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Columbia Place Mall


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I don't really know how so many department stores have been able to survive in Columbia, but there have always been a lot, even when I was a kid.

Please send some extra ones to Greenville, which is now down to 6 (5 at Haywood plus one downtown), excluding the mini-Belk's in the strip malls on the outskirts.

I'll be curious to see how long Columbia Place lasts. Eastland in Charlotte has limped along for years and it is in much worse physical condition than Columbia Place.

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Eastland is also in a comparatively worse part of town than Columbia Place.

100% true.

What stores has Columbia Place added this year?

My take on Columbia Place is also that (1) the mall seemed to be a lot nicer than the commercial area around the mall, such as the mostly vacant Target/Kroger mall nearby (dead as a doornail), and so unless that whole part of Columbia is rejuvenated, the mall could fall into a state of dereliction as well, and (2) people in Columbia (and all around the South) sure love Belk's; my December '07 shopping tour in Columbia seemed to show that no matter how dead a mall is (e.g., Richland), a Belk will thrive, so since Columbia Place doesn't have one, that's not good, either.

I won't give up hope though until the Chick-fil-A and the Sears shut down.

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As stated by me in a lot of casual conversations with friends...and as i've seen on here many times....I really feel as if the Decker/Parklane area would prosper with a focus on creating an International flare there. There are a nice number of different cutural shops on the Decker side [and Percival]. So it may work....but i guess it would be a little difficult to pull off at this point but not impossible.

It's just unfortunate to see empty banks, the grocery stores leave for greenery pastures, restaurants [Red Lobster and Olive Garden] close, Target bolt for the same pastures as the grocery stores and etc. I remember not having to go far to go to Circuit City, Target, Kroger, Winn Dixie, Red Lobster, Olive Garden, and etc. I use to be able to drive not even a mile and go to my bank and then walk across the lot into the grocery store...then both closed and i have to drive nearly 8mi to go to my bank.

But i think Columbia Place will survive for a while and live on....it won't ever be the premier place to go anymore, but if it finds it's niche...then it will be fine. What i would love happen to the area is to get rid of that Capitol Plaza and maybe make it a park or even just remodel that concrete dead strip plaza to have more greenspace.

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(How in the world did Columbia retail survive so well when there were department stores downtown plus Woodhill, Richland, Dutch Square, Columbiana, Columbia, Decker, etc. malls there, and now they're dying off or already dead, except Columbiana?)
Those were different times. At one point in time Columbia had Belk, Dillard's, Tapp's, Macy's, Rich's, J.B.White, and Parisian, along with Penney's and Sears.
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The article listed on The State has a very important statement that is completely false.

Best Buy will OPEN a new location in March in the Village at Sandhill, but will not close the store near Columbia Place. The Columbia Place store has been under renovation for several months and has just been completed. It is also one of the highest volume stores of the area. Management at Best Buy will retract that statement and make a correction in the next few days.

As far as Columbia Place is concerned; there are a few changes taking place in the mall. At this point nothing too major, but enough to shake up the mix and give some fresh paint in areas. Foxmoor/Rainbow is moving downstairs near Sears in the old Sam Goody space. Sissy's furniture is moving to the old Briar Patch space and more annoucements on new stores will come soon. I love articles like this because it allows a person to take a look at an area, but it also ads a stigma to an area.

While anyone with eyes can see that the Columbia Place area is not the same as it was just 10 years ago, its also noted that there are numerous opportunities for redevelopment especially with the money pumped into Columbia Place as the areas main anchor and the investment in area schools.

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The article listed on The State has a very important statement that is completely false.

Best Buy will OPEN a new location in March in the Village at Sandhill, but will not close the store near Columbia Place. The Columbia Place store has been under renovation for several months and has just been completed. It is also one of the highest volume stores of the area. Management at Best Buy will retract that statement and make a correction in the next few days.

As far as Columbia Place is concerned; there are a few changes taking place in the mall. At this point nothing too major, but enough to shake up the mix and give some fresh paint in areas. Foxmoor/Rainbow is moving downstairs near Sears in the old Sam Goody space. Sissy's furniture is moving to the old Briar Patch space and more annoucements on new stores will come soon. I love articles like this because it allows a person to take a look at an area, but it also ads a stigma to an area.

While anyone with eyes can see that the Columbia Place area is not the same as it was just 10 years ago, its also noted that there are numerous opportunities for redevelopment especially with the money pumped into Columbia Place as the areas main anchor and the investment in area schools.

I wondered where they got that info on Best Buy....good callout

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I am sorry to say this but I do not see a future for Columbia Place. Columbiana is getting a new anchor. Steven & I agree that it is most likely going to be Macy's. It would make the most sense because I do not think Columbia is ready for a Nordstrom or anything like it soon. The reason that many people go to Columbia Place is for Macy's. They can go to Sears @ Columbiana. They probably would go an extra 10 or so miles to go to the one at the safe mall (so i have heard).

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I am sorry to say this but I do not see a future for Columbia Place. Columbiana is getting a new anchor. Steven & I agree that it is most likely going to be Macy's. It would make the most sense because I do not think Columbia is ready for a Nordstrom or anything like it soon. The reason that many people go to Columbia Place is for Macy's. They can go to Sears @ Columbiana. They probably would go an extra 10 or so miles to go to the one at the safe mall (so i have heard).

What is your source for this new anchor? The parent website does show a map with a future store on it but there is no reference to when that was drafted. That could be a master plan for the long term future.

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I am sorry to say this but I do not see a future for Columbia Place. Columbiana is getting a new anchor. Steven & I agree that it is most likely going to be Macy's. It would make the most sense because I do not think Columbia is ready for a Nordstrom or anything like it soon. The reason that many people go to Columbia Place is for Macy's. They can go to Sears @ Columbiana. They probably would go an extra 10 or so miles to go to the one at the safe mall (so i have heard).

Columbiana has had that space for a 5th anchor for 20 years; just because someone dug that up doesn't mean that Macy's is moving to Columbiana or even if they do, it doesn't mean they will close the store at Columbia Place.

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I have viewed the Site Map a couple months ago, and I did not see that. Now it is on there. If Macy's did open a store there, they would probably close the Columbia Place store. I have heard that Columibana is a lot nicer and It seems as it is. Macy's also focuses on opening in areas with multiple locations. By this I mean, if they do not open a store at Columbiana, and descide to close due to the mall it is in and the economy. Then, Columbia would not have a Macy's. I think that it would be a smart move for Macy's to move there. I am not sure that they or any store will open at Columbiana, but i think they will. I am not wanting the mall to close because if someone grows up with a mall, they do not want it to close.

Edited by ct36
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I have viewed the Site Map a couple months ago, and I did not see that. Now it is on there. If Macy's did open a store there, they would probably close the Columbia Place store. I have heard that Columibana is a lot nicer and It seems as it is. Macy's also focuses on opening in areas with multiple locations. By this I mean, if they do not open a store at Columbiana, and descide to close due to the mall it is in and the economy. Then, Columbia would not have a Macy's. I think that it would be a smart move for Macy's to move there. I am not sure that they or any store will open at Columbiana, but i think they will. I am not wanting the mall to close because if someone grows up with a mall, they do not want it to close.

Why would you assume that Macy's would open in that spot?

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Why would you assume that Macy's would open in that spot?

Where else would it open? That is what happened at the Regency Mall. A store there (I think it was J. B. White) was at Regency Mall (a lot like Columbia Place before it closed), then moved to a mall that is similar to Columbiana, Augusta Mall. That is what stores do. They close the stores at malls like Columbia Place in favor of newer, nicer malls (like Columbiana).

Edited by ct36
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Where else would it open? That is what happened at the Regency Mall. A store there (I think it was J. B. White) was at Regency Mall (a lot like Columbia Place before it closed), then moved to a mall that is similar to Columbiana, Augusta Mall. That is what stores do. They close the stores at malls like Columbia Place in favor of newer, nicer malls (like Columbiana).

My point is that you don't have any knowledge that Macy's would even close at Columbia Place and if they did, I think it would be more likely for them to move to Sandhills instead of Columbiana.

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My point is that you don't have any knowledge that Macy's would even close at Columbia Place and if they did, I think it would be more likely for them to move to Sandhills instead of Columbiana.

I would not think that they would move to Sandhills, as I have heard that it is like half dead. Columbiana is also closer to downtown than VAS. IF they did open there, I think that they would close the Columbia Place store. As I said before, stores often open new locations at better malls in favor of another store. Meaning that if a store opened at Columbiana, the other store will most likely close. If they moved to Columbiana, they would get much more business, making it a smart move to open there. I am not sure if that would even be Macy's, but I am about 99% sure it would be if it is an anchor store. It makes the most sense to close the Columbia Place store. However, they may not.

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FWIW, there are plenty of people who'd rather go to Columbia Place than Columbiana. I absolutely hate going to Harbison. Can't remember the last time I was there.

If that's true then why has the mall been going down the drain for years now? I predict Macy's will move to Columbiana within the next year or two.

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In my opinion, the department store as a concept is soon to be history. Dillard's is doing poorly, so is Macy's. Just think of the hundreds of department stores now reduced to 15 or so in various parts of the nation today. Mark my words, all will be gone (or will maybe reinvent themselves if prudent) in 10 years.

I, for one, do not find one thing that I would want in a department store that I couldn't find for MUCH less at another store, and one that's easier to get in and out of, such as Marshall's, Target, Old Navy, Pottery Barn, etc., or even Goodwill for that matter! In today's economy and with "reuse and recycle" being more and more the norm, it just makes no sense to shop at an old dinosaur like Belk, Dillard's, or Macy's. The only place hopping at these stores seems to be the phalanx of cosmetics, which women flock to as much for the experience than anything. They, too, may just decide it wiser to save the $50 bill at the Borghese counter for one case of lipstick for the slew of Cover Girl or Maybelline they could get at Target or Walgreen's!

Enclosed malls should be turned inside out into lifestyle centers, the wave of the future for the 'burbs. Do I hear re-development anyone? :shades:

Edited by digital_sandlapper
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^I disagree as to the fate of the department store. Even some of the alternatives you tout, such as Marshalls, aren't that much different than a department store. I actually prefer department stores because they are more likely to have sales than boutiques and specialty stores (yeah, I'm cheap...:)).

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I would not think that they would move to Sandhills, as I have heard that it is like half dead. Columbiana is also closer to downtown than VAS. IF they did open there, I think that they would close the Columbia Place store. As I said before, stores often open new locations at better malls in favor of another store. Meaning that if a store opened at Columbiana, the other store will most likely close. If they moved to Columbiana, they would get much more business, making it a smart move to open there. I am not sure if that would even be Macy's, but I am about 99% sure it would be if it is an anchor store. It makes the most sense to close the Columbia Place store. However, they may not.

It's easy to make statements, but how about backing them up with facts? There are plenty of department stores in Columbia with multiple locations; why not Macy's? Also, why would Macy's necessarily do more business at Columbiana than at Columbia Place and why is it more likely for them to move to Columbiana versus Village at Sandhill? One thing store owners do is look at the concentration of people that have their credit cards and with their long history at Columbia Place and the earlier store downtown, that concentration is almost certainly in-town and in northeast Columbia, not in northwest Columbia where people are more likely to have been shopping at Columbiana for the last 20 years. There isn't even any indication that Columbiana is going to expand. Like I said earlier, Columbiana has had space for a 5th anchor in their plans for 20 years.

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