Colerain Avenue / US 27 and Springdale Road
Hamilton County, Ohio
Greater Cincinnati's sixth mall-type shopping center was constructed on a 42-acre tract, located 12 miles northwest of downtown's Fountain Square, in an unincorporated section of Hamilton County known as Colerain Township. The site, formerly the Mount Healthy Airport, was a short distance south of the future route of the Interstate 275 beltway.
NORTHGATE MALL was designed by Hixson, Incorporated, of Cincinnati, Crowther, Kruse & McWilliams, of Denver, and the international firm of William Pereira Associates. The complex was developed by the N.A. Management & Development Company of Cincinnati.
Anchoring the original mall were a 3-level (153,000 square foot), Cincinnati-based Pogue's, which welcomed its first shoppers on May 20, 1972. A 2-level (191,000 square foot), Cincinnati-based McAlpin's held its grand opening June 4, 1972. A 2-level (161,900 square foot) Sears was officially dedicated July 26th.
A mall-wide grand opening commenced on September 10, 1972. At this time, the complex encompassed approximately 880,000 leasable square feet. It would eventually house over ninety stores and services. Charter tenants included Camelot Music, Gordon's Jewelers, Paul Harris ladies' wear, Thom McAn Shoes, a Magnaxox Home Entertainment Center, SupeRx Drugs and a Kroger "Superstore" grocery.
NORTHGATE MALL was, architecturally, a '70s Modern structure inside and out. Its shopping concourses were decorated with lush tropical plants and trees. There were recessed seating areas, tent-shaped skylights and five fountains.
The first motion picture venue to operate at the mall was built, as a freestanding structure, in its northeast parking area. The Mid-States Theatres Northgate Cinemas 1-2-3 showed its first features on December 22, 1973. The venue would eventually comprise 7 screens.
Shopping hubs in the NORTHGATE trade area included TRI-COUNTY MALL (1960) {7.6 miles northeast, in Springdale}, WESTERN WOODS MALL (1966) {6.6 miles southwest, in Hamilton County}and -eventually- FOREST FAIR MALL (1988) {5.5 miles northeast, in Forest Park and Fairfield}.
A 2 million dollar face lift renovation of NORTHGATE MALL was completed in March 1988. The first physical expansion got underway in the fall of 1992. This 40 million dollar project revamped the existing complex with new flooring, lighting and landscaping. The West Wing was reconfigured. All three wings were extended, an 11-bay Food Court created and multi-level parking garage built.
Moreover, a fourth anchor store joined the tenant list. A 2-level (180,000 square foot) Lazarus opened for business on September 17, 1993. The official re-dedication of the mall began on October 21 of the same year.
In all, thirty-three stores had been added. These included Arcadia, Champs Sports, Deb Shops and Energy Express Plus. The Food Court featured Chao Praya Chinese Eatery, Arthur Threacher's Fish & Chips, Chick-Fil-A, Sbarro Italian Eatery and Subway. NORTHGATE MALL now encompassed approximately 1,100,000 leasable square feet and contained 130 stores and services.
The first anchor store change occurred October 29, 1984, when units in the Pogue's chain (a division of Associated Dry Goods) were rebranded as Indianapolis-based L.S. Ayres. The NORTHGATE, KENWOOD TOWNE CENTRE and TRI-COUNTY Ayres locations were rebranded by J.C. Penney on November 7, 1988. In 1999, a McAlpin's-to-Dillard's conversion took place. Lazarus morphed into Lazarus-Macy's on August 1, 2003 and was given a Macy's brand on March 6, 2005.
In July of the same year, Great Neck, New York-based Feldman Mall Properties acquired NORTHGATE MALL. Plans for an open-air Streetscape addition were drawn up. This would be built on the Northgate Cinemas 7 site and include several high-end boutiques and bistros.
Said Streetscape was to be the second segment of a two-phase revitalization of the 33-year-old retail hub. Only the first segment of this plan would be implemented. The project got underway in April 2006 and was finished in December of the same year. The complex was given an exterior face lift, which included new landscaping and refurbished mall entrances.
In 2006, J.C. Penney announced their impending move from NORTHGATE to a new store in the adjoining STONE CREEK TOWNE CENTER. It appeared that the loss of this major tenant was going to be recouped by a 14-screen Rave megaplex cinema, which was plotted to replace the vacant anchor store.
Hamilton County, Ohio
Greater Cincinnati's sixth mall-type shopping center was constructed on a 42-acre tract, located 12 miles northwest of downtown's Fountain Square, in an unincorporated section of Hamilton County known as Colerain Township. The site, formerly the Mount Healthy Airport, was a short distance south of the future route of the Interstate 275 beltway.
NORTHGATE MALL was designed by Hixson, Incorporated, of Cincinnati, Crowther, Kruse & McWilliams, of Denver, and the international firm of William Pereira Associates. The complex was developed by the N.A. Management & Development Company of Cincinnati.
Anchoring the original mall were a 3-level (153,000 square foot), Cincinnati-based Pogue's, which welcomed its first shoppers on May 20, 1972. A 2-level (191,000 square foot), Cincinnati-based McAlpin's held its grand opening June 4, 1972. A 2-level (161,900 square foot) Sears was officially dedicated July 26th.
A mall-wide grand opening commenced on September 10, 1972. At this time, the complex encompassed approximately 880,000 leasable square feet. It would eventually house over ninety stores and services. Charter tenants included Camelot Music, Gordon's Jewelers, Paul Harris ladies' wear, Thom McAn Shoes, a Magnaxox Home Entertainment Center, SupeRx Drugs and a Kroger "Superstore" grocery.
NORTHGATE MALL was, architecturally, a '70s Modern structure inside and out. Its shopping concourses were decorated with lush tropical plants and trees. There were recessed seating areas, tent-shaped skylights and five fountains.
The first motion picture venue to operate at the mall was built, as a freestanding structure, in its northeast parking area. The Mid-States Theatres Northgate Cinemas 1-2-3 showed its first features on December 22, 1973. The venue would eventually comprise 7 screens.
Shopping hubs in the NORTHGATE trade area included TRI-COUNTY MALL (1960) {7.6 miles northeast, in Springdale}, WESTERN WOODS MALL (1966) {6.6 miles southwest, in Hamilton County}and -eventually- FOREST FAIR MALL (1988) {5.5 miles northeast, in Forest Park and Fairfield}.
A 2 million dollar face lift renovation of NORTHGATE MALL was completed in March 1988. The first physical expansion got underway in the fall of 1992. This 40 million dollar project revamped the existing complex with new flooring, lighting and landscaping. The West Wing was reconfigured. All three wings were extended, an 11-bay Food Court created and multi-level parking garage built.
Moreover, a fourth anchor store joined the tenant list. A 2-level (180,000 square foot) Lazarus opened for business on September 17, 1993. The official re-dedication of the mall began on October 21 of the same year.
In all, thirty-three stores had been added. These included Arcadia, Champs Sports, Deb Shops and Energy Express Plus. The Food Court featured Chao Praya Chinese Eatery, Arthur Threacher's Fish & Chips, Chick-Fil-A, Sbarro Italian Eatery and Subway. NORTHGATE MALL now encompassed approximately 1,100,000 leasable square feet and contained 130 stores and services.
The first anchor store change occurred October 29, 1984, when units in the Pogue's chain (a division of Associated Dry Goods) were rebranded as Indianapolis-based L.S. Ayres. The NORTHGATE, KENWOOD TOWNE CENTRE and TRI-COUNTY Ayres locations were rebranded by J.C. Penney on November 7, 1988. In 1999, a McAlpin's-to-Dillard's conversion took place. Lazarus morphed into Lazarus-Macy's on August 1, 2003 and was given a Macy's brand on March 6, 2005.
In July of the same year, Great Neck, New York-based Feldman Mall Properties acquired NORTHGATE MALL. Plans for an open-air Streetscape addition were drawn up. This would be built on the Northgate Cinemas 7 site and include several high-end boutiques and bistros.
Said Streetscape was to be the second segment of a two-phase revitalization of the 33-year-old retail hub. Only the first segment of this plan would be implemented. The project got underway in April 2006 and was finished in December of the same year. The complex was given an exterior face lift, which included new landscaping and refurbished mall entrances.
In 2006, J.C. Penney announced their impending move from NORTHGATE to a new store in the adjoining STONE CREEK TOWNE CENTER. It appeared that the loss of this major tenant was going to be recouped by a 14-screen Rave megaplex cinema, which was plotted to replace the vacant anchor store.
The Pogue's / Penney's structure was demolished in February 2007. Unfortunately, the new movie house did not materialize. This left a gaping hole in the south-facing facade of the mall. To add insult to injury, Dillard's, the mall's east anchor, shuttered its NORTHGATE store on December 31, 2009.
Due to The Great Recession, Feldman Mall Properties was left with an upside down mortgage. The appraised value of the retail hub, on which they owed 75 million dollars, had depreciated to only 34 million. The company filed for bankruptcy in February 2010. The shopping center was placed in receivership.
Dallas-based Tabani Acquisitions, Limited Liability Company agreed to purchase the struggling retail center. The deal closed in October 2011. Soon after, Tabani announced plans for a major revitalization of the property. Three freestanding structures were built in the eastern parking area; Cheddar's Casual Cafe, McDonald's and a LongHorn Steakhouse.
Store space in the East Wing was gutted and reconfigured as a (50,000 square foot) Famous Labels store. It opened for business December 17, 2010, but closed soon after. A Burlington (Coat Factory) took over the space and opened on March 8, 2013.
At the same time, the vacant Dillard's was gutted and carved into four big box spaces. These housed a (19,000 square foot) DSW, (27,000 square foot) Marshalls, (22,000 square foot) Michaels and (12,000 square foot) Ulta Beauty. Marshalls became the first store to open, on May 2, 2013. The final dedication, held for DSW, took place September 5 of the same year.
Dallas-based Tabani Acquisitions, Limited Liability Company agreed to purchase the struggling retail center. The deal closed in October 2011. Soon after, Tabani announced plans for a major revitalization of the property. Three freestanding structures were built in the eastern parking area; Cheddar's Casual Cafe, McDonald's and a LongHorn Steakhouse.
Store space in the East Wing was gutted and reconfigured as a (50,000 square foot) Famous Labels store. It opened for business December 17, 2010, but closed soon after. A Burlington (Coat Factory) took over the space and opened on March 8, 2013.
At the same time, the vacant Dillard's was gutted and carved into four big box spaces. These housed a (19,000 square foot) DSW, (27,000 square foot) Marshalls, (22,000 square foot) Michaels and (12,000 square foot) Ulta Beauty. Marshalls became the first store to open, on May 2, 2013. The final dedication, held for DSW, took place September 5 of the same year.
A (23,000 square foot) hhgregg was added to the north side of the former Dillard's. This store held its grand opening on July 10, 2014. It was shuttered, along with the chain, in May 2017. Meanwhile, a new theatrical venue was built on space where the Pogue's / Penney's store once stood. The Xscape Theatres Northgate 14 premiered on January 22, 2015.
The 46-year-old NORTHGATE Sears pulled up stakes in November 2018, with Macy's going dark in March 2020. By this time, a plan to redevelop the mall as a lifestyle-type venue was being devised. No timeline for the project was provided.
Sources:
The Cincinnati Enquirer
http://www.feldmanproperties.com / Feldman Properties
Hamilton County, Ohio tax assessor website
http://www.cinematreasures.org
http://www.movie-theatre.org / Mike Rivest
http://www.mynorthgatemall.com
Sources:
The Cincinnati Enquirer
http://www.feldmanproperties.com / Feldman Properties
Hamilton County, Ohio tax assessor website
http://www.cinematreasures.org
http://www.movie-theatre.org / Mike Rivest
http://www.mynorthgatemall.com
