NORTH DEKALB CENTER
Lawrenceville Highway / US 78 and North Druid Hills Road
Dekalb County, Georgia

"Leave your umbrella at home" was the slogan heard when Atlanta's sixth mall, the second fully-enclosed shopping center in the city, opened for business.

The official dedication of NORTH DEKALB CENTER was held July 29, 1965. Originally housing fifty-four stores and services, the single-level complex was situated on 66.6 acres, located 8.7 miles northeast of center city Atlanta.

Built by Atlanta-based Scott Development and designed by Stevens and Wilkinson of Marietta, Georgia, the 8.5 million dollar center was anchored by a 2-level (114,500 square foot), Atlanta-based Rich's and 1-level F.W. Woolworth 5 and 10. Inline stores in the 420,000 square foot shopopolis included Regenstein's, Flagg Brothers Shoes and Hickock Sporting Goods.

The single-screen North Dekalb Theatre, on the west mall corridor, was completed in 1966. It was twinned in the early 1980s.

An expansion of the shopping center was finished by 1968. A new store structure was added at the northwest corner (possibly a supermarket) and Rich's was enlarged, into a 158,900 square foot location, with a single-level addition on the southeast. By now, the complex was known as NORTH DEKALB MALL.

Commercial competitors included COLUMBIA MALL (1964) [June 2008 archive], near Decatur, and -eventually- NORTHLAKE MALL (1971) [November 2008 archive], near unincorporated Tucker.

By the mid-1980s, NORTH DEKALB MALL was in decline. Its owner at the time, Toronto-based Cadillac Fairview Shopping Centers, announced a major renovation in October 1985.

Woolworth, vacant by this time, was gutted along with the entire western half of the mall structure. 236,000 square feet of store area was rebuilt, with 139,200 square feet of retail space added.

Two new anchors came inline; a 1-level (75,200 square foot) Mervyn's and 1-level (63,300 square foot), Woburn ["woo-burn"], Massachusetts-based Lechmere ["leech-meer"]. Thirty inline stores were added to the retail roster, including a 9-bay Food Court. Rich's was expanded for a second time. The store now encompassed 195,700 square feet.

A new name for the renewed retail hub was announced in April 1986; MARKET SQUARE AT NORTH DEKALB. The 626,700 square foot, eighty-five store complex was officially dedicated in October 1986.

Lechmere was the first anchor store to change nameplates. It became a Phar-Mor Drug in 1992 and was eventually sectioned into an expanded movie theater; the Market Square 4 in 1990 and North Dekalb 16 in 1996. The remaining space became a furniture store.

Mervyn's was shuttered (along with all Georgia locations) in 1996. Its space was taken by Norcross, Georgia-based Uptons. This space, in turn, reopened as a Burlington, New Jersey-based Burlington Coat Factory in November 2002.

The official name of the shopping center reverted to NORTH DEKALB MALL in 2000. Once again in a state of decline, the center was sold in October 2003. The new owner, Atlanta-based Hendon Properties, devised a second redevelopment of the venue.

First proposed in 2004, the project was to be anchored by a 1-level (152,000 square foot), Issaquah, Washington-based Costco. This would occupy roughly the same area as Woolworth in the circa-1965 mall.

In an "ultimate plan" for redevelopment, anchor stores -and the cinema- would be left standing, with the middle area of the existing mall being demolished. A wide boulevard would be cut through and all stores reoriented into an open-air format.

After some problems with community opposition to the construction of a parking garage on the northwest corner of the mall site, the demalling plan received initial approval in 2008.

The best case scenario would have demoltion / construction beginning in early 2009, with completion slated for 2010. However, current economic conditions could delay the project indefinitely.

Sources:

"North Deklab Mall" article on Wikipedia
Dekalb County, Georgia tax assessor website
Craig Brickey, former "Mass" resident
www.georgiaretailmemories.com / "J.T." webmaster
www.cinematreasures.com
www.nannis.com
www.georgiaencyclopedia.com
Atlanta Business Chronicle
www.godekalb.com
http://www.northdekalbmall.com/