Hoping not to be redundant, we are including the following segment for readers of the MALL HALL OF FAME. It has been created especially for those who are not familiar with the jargon used within the retail real estate industry. 

The following terms, set as the standard by the International Council of Shopping Centers, will be found in copy and captions throughout our Mid-Mod Mall Museum.  

MALL- Often, ANY type of shopping center will be referred to as a (quote-unquote) "mall." However, by retail industry definition, a mall is always a particular format of shopping center. It is, by nature, suburban. It always has a large parking area and its stores are configured around a lengthwise corridor (or corridors), with said stores facing each other.

STRIP MALL- A widely used "shopping mall malaprop," this term has been conjured up by the general public and news media to describe what should be called a "strip shopping center" or "strip center." The term "strip mall" is not used within the retail industry. You will see it mentioned just once on this site (like, right here).

OPEN-AIR MALL- A non-enclosed -non-climate-controlled- shopping complex. It has awnings on the front of stores along roofless concourses. In the early days of shopping malls in America, open-air centers were the standard. This began to change in late 1956, following the opening of Minnesota's SOUTHDALE CENTER. It was the nation's first fully enclosed, regional-class mall.

ANCHOR STORE- Usually, a large -often upscale- department store, with 100,000 to 500,000 leasable square feet. It serves as a shopping center focal point, drawing in customers.

JUNIOR ANCHOR- In the typical mid-century mall, the larger department stores would often be joined by a supermarket, 5 & 10 or "specialty retail" apparel store. In the present, a junior anchor might be a multiplex cinema or big box-type retailer.

BIG BOX RETAILER- An outlet of a large, national chain, specializing in a certain type of product line, such as apparel, electronics, housewares, building materials, pet supplies or office provisions. As the term suggests, such a store is built like a big box and is situated at the back of a large parking area.

STRIP CENTER- A group of stores, usually arranged lengthwise in a row, with sidewalks and parking in front. Serves a small area or neighborhood. Often a supermarket will be its focal point.

COMMUNITY SHOPPING CENTER- When in the form of an enclosed mall, will have up to 399,000 leasable square feet and (perhaps) a single anchor store, along with other junior anchors.

REGIONAL SHOPPING CENTER- A complex designed and built to service a larger area than a standard strip center or community-type mall. Encompasses 400,000 to 800,000 leasable square feet and has at least two anchor stores, along with one or two junior anchors.

SUPERREGIONAL SHOPPING CENTER- A complex with 800,000 -or more- leasable square feet. May have as many as six large department stores and several junior anchors. Serves as the dominant shopping center of an entire metropolitan area.

LIFESTYLE CENTER- A term coming into common usage in the 1980s and '90s. Generically applied, it describes an open-air shopping center, often smaller than a superregional mall, ALWAYS upscale and centered around entertainment or leisure venues.....such as a multiplex cinema. Several high-end bistros, and smaller boutique-type stores, are included. There may also be a department store -or two- in the retail mix.

POWER CENTER- A term also coming into prominence in the 1980s and '90s. This type of shopping center, an evolution of the 1950s strip center, is open-air and usually encompasses between 250,000 and 750,000 leasable square feet. It is geared toward middle-class clientele and has several big box-type retailers arranged in a row, either behind -or along both sides of- a large parking area.

In 1994, the compact complex was promoted as "the crossroads of Midtown." Contemporary tenants included A & P (which had assumed a vacant Big Star space), Revco Drug (in the old Kroger spot), Piccadilly Pet Shops, The Toy Store, Scents & Suds, Funny Business Card & Gift Shop and Nick's Charcoal Grill.

Graphic from Selig Enterprises

A turn of the century view of the ANSLEY shopping concourse. The decor dates to a 1983 face lift. New landscaping was installed in 1997.
Photo from Wikipedia / "Treybunn2" 

Our most current ANSLEY layout dates to 2012. The old Kroger space, on the south end, brandished three different pharmacy nameplates before coming under the CVS banner in 1998. A vacant Woolworth became LA Fitness and the northern supermarket was razed and replaced by a shiny new Publix (in medium gray).

In this view, we see the central plaza area and LA Fitness facility. It occupies the second-largest tenant space in the complex (Publix inhabits the largest).
Photo from www.seligenterprises.com / Selig Enterprises

A Blockbuster Video on the right occupies the original location of Morrison's Cafeteria. Today, Pet Supermarket leases the space.

Photo from www.seligenterprises.com / Selig Enterprises

ANSLEY MALL

Piedmont Avenue and Monroe Drive

Atlanta, Georgia

As large, regional-class malls were springing up in the Atlanta suburbs, a small, community-class complex was being built in the city proper. This mini-mall would occupy a 16-acre site, located 3.5 miles northeast of downtown's Five Points.

Planning for ANSLEY MALL got underway in January 1963. The shopping hub was developed by the Atlanta-based Adams-Cates Company and designed by Mastin Associates of Marietta, Georgia. Open-air in format, the single-level structure encompassed approximately 201,400 leasable square feet. Stores began opening in late 1965. Among the first were a SupeRx Drug and (16,500 square foot) Kroger.

An official grand opening for ANSLEY MALL was held on April 2, 1966. A ceremonial ribbon was cut, with three Hollywood starlets participating; Donna Douglas, Nancy Kovack and Sue Ane Langdon. Several cash gifts and prizes were awarded during the dedication festivities.

Aside from Kroger, the primary stores in ANSLEY MALL were a (27,300 square foot) F.W. Woolworth 5 & 10 and (18,000 square foot) Colonial supermarket. The tenant roster of the 3.2 million dollar complex listed twenty-six retailers. These included Economy Auto, The Bottle Shop (a wine emporium), Sand Bar Casuals and a (12,000 square foot) Morrison's Cafeteria.

The Weis Theater Circuit Ansley Mall Mini-Cinema opened for business on April 10, 1968. This art house-type venue had one hundred seventy-five seats. It re-opened as the Film Forum on May 10, 1971 and, as the Bijou Cinema, on April 6, 1981. Its final incarnation, as the Ansley Cinema, premiered on January 7, 1983.

Atlanta-based Selig Enterprises had acquired ANSLEY MALL in December 1972. In 1977, the Colonial Stores grocery, on the north end of the mall, was converted to a Big Star. Other tenants during the late 1970s and early '80s  included Regalos a gifts and decorative accessories boutique, Body Bizarre Precious Oils, Ralph's Men's Shop, Ansley Mall Art & Frame Shop, Head Shed Precision Cuts and El Matador cocktail bar..

Kroger relocated into a new store, located north of the mall proper, on September 26, 1982. The existing SupeRx Drugs moved into the vacated Kroger space. This pharmacy would be rebranded as a Treasury Drug and then operate under the Revco nameplate.  A face lift renovation of ANSLEY MALL got underway in May 1983. As part of this 3 million dollar project, common areas were refurbished, store interiors redecorated and new signage installed. 

The Big Star supermarket was rebranded as an A & P in 1993. The shuttering of Woolworth's,  in July 1997, prompted Selig Enterprises to do a modest remodeling. This time around, landscaping was added to the common area and a new parking lot entrance built.

A & P closed for good in February 1996. The building was bulldozed, with a new (37,800 square foot) Publix opening on May 28, 1997. Morrison's Cafeteria closed their 31-year-old store and relocated next door, to space once occupied by the mall's cinema. The new Morrison's served its first meals on October 22, 1997. The restaurant was rebranded as a Piccadilly in 1998. Meanwhile, the ANSLEY MALL Revco had been rebranded by CVS in 1997. 

The Piccadilly Cafeteria went dark in 2009 and was succeeded by The Cook's Warehouse. The mall was given an exterior face lift in 2010. This caused rents to rise, resulting in the shuttering of long-term tenants such as Blockbuster Video, The Toy Store and Hallmark Hall of Cards. New businesses coming into ANSLEY MALL included Boardwalk Fresh Burgers & Fries, Intaglia Home Connection, Mattress Firm and Panera Bread.

Sources:

The Atlanta Constitution

The Atlanta Journal

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

http://www.med.emory.edu/CME/partic/shopping.html / Shopping In Atlanta

Fulton County, Georgia tax assessor website

www.cinematreasures.org

http://www.ansleyatlanta.com/shopping.htm

www.seligenterprises.com 

FAIR USE OF ANSLEY MALL IMAGE:

The image from The Georgia State University Special Collections / Tracy O'Neal Photographic Collection illustrates a key moment in the mall's history that is described in the article. The image is not replaceable with a free-use or public-domain image. The use of the image does not limit the copyright owners' rights to distribute it in any way. The image is being used for non-profit, informational purposes only and its use is not believed to detract from the original image in any way.

Atlanta's Buford-Clairmont Mall

Dekalb County, Georgia's fourth shopping mall (the tenth in Greater Atlanta) opened in stages between 1968 and 1972.
Graphic from Sunshine Department Stores

A freestanding Woolco discount mart was the mall's first operational tenant. It opened its doors in November 1968 and was the chain's second Greater Atlanta operation. When an adjacent mall was completed, Woolco anchored its north end.
Graphic from the F.W. Woolworth Company

The south end of BUFORD-CLAIRMONT MALL was anchored by a Winn-Dixie supermarket. It began business in August 1970.

Graphic from Winn-Dixie Stores, Incorporated

In our first BUFORD-CLAIRMONT store logo montage, we see a grand opening ad for the mall's Sunshine department store. It commenced operation in August 1970. Marshalls, which replaced "Sunshines" in October 1978, would be a fixture at the complex for over 31 years.

In its original state, BUFORD-CLAIRMONT MALL encompassed around 320,000 leasable square feet on a single level. There was free parking for 2,500 autos.

The mall's movie house opened, in February 1971, as the Loews Twelve Oaks, a single-screen venue. It was divided and renamed the Twelve Oaks 1 & 2 in May 1975. The Storeys chain acquired the theater and reconfigured it as the 12 Oaks 4 in May 1989. The cinema would be shuttered in 1998.

Graphic from Loews Theatres

The BUFORD-CLAIRMONT complex was never entirely successful, what with five major malls within a 5-mile radius. A name change, to THE SHOPPER'S MALL, in 1982 proved ineffective. The retail hub was sold to Maryland's Rouse Company in July 1983. They performed a face lift and remarketed the property as OUTLET SQUARE. Its official dedication was held in November 1983.

Graphic from the Rouse Company  

In this logo montage, we see trademarks of some of the thirty-six stores that operated in OUTLET SQUARE. The major players were Burlington Coat Factory, Marshalls, Winn-Dixie and Eckerd Drugs.

Dekalb County's new "off-price shopping center" was a twin of another OUTLET SQUARE that the Rouse Company had opened -in Charlotte, North Carolina- in 1981. This was a redress of CHARLOTTETOWN MALL. Both of these OUTLET SQUARE malls were modestly successful at first. However, their newness quickly wore off.

OUTLET SQUARE TENANTS 1983:

BURLINGTON COAT FACTORY / MARSHALLS / WINN-DIXIE supermarket / Book Peddler / Burlington Bag & Baggage / Burlington Shoes & Accessories / Card Barn / Casual Male / Creighton Factory Stores / Decorator's Outlet / Dress Barn / Eckerd Drugs / Electrolux / Famous Footwear / Frontier Fruit & Nut / GNC / Georgia Girl ladies' wear / Glass Art / Hit Or Miss / House of Frames / Hyroops / Leo's Pizza / Linens 'n Things / L.S. Hart Ice Cream Shop / M. Dugan / Mister Minit / Plumm's / Publisher Book Outlet / Radio Shack / Real Gold / Storeys 12 Oaks 4 Theatre / Subway Sandwich Shop / Table Top Plus / Tandy Leather / The Children's Outlet / The Finish Line / The Sock Market 

By 1996, Dekalb County's OUTLET SQUARE was on life support. It was sold to a consortium of Asian investors who remarketed it as ORIENTAL MALL ATLANTA. This concept had crashed and burned by the turn of the century. The fourth -and final- version of the mall has been the most successful in its history. PLAZA FIESTA, a Latin-themed shopping and entertainment facility, debuted in April 2000.
Photo from www.plazafiesta.net

The complex was rebuilt to resemble a Mexican village. PLAZA FIESTA was the first shopping mall in the United States to be marketed to the Latino community. It was followed by other ventures, such as Fort Worth's LA GRAN PLAZA (2004) and Houston's PLAZAMERICAS (2009).
Photo from www.plazafiesta.net

In 2020, PLAZA FIESTA housed over 400 vendors, retail stores and restaurants. Its major tenants were Shoppers World, Ross Dress For Less, the Fiesta Farmers Market and Mansion Elan nightclub.

Ross Dress For Less set up shop in a portion of the old Sunshine's / Marshalls space in 2010.

Photo from www.loopnet.com

The building originally housing Woolco, and later Burlington Coat Factory, was divided into four sections in 2013. One was leased by Planet Fitness.

Photo from www.loopnet.com

BUFORD-CLAIRMONT MALL
Buford Highway NE / US 23 and Clairmont Road
Dekalb County, Georgia

On June 5, 1968, ground was broken for a new Greater Atlanta "shopper mall." This complex was being built on a 31-acre site, located 9.6 miles northeast of the center city, in a section of unincorporated Dekalb County known as Buford-Dresden. Officiating at the groundbreaking were Brice Manning (Dekalb County Commissioner), C. Milburn Purdy (Regional Vice President of F.W. Woolworth), and W.C. Montgomery (Woolco Director of Real Estate).

BUFORD-CLAIRMONT MALL was developed by Atlanta-based Sunshine Department Stores. The first operational tenant, a 1-level (103,000 square foot) Woolco discount mart, opened for business on November 13, 1968. A 1-level (40,000 square foot) "Sunshine's" began business on August 20, 1970. On the same day, a grand opening was held for a (25,000 square foot) Winn-Dixie supermarket.

Stores continued to open over the next 2 years. These included Jacobs Drug, Friedman's Jewelers, Hirsch's men's wear, Art Accents, Zomma Shop T-shirts, Sunset Tropical Plants, Fayva Shoes, American Handicrafts, Best Photo, The Juice Bar, The Gift Bin and The Vogue.

On February 10, 1971, the Loews Twelve Oaks Theatre showed its first feature. The cinema was a 1,200-seat, single-screen venue and the second of two Gone With The Wind-themed theaters in Greater Atlanta. The Loews Twelve Oaks was a sister cinema to Atlanta's Loews Tara, which had been dedicated in July 1968. The Twelve Oaks Theatre at BUFORD-CLAIRMONT MALL re-opened as the Twelve Oaks 1 & 2 on May 23, 1975, and the Storeys 12 Oaks 4 on May 26, 1989.

Meanwhile, the Sunshine Store at BUFORD-CLAIRMONT MALL had closed and been replaced by a Massachusetts-based Marshalls on October 5, 1978. Woolco went dark June 28, 1980 and re-opened, as a Burlington Coat Factory, August 1st of the same year.

Major shopping hubs in the vicinity of BUFORD-CLAIRMONT MALL included NORTH DEKALB CENTER (1965) {4 miles southeast, in Dekalb County} and NORTHLAKE MALL (1971) {3 miles southeast, also in Dekalb County}.

Maryland's Rouse Company acquired BUFORD-CLAIRMONT MALL in July 1983 and reconfigured it as OUTLET SQUARE. The grand opening of Greater Atlanta's  "first off-price shopping center" was held on November 3, 1983. Some of the new mall's inline stores were Georgia Girl, Marshalls, Burlington Coat Factory and Winn-Dixie...all holdovers from BUFORD-CLAIRMONT MALL. Newly-signed tenants included Famous Footwear, Dress Barn, Linens 'n Things and The Finish Line. There was also a 5-bay Food Court.

OUTLET SQUARE was initially successful, but was in decline by the early 1990s. The complex was sold twice during 1996. The second sale, which closed in July, was to a joint venture of twelve Asian investors. They remarketed the complex as ORIENTAL MALL ATLANTA. This Hong Kong Streets-motif venue opened for business in February 1997.

In addition to Burlington Coat Factory, Marshalls and the 12 Oaks 4, the "vibrant oriental bazaar" included the Hong Kong Supermarket, which had taken the place of Winn-Dixie, and Rack Room Shoes, Happy Valley Chinese Restaurant and the Rex Club.

ORIENTAL MALL was plagued by structural problems, as its owners refused to maintain and repair the property. Atlanta's Vincent Riggio and Doug McMurrain (under the auspices of the Ram Development Group) acquired the struggling retail center in 1999. Their original plan was to demolish the complex and replace it with a Home Depot or Wal-Mart.

Instead, they installed a Latin-style mercado in the existing structure. Atlanta-based Ozell Stankus Associates Architects envisaged the transformation. An 11 million dollar renovation project installed two hundred and fifty vendor stalls in the mall's gutted interior and repainted its exterior in bright, vivid colors. The renewed retail hub, known as PLAZA FIESTA, debuted on April 15, 2000.

Retail stalls were located in four "Market" areas. Stores included Discolandia (a music store), the Carnitas Mexican restaurant and Laredo Western Wear. The cinema was repurposed as a nightclub and live performance venue and operated as Dekalb Atlanta Center (Atlanta Live), Deamz ATL and Mansion Elan over the ensuing years.

Burlington Coat Factory closed its PLAZA FIESTA store in the early 2010s. The space was divided into four sections; Market 5, Planet Fitness, Children's Health Care and a (50,000 square foot), New York City-based Shoppers World. These tenants were in business by the spring of 2013. Marshalls closed its doors in early 2010. A (27,000 square foot) section of the store was refashioned into a new Ross Dress For Less.

Today, PLAZA FIESTA is managed by Beverly Hills-based Kennedy-Wilson Properties, Limited. The mall spans approximately 343,000 leasable square feet. There are eighty-eight merchandise stores, twenty health & beauty stores, thirty food vendors and sixty-four service-type stores.

Sources:

The Atlanta Constitution 

The Journal Constitution

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
www.creativeloafing.com
www.bizjournals.com
http://nreionline.com / National Real Estate Investor
www.cinematreasures.org
Comment post by Troy Hester
www.plazafiesta.net
Dekalb County Georgia tax assessor website

Atlanta's Phipps Plaza

Advertised as "Atlanta's Last Word In Refined Elegance," the 38 million dollar PHIPPS PLAZA was built across the road from LENOX SQUARE. Stores in the posh new fashion mall opened between 1968 and 1972.
Drawing from Phipps Land Company   

The original north anchor of PHIPPS PLAZA was Lord & Taylor. The store opened in October 1969 and included a beauty salon and restaurant. It was the largest of fourteen branches. A Saks Fifth Avenue, on the south end of the complex, made its debut in August 1968. It was the twenty-eighth store in that chain.

Once a country estate, the site at the intersection of Lenox and Peachtree Roads hosted the region's first multilevel, fully-enclosed mall. When fully-realized in 1972, PHIPPS PLAZA encompassed approximately 518,000 leasable square feet and housed forty stores and services. Free parking was provided for 2,600 autos.

PHIPPS PLAZA TENANTS 1972:

SAKS FIFTH AVENUE (with Beauty Salon) / LORD & TAYLOR (with Beauty Salon and Restaurant) / Albert's Hosiery / August Max ladies' wear / Barclay Gallery, Limited / Baron's men's wear / Cafe On The Mall / Courts & Company stock brokers / Dempsey & Carrol Stationers & Engravers / Gingiss Formal Wear / Happy House / Harry Baron's Delicatessen-Restaurant / I. Miller Shoes / Issacson's ladies' wear / Joseph Brennan ladies' wear / Judi Lesli ladies' wear / Lassiter's Bath 'n Boudoir / Lillie Rubin ladies' wear / Lugene Optical Boutique / Mark Cross, Limited / Memory Lane / Motherhood Maternity / Musicland / Paraphernalia ladies' wear / Peachtree Bottle Shop / Phipps Plaza Theatre (single screen) / Reynolds & Company stock brokers / Russell Stover Candies / Slightly Ahead Electronics / Susan Ives ladies' wear / Snooty Hooty / The Orchard At Schrafft's restaurant / The Shop of John Simmons / The Stereo Place / The Wine Shop / Tiffany & Company / W. & J. Sloane home furnishings /  Waldenbooks / Wexner's ladies' wear / Wicks 'N Sticks     

The mall's first movie house, the single-screen Phipps Plaza Theatre, opened in December 1969. It was divided and re-opened, as the twin venue seen here, in March 1975.
Photo from the Stan Malone Collection

Meanwhile, in December 1973, an additional single-screen cinema had been completed. Known as the Phipps Penthouse, it was built on the roof of the existing mall.
Photo from the Stan Malone Collection

In 1991 and 1992, the mall was expanded with a new Northwest Wing and Parisian anchor store. A state-of-the-art movie multiplex and 8-bay Food Court were installed on a third level. The shopping hub now encompassed 819,000 leasable square feet and contained ninety-nine stores and services.

Saks Fifth Avenue was expanded -by 48,000 square feet- during the early '90s renovation.
Photo from www.simon.com / Simon Property Group

The existing mall was redecorated in the most opulent fashion imaginable. Marble flooring, cherry wood columns and glittering chandeliers were installed. In this image, we see the refurbished central plaza, now known as the Court of the South.
Photo from www.simon.com / Simon Property Group

A large rotunda in the new Parisian wing extended upward for 3 levels. It was known as the Monarch Court, so named because its main entry faced Monarch Drive.
Photo from www.simon.com / Simon Property Group

Lord & Taylor pulled the proverbial plug on their PHIPPS PLAZA store in February 2004. Nordstrom renovated the structure and welcomed its first shoppers in March 2005.
Photo from www.simon.com / Simon Property Group

In a circa-2008 PHIPPS PLAZA plan, two anchor stores have new nameplates. On the northeast is the aforementioned Nordstrom. Parisian morphed into a Belk in September 2007.

The mall's front facade, which faces Peachtree Road, was renovated into an exterior-entranced Streetscape in 2015.
Drawing from www.simon.com / Simon Property Group

The shuttering of Belk, in July 2018, presented a way to expand and renovate the PHIPPS PLAZA mall, which had become physically hemmed-in after nearly 50 years in business. The abandoned Belk was knocked down and replaced with the One Phipps Plaza office tower, Nobu Atlanta Hotel & Restaurant and an upscale fitness facility.
Drawing from www.simon.com / Simon Property Group  

By late 2022, the new & improved Northwest Wing was completed. Its new Lifetime Athletic fitness complex is similar to facilities recently added to Simon-owned SOUTHDALE CENTER {in Minnesota} and NORTHSHORE MALL {in Massachusetts}.

PHIPPS PLAZA
Peachtree Road Northeast and Lenox Road Northeast
Atlanta, Georgia

The eighth mall-type shopping center in Greater Atlanta was built on a 31-acre plot, located 8.6 miles northeast of Atlanta's Five Points, in a posh section of the city known as Buckhead. Conceived as a high-fashion shopping venue, PHIPPS PLAZA was developed by New York financier Ogden Phipps (1908-2002), under the auspices of the Phipps Land Company.

Atlanta's Finch, Alexander, Barnes, Rothschild & Pascal firm designed the shopping hub. PHIPPS PLAZA was Georgia's first fully-enclosed, bi-level shopping mall. Originally spanning approximately 518,000 leasable square feet, it was situated on top of a multilevel parking garage.

The mall was implemented in three phases. The first, consisting a 3-level (100,000 square foot) Saks Fifth Avenue, was completed on August 12, 1968. Phase two involved construction of the enclosed mall, which was officially dedicated on March 20, 1969. A 3-level (164,000 square foot) Lord & Taylor opened its doors on October 15th, 1969, signifying completion of phase three.

Additional PHIPPS PLAZA tenants held grand openings between 1970 and 1972. These included Tiffany & Company, Barclay Gallery Limited, Baron's men's wear, Lillie Rubin ladies' wear, Musicland and a 2-level (30,000 square foot) W. & J. Sloan Home Furnishings.

The ABC Florida State Theatres Phipps Plaza Theatre showed its first feature on December 19, 1969. A second cinema, known as the Phipps Penthouse, was added as a third level to the mall and made its debut December 9, 1973. The original single-screen venue was divided into a twinplex, which opened for business on March 28, 1975. The three auditoriums were then operated -collectively- as the Phipps Plaza Theatres.

PHIPPS PLAZA was sold to the Atlanta-based Wachovia ["wah-koh-vee-ah"] Bank in July 1975 and to New York City-based Equitable Real Estate Management, Incorporated in September 1985. In October 1987, they announced initial plans to renovate and expand the shopping hub.

Said renovation plans were made official in May 1990. Work commenced on the 140 million dollar project in May 1991. The theaters at the rear of the complex were demolished. They were replaced by a 3-level (170,000 square foot), Birmingham-based Parisian and thirty-four-store Northwest Wing.

This included and an 8-bay International Food Court and American Multi-Cinema Phipps Plaza 14 multiplex. The first features at this venue were shown on November 17, 1992. During the remodeling, Saks Fifth Avenue expanded their store to 148,600 square feet.

The interior of the existing mall was also given a face lift, creating the ambience of a grand Southern hotel or manor house. The new mall wing and department store were officially dedicated on November 18th. PHIPPS PLAZA now encompassed 819,000 leasable square feet and contained ninety-eight stores and services.

New York City's Corporate Property Investors added PHIPPS PLAZA to their retail center portfolio in October 1997. In September 1998, the Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group acquired the assets of Corporate Property Investors. Along with the deal, Simon took possession of several other shopping centers, including LENOX SQUARE and NORTHLAKE MALL.

The new century brought two anchor rebrandings to PHIPPS PLAZA. Lord & Taylor was shuttered February 8, 2004. The building was gutted, remodeled and re-opened, as a 2-level (153,700 square foot) Nordstrom, on March 11, 2005. The PHIPPS Parisian was rebranded by Charlotte-based Belk on September 12, 2007.

In April 2014, Simon announced plans for a face lift renovation of the 45-year-old complex. The project would be conducted in two phases, with the first done between the summer and fall of 2014. This included an interior upgrade, with new LED parking area lighting, "luxury soft seating areas" and remodeled restrooms.

The second stage of the renovation added a restaurant Streetscape to the southeast-facing facade of the mall. Work commenced in early 2015 and was completed in time for the holiday season. The 166-room AC Hotel Atlanta Buckhead at Phipps Plaza, built adjacent to Nordstrom, was officially dedicated in August 2016.

At a typical "Grade B" or "C" shopping mall, the loss of an anchor department store could spell disaster. However, an upscale, destination-type mall such as PHIPPS PLAZA takes such news in stride. Belk's departure, on July 31, 2018, presented several opportunities. With the vacant store demolished, there was room to build a 13-floor office tower, 150-room Nobu Hotel and a (90,000 square foot) LifeTime Fitness complex. Construction began in August 2018.

The 152-room Nobu Atlanta Hotel & Restaurant opened for business on November 30, 2022. The 5-level (127,000 square foot) Lifetime Fitness at Buckhead Phipps Plaza facility was formally inaugurated on December 8, 2022. Grand openings for the new lifestyle food hall and One Phipps Plaza office tower were held concurrently.

Sources:

The Atlanta Journal Constitution

The Atlanta Journal

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The Atlanta Business Journal / March 5, 1999 / Nancy Groves

www.simon.com / Simon Property Group

http://metroatlantaceo.com
www.cinematreasures.org
www.georgiaencylclopedia.org
Fulton County, Georgia tax assessor website
www.georgiaencyclopedia.org

https://www.buckhead.com

https://news.lifetime.life
"Phipps Plaza" article on Wikipedia

Atlanta's South Dekalb Mall

Ninth in the progression of major Greater Atlanta shopping hubs, SOUTH DEKALB MALL was officially dedicated in April 1970. The air-conditioned complex, touted as "a mall for all seasons," initially housed fifty-eight stores and services.
Graphic from Rich's, Incorporated

The mall was added to a freestanding Rich's department store, which had been in operation since August 1969. It was the seventh unit in the chain and consisted of a 3-story structure with such amenities as a Beauty Salon, Magnolia Buffet restaurant and Auto Center.

Drawing from Rich's, Incorporated

The second SOUTH DEKALB anchor, J.C. Penney, opened for business in October 1970. It was a 2-story store; featuring its own Beauty Salon, Coffee Shop and Auto Center. Penney's would anchor the south end of the mall for 31 years.