Miller and South Linden Roads
Genesee County, Michigan
Greater Flint's first enclosed shopping center, DORT MALL, opened for business in 1964. It was followed by another community-class complex, BELLA VISTA MALL (GRAND MALL), in 1965. The regional-class EASTLAND MALL opened in October 1968.
In August 1968, ground had been broken at an 80.3-acre plot, located 4.5 miles southwest of Flint's center city. The parcel was in a section of unincorporated Genesee County known as Flint Township. A fully-enclosed, regional-class mall was being developed by Shopping Centers, Incorporated, a real estate division of the Dayton Hudson Corporation. Detroit's Louis G. Redstone Associates designed the complex, with assistance from Los Angeles' Victor Gruen Associates.
When completed, GENESEE VALLEY CENTER encompassed approximately 875,200 leasable square feet. It was anchored by a 2-level (293,100 square foot) Sears and 2-level (268,000 square foot), Detroit-based Hudson's. Sears became the first store to open, in May 1970. Hudson's was officially dedicated in July.
A mall-wide grand opening was held on August 8, 1970. By September, sixty-one stores and services were in operation. These included Cunningham Drugs, Schiller's Millinery, Chess King, Jo-Ann Fabrics, Palace Coney Island, Albert's Ladies' Fashions, the Purple Pickle Restaurant, an F.W. Woolworth 5 & 10 and Hamady Brothers supermarket. There was one regional-class competitor in the vicinity; the aforementioned EASTLAND MALL {8.6 miles northeast, in Genesee County (City of Burton)}.
Work commenced on the first expansion of GENESEE VALLEY CENTER in the late 1970s. A 252,200 square foot East Wing was added, which was anchored by a 2-level (151,500 square foot) J.C. Penney. This store opened its doors on January 9, 1980. GVC now encompassed approximately 1,127,400 leasable square feet and housed over seventy-five stores and services.
Work commenced on the first expansion of GENESEE VALLEY CENTER in the late 1970s. A 252,200 square foot East Wing was added, which was anchored by a 2-level (151,500 square foot) J.C. Penney. This store opened its doors on January 9, 1980. GVC now encompassed approximately 1,127,400 leasable square feet and housed over seventy-five stores and services.
In March 1987, a second mall expansion got underway. During the 4 million dollar project, Center Court was rebuilt, adding a 12-bay Food Floor. This facility was installed in a new Upper Level, beneath a 40-foot skylight. A 2-level atrium was created, which featured a new elevator, water feature and escalators. In 1989, Woolworth's was downsized into a Woolworth Express heath & beauty aids store.
A third expansion of GVC was completed in the early 1990s. A 2-level (86,000 square foot) Mervyn's was built as part of a ten-store West Wing. Moreover, a 2-level (109,900 square foot) Montgomery Ward was added to the East Wing. With completion of this project in 1993, the gross leasable area of GENESEE VALLEY CENTER was increased to approximately 1,353,400 square feet, with a retail roster of 116 stores and services.
In July 1997, the Woolworth Express was shuttered. Steve & Barry's University Sportswear expanded the store space and opened for business in 2003. They closed for good in January 2009. Meanwhile, Montgomery Ward had ceased operation on January 15, 2001. In August, the Hudson's store was rebranded as a Marshall Field's. It became a Macy's in September 2006.
A third mall renovation commenced in the summer of 2005. The vacant Montgomery Ward was knocked down, with an open-air Outdoor Village taking its place. Comprising 65,000 leasable square feet and twelve tenants, the lifestyle-format addition opened in April 2006. Mervyn's, which had closed on January 21, 2006, became a Burlington Coat Factory on August 31, 2007. With the addition of the Outdoor Village, GENESEE VALLEY CENTER encompassed around 1,127,400 leasable square feet and housed 110 retail spaces.
Sweden's H & M chain dedicated a (19,000 square foot) store on November 2, 2017. The mall lost its 10-year-old Burlington (Coat Factory) in April 2018. This vacancy was filled by Play Big, an indoor bounce house, which opened on December 15, 2018. Sears had pulled up stakes on September 2, 2018, after anchoring GENESEE VALLEY CENTER for more than 48 years.
Over five decades, GENESEE VALLEY CENTER has been bought and sold so many times that it is just about impossible to keep up with all of the transactions. We'll give it a try, nonetheless. As mentioned, the mall was developed by the Dayton Hudson Corporation's Shopping Centers, Incorporated subsidiary. They sold GVC to a joint venture of New York City's Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States and TCC Center Companies in October 1980. By 1983, it was owned by Chicago's JMB Properties.
JMB sold the mall to another Chicago-based concern, the Heitman Advisory Corporation, in July 1990. Apparently, Heitman merged with Southern California's Kennedy Wilson, Incorporated in July 1998. Next in the mall ownership trajectory was an Atlanta-based entity known as Genesee Valley Partners, Limited Partnership, who bought GVC in -or around- October 2006. They installed Chicago's Jones Lang LaSalle, Incorporated as manager.
Maryland's 3342 Linden Road Holdings, Limited Liability Company took possession of the shopping hub in October 2012, with Syracuse, New York's Spinoso Real Estate Group hired to manage the complex. A joint venture of Great Neck, New York's Namdar Realty Group and Mason Asset Management acquired the mall in December 2019.
Sources:
The Flint Journal
The Flint Journal
The Detroit Free Press
Vassar Pioneer Times (Vassar, Michigan)
http://www.joneslanglasalle.com
https://www.geneseemall.com
http://www.joneslanglasalle.com
https://www.geneseemall.com
Urban Retail Properties, Limited Liability Company Corporate Overview / May 2016
http://www.abc12.com
http://www.abc12.com
https://www.mlive.com
https://namdarrealtygroup.com / Namdar Realty Group
"Genesee Valley Center" article on Wikipedia
"Genesee Valley Center" article on Wikipedia
