Bobby Jones Expressway / Interstate 520 and Wrightsboro Road
Augusta, Georgia
Maryland's James Rouse Company built PERIMETER MALL, their first Georgia shopping hub, in the northern suburbs of Atlanta. Their second Peach State project was developed in the western environs of the Garden City.
AUGUSTA MALL was developed on an 80-acre tract, located 5.9 miles west of downtown Augusta. The site was accessed by State Route 232 (a.k.a. the Bobby Jones Expressway), with the segment running along the west side of the mall having opened to traffic in 1974. SR 232 was redesignated as Interstate 520 in 1977.
Planning for the mall had been underway as far back as 1972, but construction was delayed by the economic recession of the mid-1970s. By 1976, work had started on the complex, which was designed by Cope, Linder & Walmsley Architects, of Philadelphia. An official grand opening was held on August 3, 1978. In its original state, the 25 million dollar facility spanned approximately 500,000 leasable square feet and housed 107 tenant spaces.
There were originally two anchor department stores; a 2-level (152,500 square foot), Atlanta-based Rich's and 2-level (156,000 square foot), Atlanta-based Davison's. Charter tenants included Frisco Fashions, Ford Shoes, Pearle Optical, Bailey, Banks & Biddle Jewelers, Florsheim Shoes, Goldberg's, The Bottom Half, Cullum's and Gentry's men's wear.
Developer Edward J. DeBartolo had opened REGENCY MALL just a week before business began at AUGUSTA MALL. The REGENCY property {2.9 miles southeast, in Augusta} was over 300,000 square feet larger than the original AUGUSTA MALL. For a time, REGENCY had a competitive edge.
Anchor store rebrandings commenced at AUGUSTA MALL in February 1985, when Davison's was rebranded as a Davison's-Macy's. On November 17, 1985, said store was fully "Macyated". The first of many AUGUSTA MALL expansions was officially dedicated on May 6, 1987. A 2-level (139,000 square foot) J.C. Penney opened its doors. This project was followed by a more ambitious enlargement 3 years later.
This 32 million dollar expansion added a 2-level (157,000 square foot) Sears, thirty-nine inline stores and the 14-bay The Park Food Court. The interior of the existing mall was also given a face lift. A grand opening celebration commenced on March 6, 1990. With this addition, AUGUSTA MALL encompassed around 1,036,000 leasable square feet and housed 150 stores and services.
Augusta's sibling centers had coexisted peaceably for some years, but, by the early 1990s, AUGUSTA MALL had gained prominence, leaving the REGENCY property in a state of decline. AUGUSTA MALL continued to renovate and expand while REGENCY MALL stayed the same, becoming more and more dated and obsolete.
A third enlargement of AUGUSTA MALL consisted of the addition of a 2-level (160,800 square foot), Augusta-based J.B. White. The 14 million dollar store opened on March 11, 1998. It was to sport the White's nameplate for less than one year. On February 19, 1999, it re-opened as a Dillard's. Other anchor nameplate changes followed. Macy's closed their AUGUSTA MALL store in March 2002. The lower level of the building was reconfigured as a Rich's-Macy's Furniture Showroom, which welcomed shoppers in the fall of 2003. The upper level of the store remained vacant.
Rich's morphed into a Rich's-Macy's on February 2, 2003. The Rich's-Macy's co-branding disappeared when the AUGUSTA MALL Rich's-Macy's and Rich's-Macy's Furniture Showroom stores were "Macyated." on March 6, 2005. The Macy's Furniture Showroom was shuttered in 2006, in anticipation of a fourth renovation and expansion of the shopping hub.
The upper level of the vacant Davison's was demolished in late 2006, with the existing lower level being renovated into a (60,000 square foot) Dick's Sporting Goods. A 180,000 square foot "lifestyle component" was built on top of the Dick's store. Promoted as The Promenade, it was dedicated on November 8, 2007. Tenants included Williams-Sonoma, Sephora, The Buckle and P.F. Chang's China Bistro. AUGUSTA MALL now spanned approximately 1,388,800 leasable square feet and contained 162 stores and services.
Chicago-based General Growth Properties acquired the assets of The Rouse Company in November 2004 and became the new owner of AUGUSTA MALL. In turn, Brookfield Property Partners, based in Hamilton, Bermuda, acquired a share of General Growth Properties in 2016. In August 2018, Brookfield established 100 percent ownership of the corporation with AUGUSTA MALL becoming part of the Brookfield retail center portfolio. Sears shuttered their 30-year-old store in the spring of 2020.
Sources:
The Augusta Chronicle
The Augusta Focus
http://www.therousecompany.com (Website on Internet Archive Wayback Machine)
www.augustamall.com
http://www.ggp.com / General Growth Properties
"Augusta Mall" article on Wikipedia
"Regency Mall" article on Wikipedia
