with the very obvious labelscar of that red sign I hated as a kid (I loathed Morrison's for some reason back when I was little). 

Roswell Mall was the EPITOME of simple, bland 70's architecture.  When it opened in 1974, it had only one anchor: Richway.  Two Richway-anchored malls also existed in Columbia with the other anchor being Kroger there.  Needless to say, they met far worse fates than Roswell Mall.  At Roswell Mall, Kmart joined on as the other anchor and shadowed out the rest of the mall.  The mall was so hidden it was easy to miss, and the place was almost completely dead except for a few mom n pop joints and the movie theater next to Morrison's.  I watched "Honey I Shrunk The Kids" there in 1989. 

Roswell Mall attempted to revive a bit, and it had strong retail anchors with Target (which bought out the Richway with its fabulous wedge-shaped skylights) and Kmart.  Upton's and Waccamaw also joined the place during the late 1980's, further hiding the mall itself.  Since its redevelopment, now Value City rests in the old Richway and the former Kmart was subdivided into several tenants  New businessed filled in where the former mall entrance and Upton's were.  A go-kart track is on the back of the mall and the redevelopment created a truly funky place that pays fitting tribute to the creepy mall that was there.

Northern Fulton County has two malls....Perimeter (which really is in DeKalb County but right on the border) and North Point Mall in Alpharetta. 

Perimeter is not in Fulton, it is in Dekalb 

The Lifestyle Centers you mentioned, to me, do not qualify as an indoor mall. There are several lifestyle centers however in the area. Counting the 3 you mentioned, there is one planned for both Henry County and Coweta County. There is the Lindbergh Center under construction in south Buckhead. There is also a lifestyle center nearing completion in East Atlanta off of Moreland. There is also a very nice one in Peachtree Corners in extreme western Gwinnett County. There is also a very nice one in southwestern Fulton County...Camp Creek Market Place. The Atlantic Station, to me, would be classified as a lifestyle center also.

So that would be 19 Indoor Malls and 10 major Lifestyle Centers. As Girly said earlier......there is alot of large retail space here in metro Atlanta. I'm not even counting Power Centers and large strip malls. It would take all day to compile that list.

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[Scraper Enthusiast]

Hmmm, maybe they tore down that little mall in Roswell. It was very small but WAS a mall...i know Im not dreaming that up. And at one time I guess Underground could of been considered a mall but that was a long time ago too. Too bad about the Avondale mall.

Yes, there was a Roswell mall, right at the corner of Holcomb Bridge Road and Alpharetta Highway. The entrance was in between the K-Mart and maybe an Old Mervyn's, not sure. I remember many of the anchors looked, more or less, like kiosks rather than inserted stores. At least the shops near the entrance did. Further in, there were some actual, "built-within-the-wall" shops. The Roswell Mall was torn down, I believe, while its spot was filled with "in-fill" (where the mall stood) between the shopping center that had already engulfed it.

[Newnan]

I wish there was a street in Atlanta where all the big stores were, like a 5th avenue or a Rodeo Dr. I just think it would be cool.

[Andrea]

My Mom and Dad met at the Peachtree Arcade, one of Altanta's earliest indoor malls, shown here in 1950. The Healey Building also had a nice indoor shopping area, and my Dad used to get his hair cut in that lovely marble barber shop well up into the late 1970s or maybe early 80s:

[teshadoh]

It's depressing to think that was torn down just 20 to 30 years ago - of course the MARTA station is important. But I think I would prefer the old Arcade.

The barber shop was still there the last time I was at the Healey building.

[Promia]

Lets not forget about the soon to be Southpoint Mall in Henry county.

[teshadoh]

^ Maybe not though, it did not receive the stamp of approval from the ARC.

But that still might not stop Henry County from approving it though...

[Promia]

I'd place my bet on it getting approved. The booming southside is in desperate need of a mall. And now a 25 story hotel/condo tower is being proposed in Henry of 75 at Eagles Landing; if I'm not mistaken, that's right next to where the proposed mall will go. Sounds to me that the develop. company knows something we don't, officially! Let's keep our fingers cross, that would be a major asset to the entire metro!!

[ironchapman]

I'd place my bet on it getting approved. The booming southside is in desperate need of a mall.

Speaking of the Southside, whatever happend to Shannon Mall?

I haven't been down there inn a long time. Is it still there? I know it's dying (or at least it was the last time I( was there).

[Newnan]

It's almost dead. However, I did see a carnival there a few weeks ago.

[Newnan_Eric]

There are a few interesting tidbits on Shannon Mall:

It is featured on the Dead Malls wedsite

There was a LCI performed in 2003 for this area.

[Lady Celeste]

I can't remember the last time I was at Shannon Mall.....for that matter I can't remember the last time I was at Southlake either. It's a shame to see Shannon is such a state. If the owner is smart, they will try to hold on to it as long as possible. I'm sure as the population increases in the 15 mile radius of the mall, there will be added interest....that's if the mall mixture is geared properly towards the demographics of the area.

Unfortunately for now, CampCreek Marketplace will only place increased pressure on Shannon Mall. It's positioned perfectly to capture not only the affluent west Cascade area but the growing South Fulton Pkwy corridor. I guess time will tell what will happen to Shannon Mall. If the developer was smart, they may want to start considering some type of mixed used development for the mall and its surrounding streets.

Promia, do you have more information on the proposed "mall" in Henry County? Last I heard I thought they were going to revise the plan and make it a lifecenter. I feel if henry does get a mall, it would be better placed in McDonough or even just north of Locust Grove. This way they could capture the growth taking place in northern Butts and Monroe counties.

[ironchapman]

I can't remember the last time I was at Shannon Mall.....for that matter I can't remember the last time I was at Southlake either. It's a shame to see Shannon is such a state. If the owner is smart, they will try to hold on to it as long as possible. I'm sure as the population increases in the 15 mile radius of the mall, there will be added interest....that's if the mall mixture is geared properly towards the demographics of the area.

The people who run Shannon Mall must be a very hardy sort.

Shannon mall will probably disappear in the end. Before Arbor Place opened, a lot of people from Douglas County would go there because it was one of the closest malls to them. However, Arbor Place took away most of the Douglas County crowd from Shannon becauuse it was much closer by. Of course, the many other malls that have been built in the surrounding areas and counties also sap away much of Shannon's consumer base.

What really put the nail in the coffin for Shannon was when many of it's major retailers left (for example, Macy's).

[Lady Celeste]

The people who run Shannon Mall must be a very hardy sort.

Shannon mall will probably disappear in the end. Before Arbor Place opened, a lot of people from Douglas County would go there because it was one of the closest malls to them. However, Arbor Place took away most of the Douglas County crowd from Shannon becauuse it was much closer by. Of course, the many other malls that have been built in the surrounding areas and counties also sap away much of Shannon's consumer base.

What really put the nail in the coffin for Shannon was when many of it's major retailers left (for example, Macy's).

That's why I feel the smart thing for the owners to do would be to reinvent the "mall" into a mixed use development. Keep some stores but add entertainment and mixed income housing around the "mall." There is obviously alot of demand for some types of retail because Walmart recently built a larger Super Walmart in the area. It's not a lost cause per se but the type of usage will change.

The odd thing about Shannon is that it has an image problem that the owners obviously aren't addressing. They were relying too much on being convenience alone. I was reading a study from the developers of CampCreek Marketplace when it was just a proposal. The average income in the immediate area around the Campcreek/I-285 area was above the metro and state average. When they polled the people in 30331 and 30349 (at the time 30213 was not growing like it is now) about where they went to shop for luxury items, the response was Lenox/Phipps/Cumberland Malls. For moderate items they would drive to the Arbor Place Mall area. Now that CampCreek Market Place is there, there os no need to drive to Douglasville for a Target but these people still drive to Buckhead/Dunwoody for upper end retail.

This clearly shows that a) the owners have not tackled the image issues of Shannon and B) they have not found the right demographics for the area. Clearly people will not shop were the image is not there. Now, CampCreek Marketplace is almost about to finish it's second phase which will include a LA fitness, hotels and office space. Somewhere down the line the owners of Shannon Mall were asleep at the wheel. They did not keep up with the changing market. Market analysis is very important. Now Shannon's last hope will be a) continued population growth in southern Fulton and B) no mall in Coweta or Henry. Right now only one of those options is a sure bet.

That's why I say instead of remaining a traditional mall and competing with larger regional malls, Shannon must become something the others are not. It may not have a national retailer but if it offers something that someone can't buy online then they may have a shot at survival. First, work on the image, second improve store mixture, third, sell location location location, and fourth, get in contact with a residential developer. Increase the population density and the sales will increase.

[Andrea]

Lady Celeste, most informative! Thank you.

I was down at CampCreek Marketplace the other day and that place was buzzing.