SOUTH DEKALB took a direct hit from the too-close-for-comfort MALL AT STONECREST, in 2001. In a site plan dated 2014, we see how the J.C. Penney store -snatched by STONECREST- was reconfigured. The ground floor has been divided in half and leased by Super Beauty Depot and Conway (Fashion Discount).
The mall's South Dekalb I & II (later the South Dekalb Quad) had closed in the late 1990s. It was eventually renovated, and re-opened, as the American Screenworks 12, in 2007. After stints as Big Cinemas 12 and Satellite Cinemas 12, the venue was shuttered in 2017.
Photo from www.brphoto.com / Robbins Photography, Incorporated
SOUTH DEKALB MALL
Candler and Flat Shoals Roads
Dekalb County, Georgia
Planning began for Greater Atlanta's fifth fully-enclosed shopping venue in 1967. Rich's Incorporated, who operated Rich's department stores, purchased a 106-acre property on Candler Road that was sandwiched between Interstates 20 and 285. This site was located 9.3 miles southeast of downtown Atlanta, in a section of unincorporated Dekalb County known as Panthersville. Construction soon got underway at a 77.1-acre parcel.
The property was being developed by a joint venture of Rich's, Macon's Fickling & Walker, Incorporated and the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company. The Stephens & Wilkinson firm of Marietta, Georgia designed the mall.
A 3-level (180,000 square foot) Rich's opened for business on August 11, 1969. This freestanding store was joined by a single-level shopping center with a total of 738,000 leasable square feet. A mall-wide grand opening was held on April 30, 1970. Charter inline stores included Casual Corner, Music Grotto, Spencer Gifts, Dipper Dan's Ice Cream Parlor, Size 5-7-9 Shops, Zachry For Men, Pet Village, a (20,000 square foot) Jacobs Drug and (39,600 square foot) F.W. Woolworth 5 & 10.
The Georgia Theatre Company South Dekalb I & II debuted on May 20, 1970. A 2-level (187,000 square foot) J.C. Penney commenced operation on October 14 of the same year. The SOUTH DEKALB MALL Piccadilly Cafeteria welcomed its first diners on November 27, 1971. By this time, the tenant roster listed seventy-six stores.
In its early years, the primary rivals of SOUTH DEKALB MALL were NORTH DEKALB CENTER (1965) {6.5 miles north, in Dekalb County}, COLUMBIA MALL (1967) {3.1 miles north, also in Dekalb County} and SOUTHLAKE MALL (1976) {9.5 miles southwest, in Morrow}.
In December 1977, the South Dekalb I & II re-opened as the South Dekalb Quad. Maryland's James Rouse Company had acquired the shopping center. In December 1996, they sold it to a joint venture of Atlanta-based Capitalist Ventures and New York City's Nomura Asset Capital Corporation. A remodeling was done during 1999. This entailed the installation of an 8-bay Food Court and new Main Entrance.
In December 1977, the South Dekalb I & II re-opened as the South Dekalb Quad. Maryland's James Rouse Company had acquired the shopping center. In December 1996, they sold it to a joint venture of Atlanta-based Capitalist Ventures and New York City's Nomura Asset Capital Corporation. A remodeling was done during 1999. This entailed the installation of an 8-bay Food Court and new Main Entrance.
The dedication of MALL AT STONECREST {10.1 miles east, in Dekalb County}, in 2001, presented a problem. The new retail facility snatched the 31-year-old Penney's from SOUTH DEKALB, taking a good deal of trade with it.
The first level of the vacant Penney's was to be leased as a Burlington Coat Factory, with a Bally's Fitness Center set to occupy its second floor. These tenants never materialized. Steve & Barry's University Sportswear announced plans for a store in the vacant Penney's space in June 2008, but cancelled these plans within 3 weeks.
Eventually, the building was leased as a 2-level Amazing Rooms furniture outlet. Rich's, by this time the best-performing store in the chain, had been rebranded as Rich's-Macy's on February 2, 2003 and became a full-fledged Macy's March 6, 2005.
Eventually, the building was leased as a 2-level Amazing Rooms furniture outlet. Rich's, by this time the best-performing store in the chain, had been rebranded as Rich's-Macy's on February 2, 2003 and became a full-fledged Macy's March 6, 2005.
Meanwhile, New York City-based Thor Equities acquired SOUTH DEKALB MALL in March 2003. They performed a 15 million dollar overhaul during 2004, which installed marble flooring, skylights and a new roof. A new name was also bequeathed; THE GALLERY AT SOUTH DEKALB.
The South Dekalb Quad closed in 1997. A deal to expand and re-open the theater, as a Magic Johnson multiplex, fell through in 1999. American Screenworks took over the movie house and, after a major overhaul and expansion, dedicated their Screenworks 12 on April 20, 2007. This venue was in operation until 2009, when it was renamed as Big Cinemas 12. A subsequent version of the theater, known as the Satellite Cinemas 12, opened in April 2016 and closed for good in the following year.
Amazing Rooms shut down in 2008. The ground floor was divided between two tenants, a (46,300 square foot) Super Beauty Depot and (30,000 square foot) Conway (Fashion Discount). This store was dedicated May 22, 2009.
These stores were short-lived. Super Beauty Depot morphed into Chapel Beauty Supply. The New York City-based Conway chain was acquired by Los Angeles-based National Stores in January 2014. They rebranded the GALLERY AT SOUTH DEKALB store under their Fallas nameplate in April 2014. The South Dekalb Macy's went dark on March 22, 2020.
By this time, the Macy-less mall was in decline. Thor Equities defaulted on their mall loan in 2020. CW Capital, the loan provider, assumed ownership of the property and enlisted an entity known as Newmark as sales agent. Newmark placed GALLERY AT SOUTH DEKALB on an online auction, that was held in December 2021. The complex was purchased by a joint venture of Great Neck, New York's Mason Asset Management and Namdar Realty Group.
Sources:
The Atlanta Constitution
The Atlanta Journal
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Dekalb County, Georgia property tax assessor website
www.cinematreasures.org
www.godekalb.com
www.southdekalbmall.com
http://www.thorequities.com
https://commissionerlorrainecochranjohnson.com
"Gallery At South Dekalb" article on Wikipedia
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