Broad River Road / US 176 and Dutch Square Boulevard
Richland County (Columbia), South Carolina
South Carolina's second major enclosed shopping center was built on 56 acres, located 4 miles northwest of the South Carolina State House. At the time of its completion, DUTCH SQUARE was located in Saint Andrews, an unincorporated section of Richland County. It was annexed into the city limits of Columbia in 1997.
The single-level complex was developed by a joint venture of the Greenville-based Caine Company and Columbia-based Cotter & Company. It was designed by Lafaye, Lafaye & Associates and Pearlstine-Anderson Architects. In its original state, DUTCH SQUARE encompassed 510,000 leasable square feet. It was anchored by a 2-level (135,600 square foot), Augusta, Georgia-based J.B. White, 1-level (60,000 square foot), Columbia-based Tapp's and 1-level (103,000 square foot) Woolco discount mart.
J.B. White became the first operational store on February 26, 1970. A mall-wide grand opening was held on August 6th. Charter tenants included Brittons, Record Bar, Cricket Shop, Browz-a-Bit, Butlers Shoes and a Merle Norman Cosmetic Studio.
A freestanding Convenience Center housed an A & P grocery. It predated the mall by 2 years. A second outparcel, the Irvin-Filler Dutch Square Ultra-Vision Theatre North & South, was dedicated on February 15, 1973. The venue re-opened -as a 4-plex- in May 1983 and was shuttered in late 1997.
The original competitor of DUTCH SQUARE was RICHLAND MALL {5.7 miles southeast, in Columbia}, which had been dedicated in 1961. It was renovated into RICHLAND FASHION MALL between 1987 and 1990. COLUMBIA PLACE {8.5 miles northeast, in Columbia}, was dedicated in 1977. COLUMBIANA CENTRE {4 miles northwest, in Richland County} opened for business in 1990.
Woolco was shuttered in March 1983. The building was divided into twelve store spaces, with the largest leased as an Elkin, North Carolina-based Brendle's Catalog Showroom. Tapp's was also downsized. It now shared space with three inline stores. In the mid-1980s, White's was expanded to 4 levels. A third floor was devoted to retail, with a fourth housing offices and an advertising department. The expanded store encompassed 203,400 square feet.
In June of 1988, DUTCH SQUARE was sold to Columbia-based Edens & Avant, Incorporated. They envisaged a major expansion of the complex, which would add a second retail level and two anchor stores; Atlanta-based Rich's and Richmond-based Miller & Rhoads. Within a few years, these plans had been abandoned.
By the early 1990s, the mall was in a downward spiral that had begun with the closing of Woolco. In 1993, Edens & Avant defaulted on their mall loan. The decline of the mall was exacerbated by the closing of Tapp's, in late 1995.
A joint venture of Cincinnati-based Phillips Edison & Company and the Newport Beach, California-based Koll Company purchased the struggling shopping center. In April 1996, a 12 million dollar renovation was announced. During the project, the complex was given a face lift and new entrances were built. The complex was renamed DUTCH SQUARE CENTER as part of the renovation.
The Woolco building was reconfigured again, being divided into two stores. An (84,000 square foot), New Jersey-based, Burlington Coat Factory opened in December 1996, followed by a (30,000 square foot), Florida-based Office Depot.
The vacant Tapp's was razed. It was replaced by the General Cinema Corporation Dutch Square 14, which showed first features on December 19, 1997. The new movie house brought 18,000 additional leasable square feet under the roof of the mall, which now encompassed approximately 595,400. General Cinema Corporation venues were acquired -and rebranded- by the AMC chain in 2002.
In August 1998, J.B. White was dissolved as a result of the Mercantile Stores-Dillard's merger. The DUTCH SQUARE store was sold to Charlotte-based Belk, who re-opened the location, under the Belk-Simpson banner, in April 1999. The building was given a 3 million dollar renovation in mid-2000, was downsized to 2 floors in June 2009, and received a bona fide Belk brand in 2011. It was shuttered in January 2015. In January 2017, New York City-based Nassimi Realty acquired DUTCH SQUARE CENTER.
At the time, the mall had twenty vacant store spaces out of a total of fifty-nine. Planet Fitness, a mall tenant since 2013, moved from a 12,800 square foot space into one encompassing 25,000. Carved out of the first floor of the Belk building, the new fitness facility held its grand opening in April 2018. The Dutch Square 14 was shuttered on August 21, 2022. The venue re-opened, as the Bow Tie Management (BTM) Dutch Square Cinema 14, on September 1, 2022.
In June of 1988, DUTCH SQUARE was sold to Columbia-based Edens & Avant, Incorporated. They envisaged a major expansion of the complex, which would add a second retail level and two anchor stores; Atlanta-based Rich's and Richmond-based Miller & Rhoads. Within a few years, these plans had been abandoned.
By the early 1990s, the mall was in a downward spiral that had begun with the closing of Woolco. In 1993, Edens & Avant defaulted on their mall loan. The decline of the mall was exacerbated by the closing of Tapp's, in late 1995.
A joint venture of Cincinnati-based Phillips Edison & Company and the Newport Beach, California-based Koll Company purchased the struggling shopping center. In April 1996, a 12 million dollar renovation was announced. During the project, the complex was given a face lift and new entrances were built. The complex was renamed DUTCH SQUARE CENTER as part of the renovation.
The Woolco building was reconfigured again, being divided into two stores. An (84,000 square foot), New Jersey-based, Burlington Coat Factory opened in December 1996, followed by a (30,000 square foot), Florida-based Office Depot.
The vacant Tapp's was razed. It was replaced by the General Cinema Corporation Dutch Square 14, which showed first features on December 19, 1997. The new movie house brought 18,000 additional leasable square feet under the roof of the mall, which now encompassed approximately 595,400. General Cinema Corporation venues were acquired -and rebranded- by the AMC chain in 2002.
In August 1998, J.B. White was dissolved as a result of the Mercantile Stores-Dillard's merger. The DUTCH SQUARE store was sold to Charlotte-based Belk, who re-opened the location, under the Belk-Simpson banner, in April 1999. The building was given a 3 million dollar renovation in mid-2000, was downsized to 2 floors in June 2009, and received a bona fide Belk brand in 2011. It was shuttered in January 2015. In January 2017, New York City-based Nassimi Realty acquired DUTCH SQUARE CENTER.
At the time, the mall had twenty vacant store spaces out of a total of fifty-nine. Planet Fitness, a mall tenant since 2013, moved from a 12,800 square foot space into one encompassing 25,000. Carved out of the first floor of the Belk building, the new fitness facility held its grand opening in April 2018. The Dutch Square 14 was shuttered on August 21, 2022. The venue re-opened, as the Bow Tie Management (BTM) Dutch Square Cinema 14, on September 1, 2022.
Sources:
The State (Columbia, South Carolina)
The Gamecock (Columbia, South Carolina)
The Greenville News
"Dead Mall: Dutch Square Mall - Columbia, South Carolina" / Unicom Productions
http://www.dutchsquare.com
http://www.phillipsedison.com / Phillips Edison & Company
https://www.movie-theatre.org / Mike Rivest
Richland County, South Carolina Tax Assessor website
https://cinematreasures.org
"Dutch Square Mall" and "Belk" articles on Wikipedia
FAIR USE OF DUTCH SQUARE IMAGES:
The photos from the Richland County Public Library illustrate a key moment in the mall's history that is described in the article. The images are of lower resolution than the originals (copies made would be of inferior quality). The images are not replaceable with free-use or public-domain images. The use of the images does not limit the copyright owners' rights to distribute the images in any way. The images are being used for non-profit, informational purposes only and their use is not believed to detract from the original images in any way.
The Gamecock (Columbia, South Carolina)
The Greenville News
"Dead Mall: Dutch Square Mall - Columbia, South Carolina" / Unicom Productions
http://www.dutchsquare.com
http://www.phillipsedison.com / Phillips Edison & Company
https://www.movie-theatre.org / Mike Rivest
Richland County, South Carolina Tax Assessor website
https://cinematreasures.org
"Dutch Square Mall" and "Belk" articles on Wikipedia
FAIR USE OF DUTCH SQUARE IMAGES:
The photos from the Richland County Public Library illustrate a key moment in the mall's history that is described in the article. The images are of lower resolution than the originals (copies made would be of inferior quality). The images are not replaceable with free-use or public-domain images. The use of the images does not limit the copyright owners' rights to distribute the images in any way. The images are being used for non-profit, informational purposes only and their use is not believed to detract from the original images in any way.
