The prospective plan of STONEBRIDGE. The mixed-use project
will encompass approximately 400,000 square feet of retail, with
a 123,000 square foot Kroger Marketplace as its anchor. Buildings
once a part of the original mall are highlighted in blue.
Original drawing from www.stonebridgerichmond.com


CLOVERLEAF MALL
Midlothian Turnpike / US 60 and Chippenham Parkway
Chesterfield County, Virginia

The third fully-enclosed shopping center in Metropolitan Richmond, EASTGATE MALL, was completed in 1968. Like its two predecessors, it was a smaller, community-sized complex.

In August 1972, the area's first regional-class shopping mall opened for business. CLOVERLEAF MALL, developed by Leonard Farber, sat upon 83 acres, 6.5 miles southwest of the center city. The complex was situated at the "cloverleaf" intersection of US Route 60 and the Chippenham Parkway.

The original anchors of the single-level retail hub were a 2-level (122,000 square foot) Sears and 2-level (123,000 square foot) J.C. Penney.

Among the forty-five charter tenants were Harmony Hut Records, Peoples Drug, Waldenbooks, Kinney Shoes, Hofheimer's Shoes, Stuarts ladies apparel, Piccadilly Cafeteria and a J.G. McCrory 5 and 10. The twin-screen, Cloverleaf Mall Cinema was located at the end of the original South Wing.

In 1973, the wing was extended to a 1-level (63,000 square foot), Richmond-based Thalhimers. This addition included approximately twenty new stores. CLOVERLEAF MALL now ecompassed 741,400 leasable square feet and was promoted as "The Fashion Center of Richmond".

Regional-class rivals soon appeared. REGENCY SQUARE MALL, in Henrico County, opened in 1975. Although not a large-scale shopping center at first, CHESTERFIELD TOWNE CENTER (1975), in Chesterfield County, was eventually expanded to over one million square feet.

A thorough renovation of CLOVERLEAF MALL was undertaken in February 1987 which included an interior and exterior facelift. A new 8-plex cinema was built at the southwest corner of the site, with the original, interior-accessed venue made into an 8-bay Food Court.

The only anchor store rebranding in the history of CLOVERLEAF MALL took place in 1992, when the Thalhimers chain was acquired by May Company and merged with Arlington, Virginia-based Hecht's. By this time, the CLOVERLEAF store had been expanded into a 2-level (126,000 square foot) location.

CLOVERLEAF MALL was beginning to decline in 1996, when a brutal double murder occurred at the shopping center. Some locals also feel that the image of the mall was hurt by the proliferation of unruly teenagers who began to frequent the complex, scaring off droves of shoppers in the process.

J.C. Penney became the first anchor store to bolt from the mall in October 2000. The 8-plex movie house was shuttered in October 2001. Sears, which had been downsized into a 1-level operation, closed in January 2003. Hecht's followed in July.

The final nail in the proverbial coffin was driven in 2003, with the dedication of STONY POINT FASHION PARK; a new, lifestyle-format shopping complex in Richmond.

In the ensuing years, redevelopment plans for the the anchorless and abandoned CLOVERLEAF MALL came and went. One of the more noteworthy came about in 2004, when Richmond-based Faith Alive Ministries offered to buy the mall and convert it into a megachurch complex.

The powers that be of Chesterfield County balked at this offer. Some opined that a church-based development, producing no tax revenues, would not be fortuitous for the area. In the end, the county itself bought the property.

Two different developers were enlisted to assist in remaking the mall...all to no avail. A third company, Charlotte-based Crosland Investments, came on the scene in January 2007.

Crosland proposed a mixed-use project, anchored by a 123,000 square foot Kroger Marketplace. Tentatively known as CHIPPENHAM PLACE, it was to include 100,000 square feet of inline retail, as well as residential units and office space.

On February 29, 2008, CLOVERLEAF MALL closed for good. Redevelopment plans went ahead on schedule, with STONEBRIDGE being adopted as the official name of the complex-to-be in October 2008.

At present, the CLOVERLEAF MALL structure awaits demolition, with construction on its replacement slated to commence soon after.

Sources:

www.labelscar.com / "Caldor"
Michael Lisicky
Comment post on Labelscar by "Bobby"
www.deadmalls.com / Post by Janet Perkins
www.cinematreasures.com
http://www.chesterfield.gov/