Briarcliff and Lavista Roads
Dekalb County, Georgia
Two major shopping malls opened in Atlanta's Dekalb County suburbs during 1971. PERIMETER MALL, in the Dunwoody area, held its formal opening in August . NORTHLAKE MALL, in the Northlake community, was dedicated on October 9th. The 2-level, fully-enclosed complex was built on 63.9 acres, lying 13 miles northeast of the center city. The area and its mall were named after North Lake, a small body of water in the area.
NORTHLAKE MALL was designed by Atlanta's Toombs, Amisano & Wells firm and developed by a joint venture of Atlanta's Frank Carter and Ewell Pope, Dallas' Trammell Crow and Baltimore's Monumental Properties.
Encompassing 2 levels of retail and 1,000,000 leasable square feet, NORTHLAKE was anchored by three department stores. A 2-level (200,000 square foot) Sears opened for business July 14, 1971. A 2-level (179,000 square foot) J.C. Penney and 3-level (187,000 square foot), Atlanta-based Davison's began business October 6th. The mall was also dedicated on this day, with Governor Jimmy Carter (D) officiating at the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
There would be ninety-seven inline stores in the fully-leased shopping center. These included Hickory Farms of Ohio, Lerner Shops, Mori Luggage & Gifts, Muse's, Thom McAn Shoes, Allen & Bean Magnavox, El Chico mexican restaurant, Frederick's of Hollywood, a Piccadilly Cafeteria and J.G. McCrory 5 & 10.
A freestanding movie theater, the General Cinema Corporation Northlake Mall Cinemas I-II-III, was installed in a northwestern outparcel convenience center. The first features were shown at the venue on June 25, 1976.
The nearest regional-class competitors for NORTHLAKE MALL were LENOX SQUARE (1959) {6 miles west, in Atlanta}, PERIMETER MALL (1971) {6.7 miles northwest, in Dekalb County} and -eventually- GWINNETT PLACE MALL (1984) {10.4 miles northeast, in Gwinnett County}.
A 9-bay Food Court opened in the mall's northwest entrance corridor in May 1984. The first major renovation of NORTHLAKE MALL commenced in April 1987. During the multi-million-dollar project, the front facade and Main Entrance were remodeled. The interior was redone in a Post Modern motif with Italianate touches. A clock tower elevator now graced Center Court, the Macy's Court resembled a tropical jungle and the restaurant area had been renamed Food Allee.
When the refurbished mall was officially re-dedicated, on November 16, 1987, it housed 115 stores and services. A physical expansion of the shopping hub commenced in 1992. It would enlarge the southwest and northwest corners. The 12-bay Food Garden was built adjacent to the west side of J.C. Penney. This food facility opened on October 14, 1992.
The second stage of the mall expansion extended southward from the Sears Wing. A 2-level (100,000 square foot), Birmingham-based Parisian was added, using gutted mall space and a 52,000 square foot addition. Parisian was officially dedicated on November 5, 1994. NORTHLAKE MALL now encompassed approximately 1,063,000 leasable square feet.
Davison's had been the first NORTHLAKE anchor to be rebranded. The store became a Davison's-Macy's in February 1985 and full-fledged Macy's on November 17 of the same year. It was rebannered as a Rich's-Macy's on February 2, 2003. On March 6, 2005, it -again- sported a bona fide Macy's moniker.
Meanwhile, the mall had changed hands in September 1998. Indianapolis' Simon Property Group acquired the assets of New York City-based Corporate Property Investors, taking in twenty-three shopping hubs. These included NORTHLAKE MALL, as well as Atlanta's LENOX SQUARE, Greater New York City's ROOSEVELT FIELD MALL and Greater Boston's SOUTH SHORE PLAZA.
A (24,700 square foot) Old Navy opened at NORTHLAKE MALL on September 27, 2000. Parisian pulled up stakes in June 2007 and was succeeded by a Wisconsin-based Kohl's in early 2008. This store closed for good in June 2016. By this time, the mall had been in a downward spiral for some time.
The Simon Property Group created a spin-off Real Estate Investment Trust in May 2014. Known as the Washington Prime Group, it assumed ownership of forty-four of Simon's "Grade B" malls, including the NORTHLAKE property. Dallas, Texas' ATR Corinth Partners bought the complex in February 2016. In November of the following year, they also acquired the Sears building.
Sears at NORTHLAKE MALL went dark in September 2018. In October 2019, it was announced that Emory Healthcare had leased the vacant Sears, and an additional 25,000 square feet of idle store space. This was redeveloped as the Emory Healthcare Northlake Office Complex. The 30 million dollar renovation was completed in late 2021.
Sources:
https://archinect.com
www.cinematreasures.org
The second stage of the mall expansion extended southward from the Sears Wing. A 2-level (100,000 square foot), Birmingham-based Parisian was added, using gutted mall space and a 52,000 square foot addition. Parisian was officially dedicated on November 5, 1994. NORTHLAKE MALL now encompassed approximately 1,063,000 leasable square feet.
Davison's had been the first NORTHLAKE anchor to be rebranded. The store became a Davison's-Macy's in February 1985 and full-fledged Macy's on November 17 of the same year. It was rebannered as a Rich's-Macy's on February 2, 2003. On March 6, 2005, it -again- sported a bona fide Macy's moniker.
Meanwhile, the mall had changed hands in September 1998. Indianapolis' Simon Property Group acquired the assets of New York City-based Corporate Property Investors, taking in twenty-three shopping hubs. These included NORTHLAKE MALL, as well as Atlanta's LENOX SQUARE, Greater New York City's ROOSEVELT FIELD MALL and Greater Boston's SOUTH SHORE PLAZA.
A (24,700 square foot) Old Navy opened at NORTHLAKE MALL on September 27, 2000. Parisian pulled up stakes in June 2007 and was succeeded by a Wisconsin-based Kohl's in early 2008. This store closed for good in June 2016. By this time, the mall had been in a downward spiral for some time.
The Simon Property Group created a spin-off Real Estate Investment Trust in May 2014. Known as the Washington Prime Group, it assumed ownership of forty-four of Simon's "Grade B" malls, including the NORTHLAKE property. Dallas, Texas' ATR Corinth Partners bought the complex in February 2016. In November of the following year, they also acquired the Sears building.
Sears at NORTHLAKE MALL went dark in September 2018. In October 2019, it was announced that Emory Healthcare had leased the vacant Sears, and an additional 25,000 square feet of idle store space. This was redeveloped as the Emory Healthcare Northlake Office Complex. The 30 million dollar renovation was completed in late 2021.
Sources:
The Atlanta Constitution
The Atlanta Journal
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Atlanta Business Chronicle
Dekalb County, Georgia tax assessor websitehttps://archinect.com
www.cinematreasures.org
https://impactdm.com
"Northlake Mall" article on Wikipedia
"Northlake Mall" article on Wikipedia
