Thompson Lane and Powell Avenue
Nashville, Tennessee
Named for the 100 Oaks Thompson Mansion that it replaced, Nashville's second fully-enclosed shopping center occupied a 51.7-acre parcel. This plot was located 3 miles south of the Volunteer State State House and was adjacent to the city's Berry Hill district.
100 OAKS CENTER was developed by the Memphis-based Belz Investment Corporation and designed by Belz & McFarland Architects. Ground was broken in November 1965. The first operational store, a 1-level (140,000 square foot) Woolco discount mart, opened its doors on November 16, 1966. Peripheral businesses included a (60,000 square foot) Giant Foods, which also opened on November 16th, and the Martin Theatres Martin Theatre 100 Oaks, which showed its first feature on December 25th.
In its original state, the mall encompassed approximately 850,000 leasable square feet and was Tennessee's largest shopping hub. It was basically a strip-type complex of exterior-entranced stores with an enclosed mall on its upper floor. Aside from Woolco, it was anchored by a 3-level (140,000 square foot) J.C. Penney and 3-level (64,800 square foot) Nashville-based Harvey's.
A mall-wide dedication was held on October 26, 1967. An oak tree sapling had been taken from the site and was replanted outside the mall as part of the dedication ceremony. In attendance were US Representative Richard Harmon Fulton (D), Beverly Briley (Mayor of Nashville), mall developer Jack Belz, Phillip Belz (president of the Belz Investment Corporation) and several department store officials and dignitaries.
Forty-six stores joined eleven already in business. There would eventually be a total of sixty. Charter tenants included Garrett Rexall Drug, Baker's Shoes, Toggery Shops, Le Petite Cafe, Spencer Gifts, Family Bootery, England's Barber Shop, Casual Corner ladies' wear and a 2-level (42,000 square foot) F.W. Woolworth 5 & 10. The mall proper also included the 6-story 100 Oaks Office Tower.
Early commercial competitors of 100 OAKS were RIVERGATE MALL (1971) {13.7 miles northeast, in Goodlettsville} and HICKORY HOLLOW MALL (1978) {6.7 miles southeast, in Nashville}.
100 OAKS CENTER was adjacent to the future route of the Interstate 65 expressway. When the thoroughfare opened to traffic in the mid-1970s, no direct interchange between said highway and mall was provided. The nearest junction was over a mile away. Due to this lack of access, as well as growing competition from newer shopping centers, 100 OAKS entered its first downward spiral.
In its original state, the mall encompassed approximately 850,000 leasable square feet and was Tennessee's largest shopping hub. It was basically a strip-type complex of exterior-entranced stores with an enclosed mall on its upper floor. Aside from Woolco, it was anchored by a 3-level (140,000 square foot) J.C. Penney and 3-level (64,800 square foot) Nashville-based Harvey's.
A mall-wide dedication was held on October 26, 1967. An oak tree sapling had been taken from the site and was replanted outside the mall as part of the dedication ceremony. In attendance were US Representative Richard Harmon Fulton (D), Beverly Briley (Mayor of Nashville), mall developer Jack Belz, Phillip Belz (president of the Belz Investment Corporation) and several department store officials and dignitaries.
Forty-six stores joined eleven already in business. There would eventually be a total of sixty. Charter tenants included Garrett Rexall Drug, Baker's Shoes, Toggery Shops, Le Petite Cafe, Spencer Gifts, Family Bootery, England's Barber Shop, Casual Corner ladies' wear and a 2-level (42,000 square foot) F.W. Woolworth 5 & 10. The mall proper also included the 6-story 100 Oaks Office Tower.
Early commercial competitors of 100 OAKS were RIVERGATE MALL (1971) {13.7 miles northeast, in Goodlettsville} and HICKORY HOLLOW MALL (1978) {6.7 miles southeast, in Nashville}.
100 OAKS CENTER was adjacent to the future route of the Interstate 65 expressway. When the thoroughfare opened to traffic in the mid-1970s, no direct interchange between said highway and mall was provided. The nearest junction was over a mile away. Due to this lack of access, as well as growing competition from newer shopping centers, 100 OAKS entered its first downward spiral.
Woolco shut down, along with the entire chain, in January 1983. The vacant building was reconfigured with an extended Mall Level concourse
flanked by fifteen new inline stores. Burlington Coat Factory set up
shop in the south end of the building in November 1983. The name of the struggling shopping hub was changed to 100 OAKS MALL in 1985. In spite of this, it continued on a downward spiral. Penney's shuttered their store on January 31, 1986.
New Interstate 65 interchanges opened at Thompson Lane and Armory Oaks Drive in August 1987. The mall was now "freeway friendly," although it continued to founder. The cinema, which had been twinned in December 1978, closed for good in 1989. The Harvey's chain was acquired -and rebranded- by Virginia's Peebles company in 1988. The 100 OAKS store went dark in 1990.
At this time, newer and larger malls were being built in -and around- Nashville. These included BELLEVUE CENTER (1990) {10.2 miles southwest, in Nashville}, MALL AT GREEN HILLS (1968 and 1991) {2.6 miles west, in Nashville} and COOL SPRINGS GALLERIA (1991) {10.5 miles south, in Franklin}.
100 OAKS MALL was shuttered in 1991. After 3 years in limbo, a floor-to-ceiling renovation got underway in late 1994. The complex was re-imagined as a hybrid power center and outlet mall. The old Woolco building was reconfigured again. The inline stores and mall concourse were gutted. Burlington Coat Factory relocated into an 85,000 square foot space in the northern end of the building.
A new & improved 100 OAKS MALL debuted on October 27, 1995. The Lower Level featured CompUSA, Michaels, T. J. Maxx, PetSmart, Media Play and Luxury Linens. Upper Level stores included Saks Fifth Avenue Off Fifth, a Reebok Outlet, J.C. Penney Catalog Outlet and the Food Factory Food Court.
Cobb Theatres initiated construction of a freestanding movie megaplex, which was being built in the mall's south parking lot. The partially-completed structure was acquired by Regal Cinemas, who opened it, as the Regal Hollywood 27, on January 16, 1998. At the time, the megaplex was billed as the largest movie theater in the eastern United States. It was refurbished in 2013, when it was renamed the Regal Hollywood Stadium 27 & RPX.
Meanwhile, the opening of OPRY MILLS MALL {7.4 miles northeast, in Nashville}, in the year 2000, caused most Upper Level tenants at 100 OAKS to relocate to the new shopping hub. Soon, 100 OAKS was in its second downward spiral.
Dallas, Texas' ATR & Associates purchased the struggling shopping center in December 2006. 440,000 square feet were leased to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in July 2007. A 90 million dollar interior and exterior face lift got underway in April 2008.
The shopping hub's Upper Level -excluding Burlington Coat Factory- was rebuilt as a medical mall. New flooring, seating, windows and skylights were installed. The mall's front facade was remodeled, with new landscaping and parking area entrances added. Logan's Roadhouse and Panera Bread locations were built in the periphery.
The first of nineteen medical clinics opened in late 2008, with the remainder being in operation by mid-2009. The medical and retail facility was now promoted as 100 OAKS MALL-VANDERBILT HEALTH.
Along with the renovation came the shutterings of several Lower Level stores. Media Play closed in early 2006 and re-opened, as an hhgregg, in November 2009. CompUSA and Luxury Linens folded in 2007. Their space was divided between Kirkland's and Reebok Outlet and K & G Fashion Superstore, which relocated from the Upper Level.
ATR & Associates sold 100 OAKS to Chicago-based LaSalle Investment Management in November 2012. The Burlington store closed for good in the mid-2020s.
Sources:
The Nashville Tennessean
NashvilleLinks.com / Chip Curley
http://www.NashvillePost.com / "100 Oaks Mall Has A New Owner" / Richard Lawson / December 6, 2006
http://www.NashvillePost.com / "100 Oaks Mall Has A New Owner" / Richard Lawson / December 6, 2006
https://www.padctn.org / Metropolitan Nashville & Davidson County Real Property Search
http://onehundredoaksmall.com
https://www.cinematreasures.org
https://www.movie-theatre.org
https://www.vanderbilthealth.com
https://www.cinematreasures.org
https://www.movie-theatre.org
https://www.vanderbilthealth.com
https://www.bizjournals.com
