South Pleasantburg and East Antrim Drives
Greenville, South Carolina
The Palmetto State's first fully-enclosed shopping center was built by a joint venture of the Greenville-based Caine Company and McAlister Development. The complex was designed by Atlanta's Toombs, Amisano & Wells firm.
McALISTER SQUARE was built on a 46-acre parcel, located 1.8 miles southeast of downtown Greenville. The site had been occupied by the Charles McAlister farm for several years. The single-level complex originally encompassed approximately 420,000 leasable square feet and contained twenty-nine stores and services under its roof.
Anchoring the venue were a 1-level (63,000 square foot), Greenville-based Meyers-Arnold and (60,000 square foot), Charlotte-based J.B. Ivey. These stores became the mall's first operational tenants on February 15, 1968.
A mall-wide grand opening was held March 25, 1968. Charter McALISTER SQUARE tenants included Walgreen Drug, Heyward Mahon apparel, Bobbie Brooks ladies' wear, Pets Galore, Morrison's Cafeteria, Eleanor Shops ladies' wear, Casual Corner ladies' wear, Record Bar and a (16,000 square foot) S.H. Kress 5 & 10.
A freestanding Convenience Center was built northeast of the mall proper. Its first phase consisted of the Wilby-Kincey Camelot Theatre, which showed its first feature on September 3, 1970. The second phase added a (28,300 square foot) Winn-Dixie supermarket and three inline stores. Winn-Dixie commenced operation in June 1972. The cinema re-opened, as the Camelot II, on March 23, 1974 and was eventually expanded into a 7-screen operation.
Meanwhile, the McALISTER SQUARE Myers-Arnold was enlarged with a second level. Completed in October 1971, it enlarged the store to 123,000 square feet and included the chain's corporate offices. In August 1972, Ivey's unused second floor was opened. That store now covered 120,000 square feet.
A second -and final- expansion of McALISTER SQUARE was under construction by March 1973. The 6 million dollar project added a 2-level (142,000 square foot), Greenville-based Belk-Simpson and twelve inline stores. These included A Shop of John Simmons, J. Riggings men's wear and Lillie Rubin ladies' wear. Inline stores in the New Mall opened in November and December 1973. Belk-Simpson was officially dedicated on March 6, 1974. The mall now spanned over 700,000 leasable square feet and contained fifty stores and services.
McALISTER SQUARE was the preeminent "Upstate" shopping mall for several years. The community-class BELL TOWER MALL (1969) {1.9 miles west, in Greenville city} was no match. Commercial competition finally arrived with the opening of GREENVILLE MALL {3 miles east, in Greenville County}, on August 3, 1978.
A fire raged through the North Wing of McALISTER SQUARE on December 12, 1981. Six stores were seriously damaged; these being World Bazaar, Hickory Farms of Ohio, Butler Shoes, Eleanor Shops, Magnavox Home Entertainment Centers and Webster's Men's Clothes. The entire mall was given an interior face lift as part of its restoration. A Center Stage was added, with a 20 thousand dollar sound system, and new new tile flooring was installed throughout the complex. A formal re-dedication was held February 4, 1982.
Nameplate conversions began on November 1, 1987, when Meyers-Arnold became a Norcross, Georgia-based Uptons. Ivey's was rebranded, as a Dillard's, on October 1, 1990. The Belk-Simpson banner was truncated to simply "Belk" in 1998.
McALISTER SQUARE started to decline after the dedication of HAYWOOD MALL {1.6 miles west, in Greenville County}. This 956,000 square foot buying behemoth debuted in July 1980. The McALISTER SQUARE Dillard's relocated to HAYWOOD MALL on April 5, 1995. The abandoned store was never retenanted.
The newly-enlarged HAYWOOD complex encompassed 1,256,000 leasable square feet and was now the largest shopping center in the state. Within a few years, the remaining anchors at McALISTER SQUARE were pulling up stakes. Belk was shuttered in January 1999. Uptons, already downsized into its ground floor, went dark in September.
In August 1999, the virtually vacant shopping complex was sold to a joint venture of Greenville Technical College and the Greenville Tech Foundation, who gradually repurposed it as a retail, office and educational facility.
Today, the mall houses several educational facilities. University Center, a 7-college consortium of satellite classrooms, occupies the old Ivey's / Dillard's. The Greenville Technical College Admissions & Registration Center operates in the Meyers-Arnold-Uptons building. Former inline store space is leased as offices for several medical, non-profit and county agencies. There are also a full-service restaurant and small collection of retail stores.
Sources:
The Greenville News
The Herald-Journal (Spartanburg, South Carolina)
https://www.greenvilleonline.com
http://www.cinematreasures.org
http://movie-theatre.org / Mike Rivest
https://www.choldings.com / Carolina Holdings, Incorporated
https://www.gvltec.edu / Greenville Technical College
https://greenville.org / University Center Greenville
Greenville County, South Carolina property tax assessor website
"McAlister Square" article on Wikipedia
