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SouthPark Mall


uptownliving

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Call CDOT and ask.....sometimes road construction has damaged the ingroun sensory loops and this causes the equal times at all hours (the default setting).  They usually don't notice or chose to correct it unless someone calls and complains.

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Thanks for this head's up. I am going to do that this afternoon. :thumbsup: I live very close to this intersection and it drives me absolutely mad. :wacko:

BTW, any word on those annexation figures. I figure this will send us into the top 20 in population with ease, and qualify us for more in the way of federal funding for rail projects and such?

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I would love to see that SR. I am just curious though,  do you think they built the deck w/ future development in mind (for example could it support a 8, 10, or perhaps 15 story structure on top) ?I think it would be a serious compliment and be quite successful.  :D

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I'm not sure if they thought about it, but they should have. For something like a new structure of that magnitude, it would probably have to be strengthened some to support the additional loads. Since it's a parking garage, it wouldn't be that much trouble to demolish it (if needed) and rebuild with the new building on top.

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Thanks for this head's up. I am going to do that this afternoon.  :thumbsup: I live very close to this intersection and it drives me absolutely mad. :wacko:

BTW, any word on those annexation figures. I figure this will send us into the top  20 in population with ease, and qualify us for more in the way of federal funding for rail projects and such?

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My reply is in one of the Charlotte threads in the general Southeast forum.

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Certainly not a mall whore, but I certainly recall being excited whenever my parents took me to Southpark when I was young.  My memory of Southpark is mainly from the 70's to the mid 80's, but being a resident of Rock Hill - I would feel a bit in awe of everything there.  By high school in the late 80's, I had at least discovered other places to visit & shop in Charlotte, but those were good memories - & I don't know why, but particularly eating a hot dog at Woolworths.

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i have similar fond memories of the holly hill mall in burltington. of course it has never been and never will be anything close to even four seasons mall in greensboro, but i have great memories of my grandfather getting me ice cream at the woolworth's cafe. :w00t:

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Yeah I didn't write that one though

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Maybe you should have. It's decently written, but it needs a little help. ;)

Unfortunately, it's about to be helped right off the site by a bunch of "mall bigots" who don't realize that Carolina Circle's history is signifigant to retail history. It's a case study on what can and will go wrong in retail projects under the right factors.

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Maybe you should have.  It's decently written, but it needs a little help.  ;)

Unfortunately, it's about to be helped right off the site by a bunch of "mall bigots" who don't realize that Carolina Circle's history is signifigant to retail history.  It's a case study on what can and will go wrong in retail projects under the right factors.

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You should write the one (wikipedia entry) for Belk. It needs a new entery, whoever wrote the old entry copied it from belk's website and it got deleted for copywright infringement.. And you probably know more than I do

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You should write the one (wikipedia entry) for Belk.  It needs a new entery, whoever wrote the old entry copied it from belk's website and it got deleted for copywright infringement.. And you probably know more than I do

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If I have time to, I might give it a shot, though i'm sure you're selling yourself short on your Belk knowledge. How do I get hooked up with wikipedia?

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If I have time to, I might give it a shot, though i'm sure you're selling yourself short on your Belk knowledge.  How do I get hooked up with wikipedia?

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It's easy - just go here and write the entry and save it. A lot of it is self explanitory and you can take an easy-to-learn tutorial on how to edit pages and stuff.. pretty neat

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Searc...arch=Belk&go=Go

Click on 'Create an Article with this title'

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Alright so I haven't been to Southpark since 2001....I had a job interview at the Dillards there....What on earth has happened since then? So I gather they closed down Sears.....did they actually tear down Sears, and it's whole wing to replace it w/ a Dick's Sporting Goods? I take it they replaced the mall corridor with an outdoor portion like Southpoint in Durham? Was Sears really dead before it closed? It seems like Sears are usually one of the last mall stores to close due to sales....or was it mainly b/c it didn't fit in with Southparks image anymore?

Btw I recall the white brick facade on Dillards....and wasn't it still on Belks in 2001? Of course I had to walk around the mall just to see Tiffany's...(don't ask)

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Alright so I haven't been to Southpark since 2001....I had a job interview at the Dillards there....What on earth has happened since then?

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A new wing was constructed that connects to Belk and a new Nordstrom and a new food court was added in the Hecht's wing. The wing holds mostly high-fashion boutiques and high-end chain stores. Neiman Marcus is scheduled to open in the new wing in 2006.

Belk and Hecht's both have new interiors and exteriors and Dillard's will too by next year. All three of the stores were (or will be) expanded.

In addition three large parking garages were constructed, as well as five new sit-down restaurants.

So I gather they closed down Sears.....did they actually tear down Sears, and it's whole wing to replace it w/ a Dick's Sporting Goods? Was Sears really dead before it closed? It seems like Sears are usually one of the last mall stores to close due to sales....or was it mainly b/c it didn't fit in with Southparks image anymore?

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It really wasn't compatible with SouthPark's new image, but the official line is that sales were tanking at Sears. Sears closed in 2003 and it was torn down for a new outdoor section called West Plaza. It contains Dick's Soprting Goods and three of the five sit down restaurants, plus a Joseph-Beth Booksellers with an in-store restaurant, along with exterior entrances to the new food court.

I take it they replaced the mall corridor with an outdoor portion like Southpoint in Durham?

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The Sears wing is still there, but there are all new stores catering to the youth market on one side, and somewhat more older-demographic stores on the other side.

The West Plaza is similar to the outdoor portion of Southpoint but not exactly the same. For one thing, it's triangular, and secondly, it's not really that lively. :lol:

Btw I recall the white brick facade on Dillards....and wasn't it still on Belks in 2001?

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Yep. the white brick was on Belk in 2001, but it was covered up by the end of the year to fit into its new facade.

Of course I had to walk around the mall just to see Tiffany's...(don't ask)

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You know we gotta ask if you phrase it like that! :P

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In the paper recently, stuff we didn't already know, but a sort of catch-up-to-date about projects going on around the mall:

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/business/11875532.htm

"They've turned it into a fortress mall," said Clay Grubb, president of Grubb Properties. "There's not a chance in the next 25 years there will be a competitor to SouthPark mall."
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^ that's a great article. Doug Smith, Leigh Dyer and Crystal Dempsey are my favorite writers at the Observer.

I was riding through SouthPark today (and believe it or not did not go to the mall) checking out Morrison, Morrocroft, SouthPark and Piedmont Town Center and thought to myself, "I would have never expected this place to grow up and become as urban as it's become."

When I first visited SouthPark in 1992, most of the buildings that define today's district weren't built yet. The mall itself was beautiful, but the development around it was pretty typically suburban. Not even a year after my first visit, the place started growing like gangbusters and in a way that was more pedestrian-friendly and cohesive. With each new development, it just keeps getting better, IMO

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It was kinda sad for me to hear that they tore down the Sears. I used to work there and I always thought it was funny when people would say they spent all there money at the more expensive stores and only had enough money left to shop at Sears....

I thought that the Southpark Sears was supposed to be one of the best in NC, if not the best, when it cam to sales.

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It was kinda sad for me to hear that they tore down the Sears.  I used to work there and I always thought it was funny when people would say they spent all there money at the more expensive stores and only had enough money left to shop at Sears....

I thought that the Southpark Sears was supposed to be one of the best in NC, if not the best, when it cam to sales.

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Maybe at one time, who knows, but the demographics of the area and the retail scene drastically changed over time.

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The whole Sears end went down at once. It seemed to be doing well up until about 2000, then, for some reason, things started getting really ghetto. Sears got to the point it wasn't updating its decor and Eckerd got really junky. Once you passed Abercrombie & Ftch, that section of SouthPark was in a timewarp.

:o

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Yeah, I can't believe it either. :)

Edited by StevenRocks
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Yeah, I think Sears conceded that they were eventually going to be "forced" out of the mall and let it go downhill. I seem to remember the last summer I worked there that the mall owners were already trying to buy the property.

I no longer live in Charlotte, but did get the opportunity to visit Southpark last fall. Talk about a vast change (and improvement, in my opinion). I wish we had some of those stores where I live now.

I always thought it was weird to have a drugstore in the mall....

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Yeah, I think Sears conceded that they were eventually going to be "forced" out of the mall and let it go downhill.  I seem to remember the last summer I worked there that the mall owners were already trying to buy the property.

I no longer live in Charlotte, but did get the opportunity to visit Southpark last fall.  Talk about a vast change (and improvement, in my opinion).  I wish we had some of those stores where I live now.

I always thought it was weird to have a drugstore in the mall....

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Most older malls did have drugstores inside them, and some still do

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