North DeKalb Mall

North DeKalb Mall

Location	Decatur, Georgia, USA
Opening date	July 29, 1965
Developer	Scott Development
Owner	Hendon Properties
No. of stores and services	85+
No. of anchor tenants	3
Total retail floor area	635,000 square feet (58,993.4 m2)
No. of floors	one
Website	North DeKalb Mall

North Dekalb Mall is an enclosed shopping mall located in Decatur, a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Opened in 1965, the center currently comprises more than eighty-five stores on one level. Anchor stores include Burlington Coat Factory, Macy's, Payless Home Furnishings, Marshalls, and Ross Dress For Less; the mall also features a food court and multiplex movie theater.

History

Originally and formerly called North DeKalb Center, the mall first opened July 29, 1965, with fifty-four stores; original anchor stores included Atlanta-based department store Rich's, as well as an Woolworth dime store.^[1] The mall was later renamed North DeKalb Mall.

In 1986, North Dekalb Mall was expanded and renovated with two new anchor stores: department store chains Mervyn's and discount chain Lechmere. The mall was also renamed Market Square at North DeKalb at this time. Lechmere closed in the early 1990s and was replaced with discount pharmacy chain Phar-Mor, which closed in 1992 and was eventually replaced with a movie theater.

Mervyns shuttered all of its Georgia locations in 1997; the store at North DeKalb was replaced by an Uptons, which closed in 1999, then it became the current Burlington Coat Factory. Stein Mart was added in the early 1990s, replacing a portion of a mall wing which once housed a Spinnaker's restaurant and smaller mall stores. Old Navy was also added but later closed. Ross Dress For Less came inline in the late 1990s, replacing smaller mall stores.

In 2000, the mall's name reverted to North DeKalb Mall. Rich's converted to Rich's-Macy's in 2003, and Macy's in 2005. Rhodes Furniture closed in 2005 and was converted to Shoder Furniture (the new name being a reversal of the "S" and "R" in "Rhodes"), before changing names again to become K L Furniture. In 2010, Marshalls has opened next to K L Furniture. There is also a Payless Home Furnishings.

Today

By 2007 North Dekalb Mall was struggling. Taco Bell and Johnny Rockets had closed and traffic at the mall continued to decline despite Park N' Ride services being established for employees of Emory University. Although North Dekalb Mall is located in proximity to several affluent areas including Druid Hills, Decatur, and Avondale Estates, it continues to struggle to find new tenants with certain spaces now vacant for over a year. The establishment of nearby superstores, along with current management's inability to draw in potentially high traffic tenants that have settled in other nearby facilities, continue to hinder the mall's viability.

Hendon Properties, which bought the mall for $25 million (USD) in 2003, is planning on bringing a Costco to the mall. Part of the original plan (2005) for the Costco was to build a parking deck over the flood plain at the rear of the mall, but that plan has been dropped due to opposition from neighborhood groups.

Anchors

Macy's (Former Rich's Store)

Junior anchors

• Burlington Coat Factory
• AMC Theatres
• Ross Dress For Less
• Payless Home Furnishings
• Marshalls
• KL Furniture

Former anchors

• Rich's (closed 2005, now Macy's)
• Woolworths (closed in mid-1980s)
• Mervyns (closed 1997 when chain exits Georgia, later Uptons)
• Lechmere (closed 1997 due to entire chain liquidation)
• Uptons (closed 1999, now Burlington Coat Factory)

Former Junior Anchors

• Phar-mor
• Old Navy
• Rhodes Furniture
• Shoder Furniture

References

1. ^ Mills, Linda (Thursday, July 29, 1965). "New North DeKalb Center Opens Today". Dekalb New Era. 

External links

• Sky City: North DeKalb Mall
• North DeKalb Mall is at coordinates 33°48′31″N 84°16′34″W / 33.808548°N 84.276202°W / 33.808548; -84.276202 (North DeKalb Mall)Coordinates: 33°48′31″N 84°16′34″W / 33.808548°N 84.276202°W / 33.808548; -84.276202 (North DeKalb Mall)