Worst Southern Mall?

[krazeeboi]

I'm shocked no one has mentioned The Galleria in Rock Hill, SC. This one gets my vote for the "Saddest, Most Depressing Mall in America".

Whoa, I just saw this. Now Galleria isn't a SouthPark by any means, but it's FAR from being the "saddest, most depressing mall in America." It's just small; it has the typical anchors (Belk, JCPenney, Sears) and typical stores, and is getting more. Since the mall came under new management, new life has been breathed into the mall. Making the mall two stories would do wonders. If you ask me, Galleria is simply a smaller version of Carolina Place, which is your standard, run-of-the-mill mall.

[smithc57]

Eastland Mall isn't that bad.

[Bob Wiley]

I'd have to say 100 Oaks Mall. Built in the 70s, it was Nashville's first mall.

Now there isn't one store that is worth anything.

and I don't think anybody shops there, unless they are really desperate.

[wrldcoupe4]

Cloverleaf Mall in Chesterfield County just outside of Richmond... Talk about being dead. No anchors left, about 20 non-chain stores inside... In it's hayday it had 3 anchors and over 70 stores. Compared to the newer malls is town like Short Pump Town Center and Stony Point Fashion Park, it's just downright pitiful.

Plans are to tear it down and create a 70 acre mixed use 'new urbanism' development

[DruidCity]

I take it that a Mr. McFarland runs this mall and just used a branch of his personal webpage to make the mall webpage.

The mall is the state's 5th oldest & is still owned by the family.

I went to school and church with Mr. McFarland's son.

It is still hanging on somehow (mainly because Tuscaloosa is so severely "underretailed" that no new shopping centers of decent size have opened in the last quarter century, despite a growing population and record low unemployment), but I'm guessing it will be converted entirely to a big-box format at some point. As it is, a couple of the stores are only accessible from outside.

[satalac]

I'd have to say 100 Oaks Mall. Built in the 70s, it was Nashville's first mall.

Now there isn't one store that is worth anything.

and I don't think anybody shops there, unless they are really desperate.

harding mall was on top of them for worst mall in nashville. that is untill it got torn down. now 100 oaks is competing with bellvue and hickory hollow.

[Newnan]

I second Shannon Mall. It was pretty nice when I went there as a little kid, now it's in terrible shape

[Russ-Vegas]

University Mall - Little Rock, AR

For a "dead mall" this place had lots of traffic this past weekend when I was there. The mall is across the street from Park Plaza (the king mall in LR). University Mall has 2 anchors: JCPenney and MM Cohn.

MM Cohn was once the high end department store of Little Rock and even had some locations here in Memphis. MM Cohn is now a part of the Dunlap Stores family. The store was a disgrace and looked like an indoor yard sale. Someone needs to go in and buy that chain and restore it to its former glory. You could tell it was nice at one point.

Amazingly enough - there were a lot of people shopping there.

haha i have to agree with you there...i live in Arkansas and i HATE that mall...its awful

[dimebag1980]

Until a couple years ago, Central Mall in Texarkana, TX was really bad... drab and very 70-ish. I don't know when it was originally built, but it was pretty rough.

Pierremont Mall in Uptown Shreveport is pretty bad... it's been updated somewhat and contains mostly upscale shops, boutiques, a restaurant, and Stein Mart, but it's a TINY mall. It's definitely the smallest enclosed mall I've ever seen. It's LESS than 100,000 square feet. This was Shreveport's first enclosed shopping mall, which was part of the success of Uptown while it helped lead to the demise of Downtown by dragging shoppers out into the suburbs (it's inner-city now, though.)

[VistaLakes01]

Wow....I guess we've been lucky in Orlando....our two original malls were torn down in the 90's......I'd say my least favorite is Seminole Towne Center but it is far from dead has Dillard's, McRaes, Sears, JCPenney and Macy's as anchors, the reason would be it is the least "urban" in the area and was built in the 90's but still has that 80's pink and teal decor, it needs to be updated!

[rocky top buzz]

Hickory Hollow Mall in Nashville/Antioch is on the rebound bigtime. The lost JCPenny but quickly re-filled the space, MAcy's is replacing Hechts, and it was recently renovated. AS the I-24 corridor grows HHM, will reap the benefits.

Shannon Mall in Atlanta is a joke. Which is sad because in the early 90's, Fayette county shoopers really turned that into a nice area. Maybe it will rebound. And Southlake isn't so bad in my opinion. The Mills malls (Opry Mills Nashville and Discover Mills Atlanta are 2 I've visited) seem like nice developements.

[franktown]

Hickory Hollow Mall in Nashville/Antioch is on the rebound bigtime. The lost JCPenny but quickly re-filled the space, MAcy's is replacing Hechts, and it was recently renovated. AS the I-24 corridor grows HHM, will reap the benefits.

Shannon Mall in Atlanta is a joke. Which is sad because in the early 90's, Fayette county shoopers really turned that into a nice area. Maybe it will rebound. And Southlake isn't so bad in my opinion. The Mills malls (Opry Mills Nashville and Discover Mills Atlanta are 2 I've visited) seem like nice developements.

I dunno, two people were shot at Opry Mills earlier this week, so that has to take the nice-factor down a bit.

[shanthemanatl]

I think Atlanta has more than its share of bad malls, mainly because we've got SO DAMNED MANY!

And, I don't know for sure, but I'm willing to bet that Atlanta was probably the first major Southern city to get really "malled up", which means we've got quite a few malls that were built in the 60's that have not aged gracefully and whose neighborhood's demographics have shifted dramatically since they first opened.

[dimebag1980]

I dunno, two people were shot at Opry Mills earlier this week, so that has to take the nice-factor down a bit.

People were SHOT at Opry Mills!?!? Mills properties, while overly-flashy outlet malls, are still typically nice properties. Was it a civil dispute gone bad, or is the area the mall is in just that bad?

[franktown]

People were SHOT at Opry Mills!?!? Mills properties, while overly-flashy outlet malls, are still typically nice properties. Was it a civil dispute gone bad, or is the area the mall is in just that bad?

It was a gang war type thing:

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar...NEWS03/60716002

[dimebag1980]

It was a gang war type thing:

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar...NEWS03/60716002

That's really not good.

See SouthPark Mall in Shreveport as an example of that. It's been a while since it was used as a mall, and even longer since anyone felt safe shopping there. I certainly hope this doesn't kill Opry Mills.

[rusthebuss]

Well if you are talking about bad for crime, then Military Circle in Norfolk is awful. Alot of drug dealing and other things going on there. There has been multiple shootings there. Not too long ago the cops were on a stake out and tried to bust these two guys and they shot one cop and the cops shot them.

[franktown]

That's really not good.

See SouthPark Mall in Shreveport as an example of that. It's been a while since it was used as a mall, and even longer since anyone felt safe shopping there. I certainly hope this doesn't kill Opry Mills.

I'm still mad that it took the place of Opryland, so I could care less if it burned to the ground. I still miss all the fun times at Opryland.

[dimebag1980]

I'm still mad that it took the place of Opryland, so I could care less if it burned to the ground. I still miss all the fun times at Opryland.

I didn't know there was no more Opryland.

Surely Opryland's popularity had waned? Highly-successful theme parks aren't typically done away with.

Anyway, I'm seeing all this from the outside so understand my lack of knowledge on it.

[cheeriokid61]

Well, the numbers were slightly down from previous years, and the owners thought they could make more money off a huge mall than from a theme park. So they tore the park down, sold the rides, and built a mall. And as a result, the cities tourism hasn't recovered since.

[Plasticman]

Randolph Mall - Asheboro, NC

Although, it is improving but still the worst

Hey, we have been going to the Fall Festival there every year for twelve years (we have a booth there) and don't know what you are referring to. Where is it? Is it close to the North Carolina Zoo?

[dimebag1980]

Well, the numbers were slightly down from previous years, and the owners thought they could make more money off a huge mall than from a theme park. So they tore the park down, sold the rides, and built a mall. And as a result, the cities tourism hasn't recovered since.

Wow, thanks for filling me in.

I honestly thought there was Opry Mills in addition to Opryland... if not for this thread I'd still think that.

[Noneck_08]

Hey, we have been going to the Fall Festival there every year for twelve years (we have a booth there) and don't know what you are referring to. Where is it? Is it close to the North Carolina Zoo?

It's located on US 64 near Sailsbury St. It seems to be somewhat decent tho as it is anchored by a movie theater, JC. P., Sears, Belk and Dillards. I hope to visit it next week as were going to the zoo(2 dollar Tuesdays) so I will try to take some pics. The website:http://www.shoprandolphmall.com/shop/randolph.nsf

[mallguy]

It's located on US 64 near Sailsbury St. It seems to be somewhat decent tho as it is anchored by a movie theater, JC. P., Sears, Belk and Dillards. I hope to visit it next week as were going to the zoo(2 dollar Tuesdays) so I will try to take some pics. The website:http://www.shoprandolphmall.com/shop/randolph.nsf

What is so bad about the mall? I get the feeling it's shabby and with somewhat junky tenants, based on the website directory and the picture of the Dillard's- is that it? Scary customers or something as well? How bad is the interior?

http://www.dillards.com/sec/StoreHomePageS...torenumber=0438

[Bears]

I dunno, two people were shot at Opry Mills earlier this week, so that has to take the nice-factor down a bit.

Could Opry Mills become Nashvilles version of the Mall of Memphis a.k.a (Mall of Murder). Even though its been shut down for almost 3 years, they found a couple dead bodies on the property a few days ago. Heres a website dedicated to the mall... http://www.mallofmemphis.org/

Can an outlet mall be nominated for the souths "Worst Mall?" I haven't been to many malls but I would say the worst mall in the south is Lakelands Belz Factory Outlet in suburban Memphis. It was supposed to be torn down and redeveloped into a "village" type development but as of now, the mall still stands. Theres a sports memorabilia store, an art store, a Pottery Barn outlet, Big and Tall, and a Wranglers store. No crime at this mall, but thats probably because nobody goes there