Rockville Mall

Infobox shopping mall
shopping_mall_name = Rockville Mall


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location = Rockville, Maryland
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opening_date = 1972
closing_date = 1995, replaced with Rockville Town Center
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website = [http://www.rockvillemd.gov/towncenter/ City of Rockville, Rockville Town Center website]
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Rockville Mall was an indoor shopping mall in Rockville, Maryland. Opened in 1972, the mall originated as part of an urban renewal project. Much of it was demolished in 1995, and later replaced with Rockville Town Center.

History

In 1962, Rockville became the first small city in Maryland to undertake a federal urban renewal program. Forty-six acres in the town center were bought; old and new buildings were demolished, and street patterns were changed. In their place rose the residential Americana Centre, more County buildings, high-rise offices, and a large shopping mall with 1,560 spaces of underground parking. [ [http://www.peerlessrockville.org/peerless_places/peerless_places_town_center.htm Peerless Rockville website, article Rockville Town Center, March 2000] .] A decade after the project began, the 500,000 square foot, 40 shop Rockville Mall opened in 1972, on 13 acres.

Although designed originally to have two anchors, no second lease was ever signed. The sole anchor at opening was a branch of the Washington, D.C.-based Lansburgh's department store chain. Within a year, Lansburgh's closed and was replaced briefly with a branch of Lit Brothers, followed by a W. & J. Sloane furniture clearance center and Franklin Simon & Co. store. ["Rockville Mall Struggles On," by Claudia Levy, "The Washington Post", May 5, 1974, p. G1.] Those stores closed with the bankruptcy of City Stores in 1979.

In 1978, the mall was renamed the Commons at Courthouse Square and by 1981, 35 of the 55 store fronts were vacant. ["Rockville's Moribund Mall," by Claudia Levy, "The Washington Post", Jun 4, 1981, p. MD4.] That year, despite the opening of the adjacent Montgomery County Executive Office Building, tenancy eventually dwindled to a handful, the property's New York-based owner, Rockville Development Associates went bankrupt, and the mall was closed. ["Rockville's New Hope Ready for Occupancy," by John Burgess, "The Washington Post", May 22, 1981, p. B1.] Some blamed the malls failure on there being insufficient market demand for its space. Others blamed it on poor design; that it wasn't integrated with the surrounding community and it was basically a fortress-like box just plunked down in the middle of the community.

In 1983, Eisenger-Kildane of Gaithersburg, Maryland spent $50 million attempting to redevelop it as a more entertainment-oriented facility. It was reopened as Rockville Metro Center, reflecting the connection at its east end to the newly opened Rockville Metro station across Maryland Route 355. This renovation brought a large United Artists theater complex and "Breakers", a sports bar and billiards parlor. Though these businesses, at the east end of the mall closest to the Metro station, attracted some traffic, the remainder of the mall lacked attractive tenants, therefore remained largely vacant.

In 1993, the Rockville mayor and later Montgomery county executive Doug Duncan, launched a massive campaign against the mall, arguing that the large, scarcely occupied facility was a millstone holding back downtown development and limiting the city's property tax intake. His argument struck a chord with the majority in Rockville, and the west end of the mall was finally torn down in 1995 (the portion connected to the Metro station still exists as an office/health care/fitness center complex that is not recognizable as having once been part of a mall). In 1995, New York-based Essex Capital Partners purchased the mall from Marine Midland Bank. In October 1998, they open the first phase of the $300 million Rockville Center, project, which included renovated and expanded theaters and a "restaurant row." [ [http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/1998/08/31/story4.html "Rockville site: new lease on life?," by Jonah Keri, Washington Business Journal, Aug 28, 1998] .]

Rockville Town Center

Starting in 2004, redevelopment continued with the 60 acre Rockville Town Center project. The $370 million mixed use center, is a public / private venture and includes the Rockville Branch of the Montgomery County Library; Rockville Arts and Innovation Center; ground-level retail, restaurants, shops, food stores; public parking garages; and about 680 units of residential housing in a pedestrian friendly setting. [ [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4183/is_20040206/ai_n10059977 "On the Record with Larry Giammo, mayor of Rockville," by Robyn Lamb, The (Baltimore) Daily Record, Feb 6, 2004 (retrieved Sep 6, 2008)] . ] [ [http://www.rockvillemd.gov/news/2004/06-June/06-09-04.htm City of Rockville, Maryland - News Release, "Rockville Town Center Groundbreaking Set For Tuesday, June 15, (2004) at 9:30 a.m." (retrieved Sep 6, 2008)] .]

On July 17, 2007, the 12-acre Rockville Town Square (Phase I of the Rockville Town Center project) opened with 27 shops and restaurants, including a Gordon Biersch brewery, Gifford's Ice Cream and an Aveda day spa. ["Rockville Celebrates Opening Of Square," by Katherine Shaver, "The Washington Post", Jul 18, 2007, p. B01.] In September 2007, the 28,000 square feet nonprofit Metropolitan Center for the Visual Arts (VisArts), a former Rockville Mall tenant, opened its doors as a center for classes, galleries and programs. ["Arts Center Creates New Cultural Hub In Rockville," by Mariana Minaya, The Washington Post, Aug 9, 2007, p. GZ03.]

Former anchors

*Lansburgh's -- original anchor

References

External links

* [http://www.deadmalls.com/malls/rockville_mall.html Deadmalls.com website (accessed Sep 6, 2008)]
* [http://www.rockvilletownsquare.com/ Rockville Town Square (accessed Sep 6, 2008)]
* [http://www.rockvillemd.gov/towncenter/ City of Rockville, Rockville Town Center website (accessed Sep 6, 2008)]