Savannah Mall

infobox shopping mall
shopping_mall_name=Savannah Mall


caption=
location=Savannah, Georgia, USA
owner= JSS Advisors, LLC (Fremont Realty Capital)
management = JSS Advisors, LLC (Fremont Realty Capital)
opening_date=July 1990
developer=unknown
number_of_stores=110
number_of_anchors=6
floor_area=962,529 square feet (89,371 m²) (GLA)
parking = 3,923 spaces
floors=2
website = [http://savannahmall.com/ savannahmall.com]

Savannah Mall is a one-million-square-foot shopping mall that opened in July 1990 in Savannah, Georgia. Today the mall has six anchors: A.C. Moore, Bass Pro Shops, Burlington Coat Factory, Dillard's, Steve and Barry's and Target. The mall has a total of some 110 stores, including Gap/Gap Kids, The Limited, Texas Roadhouse, Pacific Sunwear, Bath & Body Works, Claire's, Cold Stone Creamery, Waldenbooks, Foot Locker, Spencer's Gifts, etc. A food court is on the upper level of the mall and features a carousel, the only permanent carousel in the Savannah area. At Center Court a variety of different functions take place, from fashion shows to Santa Claus at Christmas.

History

At opening date the mall was expected to finally succeed the older Oglethorpe Mall. Savannah Mall was considered "upscale" and had stores like Banana Republic, Abercrombie and Fitch, Ann Taylor, Benetton, The Disney Store, etc. Anchors included Belk, Parisian, Montgomery Ward, and J.B. White. By late 1998 Montgomery Ward had left when the company began to struggle. Also that year Dillard's bought J.B. White and renamed the store. Belk and Parisian pulled out of the mall by 2003. Many stores were leaving the mall, including Abercrombie and Fitch, The Disney Store, and several of the stores that had been there since the mall's opening. By 2005, there were more than 20 vacancies.

In 2004 Target opened their new store on the site of the old Belk. Burlington Coat Factory opened two years later on the first floor of the new store Target constructed. Steve and Barry's also opened in 2004 in the vacated Montgomery Ward. A.C. Moore Arts and Crafts also opened a new store on the site of a vacated Express, Structure, and The Shoe Department. There was at one time a Montgomery Ward Auto Centre that closed when the department store was shuttered in the late 90s. It was demolished in 2002 for a new BB&T Bank.

Today the mall consists of several chain stores (Victoria's Secret, Waldenbooks), but most stores in the mall are local businesses selling children's clothing, candles, art, and other fare.

The most recent business to leave Savannah Mall was Auntie Anne's. The pretzel chain's presence in Savannah Mall was the first location to open in the city and was one of the original businesses that opened with the mall in July 1990. The sole remaining Auntie Anne's location in Savannah is a kiosk in Oglethorpe Mall.

In 2008, nearly twenty years after the mall's opening, the mall's new owner and manager, JSS Advisors, LLC (Fremont Realty Capital), promises multimillion dollar renovations and additions. Among them are a new roof, which is nearly complete, and a new children's play area. Additional changes will include improving interior and exterior signage (the mall recently debuted a new logo), exterior landscaping and adding areas with comfortable seating, Wi-Fi Internet access, and big-screen televisions. [http://savannahnow.com/node/474608/] [http://savdailynews.com/main.asp?SectionID=14&SubSectionID=237&ArticleID=14582] [http://www.savannahmall.com/go/PoolbUrban.cfm?MallID=767&FPURLID=2130557563]

Savannah Mall was formerly owned by Savannah Teachers' Association (1990-1998), Jones Lang LaSalle (1998-2007), and SSF Savannah Properties, LLC (2007-May 2007).

Anchors & Majors

*Dillard's (187,000 sq ft.)
*Target (123,735 sq ft.)
*Burlington Coat Factory (80,000 sq ft.)
*Steve & Barry's (93,000 sq ft.)
*Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World (102,203 sq ft.)

Former Anchors

*Belk (opened with mall in 1990; closed 2003; building sold to Target; new 213,000 SF, bi-level building constructed; Target opened October 5th, 2004 on 2nd level; Burlington Coat Factory opened March 10th, 2006 on ground floor)
*J.B. White (opened with mall in 1990; purchased by and renamed Dillard's in 1998)
*Montgomery Ward (opened as alternative to Jordan Marsh in 1991; closed 1998 as part of a rash of closings from the struggling company; building is shuttered and walled off; reopened to public in 2004 as Steve and Barry's and office space)
*Parisian (opened with mall in 1990; closed 2003; reopened August 2003 as Bass Pro Shops)

External links

* [http://www.savannahmall.com/ savannahmall.com] · Official Website