Maryland's Iverson Mall



A late '60s aerial of the complex, showing its unique design. The structure straddles a 4-lane thoroughfare, which passes beneath it at midpoint.
Photo provided by Ms. Jeannette Kainu, Marketing Director, Iverson Mall

A newspaper advert announcing the grand opening of IVERSON MALL, which was held on September 21, 1967. Typical of the time is the forever springtime reference.
Graphic provided by Ms. Jeannette Kainu, Marketing Director, Iverson Mall

In 1967, IVERSON MALL encompassed approximately 527,000 leasable square feet. There were sixty-four stores and five kiosk retailers. The complex was anchored by Montgomery Ward and DC-based Woodward & Lothrop and included two office buildings. Free parking was provided for over 2,600 autos.

A cut-away view of the Wards-to-Woodie's (south-to-north) elevation. The mall would be remodeled on a couple of occasions over the ensuing years but would never be physically expanded beyond its original parameters.

 

At various locations around the internet, it is stated that the IVERSON MALL Wards opened on April 20, 1967. In fact, it opened a year earlier -on April 20, 1966- as this contemporary advertisement shows.

Advert from the Washington Afro-American

Zooming forward in time 40 years, we come to a circa-2007, IVERSON MALL plan. No longer a regional-class shopping venue, the community-class complex has -nonetheless- eclipsed rivals such as LANDOVER MALL and CAPITAL PLAZA, which have been demolished.

IVERSON MALL TENANTS 2007:

FORMAN MILLS / FURNITURE GALLERY / TOTAL SAVE / VALUE CITY / Alem's Edy's Ice Cream / All American Toys / Apsara Boutique / Ashley Stewart ladies' wear / Associated Security / A Tag & Title / Bank of America / Bojangles (outparcel) / Coley's Barber Shop / Deja Vu / Delta Wireless / Derrick Martin, Doctor of Dental Science / Dynamix Menswear / Electronics, Etcetera / Elite Jewelers / Exquisite Beauty Palace / Footaction USA / Foot Locker / Fragrance Center (kiosk) / Gannt-Mann Enterprises / GNC / Gift Gallery (kiosk) / Golden Names (kiosk) / Gold Plaza (kiosk) / Grant Communications / Head to Head / His & Hers Clothing / Hollywood Shot / Honeycomb Hideout / Illusion / Iverson Nails / Jacques Renee / Jewelry Connection (kiosk) / Kamal's Diamond Jewelers / Karibu Books / Kay Jewelers / Kid's for Less / King Jewelers / KLC Couture / LaModa / Last Stop / Lawrence Reed, Limited men's wear / Lucaya / Lexy / Myvan Tran, Doctor of Dental Science / Nathan's Shoe Repair / Newsstand at Iverson Mall / Okojie & Associates / PayLess ShoeSource / Queen's Accessories / Rainbow ladies' wear / Rainbow Plus ladies' wear / Rome Custom Tailor / Safeway Driving School / Seafood Palace Buffet / Secret Scents / Shoe City / Solmaz / Spartan Security / Star Braiding Gallery / Step 'n Style / Sterling Optical / Styles / The Jewelry Place / The Nut Shoppe / The Variety Shop / Tiffany's Bakery / Vizions / Young World

FOOD COURT:

China King / Hot Dogs & More / Mamma Lucia The Italian Eatery / The Brass Hen / The Great Cookie

The bi-level mall concourse and circular stairway, as they appeared in the early 2000s.
Photo provided by Ms. Jeannette Kainu, Marketing Director, Iverson Mall

Another early 2000s interior view. Burlington Coat Factory, a 2008 addition, replaced Value City. This store had set up shop in 2 floors of an empty Woodward & Lothrop.
Photo from www.cbre.com / CB Richard Ellis

The IVERSON property has been promoted with several logos over the years. Above, we see a reproduction of its original 1967 trademark. This graphic was created by -and for- the Mall Hall of Fame.

This graphic was introduced in the early 2000s.

Graphic from www.iversonmall.com

A new owner came on board in July 2014, with a floor-to-ceiling renovation being announced in September 2016. A new mall name was also bestowed; THE SHOPS AT IVERSON.
Graphic from http://shopsativerson.com

As part of the 2010s refurbishment, "Main Street" facades were added to the building's exterior. A mall entrance was also rebuilt.
Photo from http://www.herman-stewart.com / Herman Stewart Construction

A rendering of the Upper Level of the mall's interior, post-renovation.

Drawing from www.renaudconsulting.net / Renaud Consulting

In 2021, THE SHOPS AT IVERSON is anchored by a Roses discount department store, Forman Mills discount designer apparel outlet and Shoppers World. A Food Court, installed in the early 2000s, has been gutted and reconfigured with new outward-facing stores, such as Chipotle Mexican Grill, Quickway Hibachi and Tropical Smooth. 

IVERSON MALL
Branch Avenue and Iverson Street
Prince George's County (Hillcrest Heights), Maryland

Developers in -and around- Washington, DC were slow in building the region's first climate-controlled shopping mall. This seems especially odd when considering that Greater Baltimore, 30 miles north, had done so as early as 1958. Be that as it may, DC did catch up, mall-wise. Its first fully-enclosed retail center opened in 1967.

IVERSON MALL was built on a 9.3-acre tract. This was located 4.6 miles southeast of the United States Capitol, in an unincorporated section of Prince George's County known as Hillcrest Heights. The 10 million dollar shopping center was envisaged by Washington's Anthony A. Carozza. He had been the primary developer of the adjacent -2000-unit- Hillcrest Heights subdivision, which was built between 1946 and 1965. 

The tentative name of the retail hub, ANTON MALL, was an amalgamation of Anna (the name of Mr. Carrozza's wife) and Anthony. Construction was underway by 1965. A 2-level (157,000 square foot) Montgomery Ward opened for business on April 20, 1966. This was followed by the dedication of a 3-level (144,000 square foot), DC-based Woodward & Lothrop ["Low-thrup"], which was held on July 31, 1967.

A mall-wide grand opening took place on September 21, 1967. At this time, IVERSON MALL encompassed approximately 526,700 leasable square feet. Charter stores included Lawrence Reed Limited, Casual Corner, Peoples Drug, Richman Brothers, Parklane Hosiery, Fannie May Candies, Harmony Hut, Custom Hi-Fi and a Longworth Cafeteria. 

The complex had a unique design, in that it straddled the Iverson Street thoroughfare, which divided it at midpoint. There was a multilevel parking garage along the rear, connecting into a bi-level shopping concourse. The Upper Mall stretched between the two anchor stores; with the Lower Mall divided into two sections by Iverson Street.

Major shopping hubs in the IVERSON MALL trade area included the adjacent MARLOWE HEIGHTS CENTER (1957), as well as CAPITAL PLAZA (1963) {7.1 miles northeast, in Prince George's County}, LANDOVER MALL (1972) {7.2 miles northeast, in Prince George's County} and FOREST VILLAGE PARK MALL (1980) {3.2 miles northeast, also in Prince George's County}.

The interior of IVERSON MALL was renovated in 1985, with all fountains being removed. By 1995, one of two original anchor stores had closed. After this, the center evolved from a regional shopping hub into a community-class venue.

The north anchor spot, originally occupied by Woodward & Lothrop, was retenanted by a 2-level (136,000 square foot), Columbus, Ohio-based Value City apparel. A (42,000 square foot) Furniture Galaxy leased the lower floor. Value City opened on November 1, 1996 and was shuttered on February 15, 2008.

The vacant Value City became a Burlington Coat Factory in the fall of 2008. When Furniture Galaxy was shuttered, a (27,800 square foot) section was reconfigured as a sanctuary for the Community of Hope AME Church.

The mall's south anchor, vacated by Montgomery Ward in March 2001, was divided into two sections. Philadelphia's Forman Mills set up shop in the (66,300 square foot) Lower Level and opened on November 26, 2004. A (60,000 square foot) Total Save variety store assumed the upper level space.

In July 2014, IVERSON MALL was sold to a joint venture of Pikesville, Maryland's America's Realty and Washington's West End Capital Group. Soon after the transaction closed, a Henderson, North Carolina-based Roses opened, which occupied space recently vacated by Total Save.

A comprehensive indoor-outdoor renovation was announced in September 2016. The 57 million dollar project, financed by a loan from the Prince George's County Economic Development Incentive Fund, would install "Main Street" facades along the mall's east facade, reorient various stores with exterior entrances, retenant the 4-story Office Building and refurbish all common areas. 

As part of the revitalization, the shopping hub was renamed THE SHOPS AT IVERSON. Burlington (Coat Factory) pulled up stakes in 2019 and was proceeded by Shoppers World, which opened its doors in November 2020. Other new mall tenants included Chipotle Mexican Grill and WingStop.

Sources:

The Washington Post

The Montgomery County Sentinel (Rockville, Maryland)
http://www.iversonmall.com (website on Internet Archive Wayback Machine)
http://www.goprincegeorgescounty.com
https://www.labelscar.com
http://www.mncppcapps.org / "Hillcrest Heights Community Survey" / EHT Traceries, Incorporated / January 2009
"Iverson Mall" Flyer / H & R Retail, Inc. / Chevy Chase, Maryland
https://www.americasrealtyllc.com / America's Realty
http://www.renaudconsulting.net / Renauld Consulting Commercial Real Estate

https://www.princegeorgescountymd.gov / Prince George's County, Maryland

"The Shops at Iverson" article on Wikipedia