AZALEA MALL was on the skids by the early 1990s. It was bulldozed in 1999. Over the years, redevelopment scenarios have come and gone. One for an AZALEA SQUARE never got off the ground. The latest proposal was for an AZALEA COMMONS project. Apparently, this initiative has also been abandoned.
Drawing from http://www.dewberrycapital.com / Dewberry Capital
AZALEA MALL
Westbrook Avenue and Brook Road
Richmond and Henrico County, Virginia
The first fully-enclosed shopping complex in the "Old Dominion", Greater Roanoke's CROSSROADS MALL, was dedicated in July 1961. One month later, construction commenced on Richmond's AZALEA MALL. The complex was being built on a 48-acre parcel, located 4.1 miles northwest of the Virginia State House. The mall site straddled the corporation line of the independent city of Richmond and Henrico ["hen-riy-ko"] County.
AZALEA MALL was designed by Richmond's Carneal & Johnson firm and developed by Harrison & Bates, of Richmond. The shopping venue encompassed approximately 300,000 leasable square feet. An initial grand opening was held on November 14, 1962. Stores dedicated on this day included LaVier Hardware, Azalea Bowl, Singer Sewing Center, Junior Shop, a (15,000 square foot) Peoples Drug and 1-level (110,000 square foot) Woolco discount mart.
A (25,000 square foot) Food Fair supermarket opened its doors on December 18, 1962. This dedication was followed by one for a (27,000 square foot) F.W. Woolworth 5 & 10, which was held on January 31, 1963. Richmond-based Thalhimers inaugurated their 1-level (30,000 square foot) department store on May 3rd. A mall-wide dedication was held on May 9, 1963. At this time, there were thirty stores and services.
Shopping venues in the "Northside" area included WILLOW LAWN CENTER (1956) {2.3 miles southwest, in Richmond}, which was the capital's first suburban retail complex. It was renovated into an enclosed mall, known as SHOPS AT WILLOW LAWN, in 1986.
There were also REGENCY SQUARE MALL (1975) {5.8 miles west, in Henrico County} and VIRGINIA CENTER COMMONS (1991) {4.9 miles north, also in Henrico County}. The opening of VIRGINIA CENTER COMMONS contributed greatly to the decline of AZALEA MALL during the early 1990s.
Greater Richmond's first all-enclosed mall was expanded once. A 21,000 square foot addition, built onto the west side of Thalhimers, was officially dedicated on September 16, 1966. The mall now encompassed 321,000 leasable square feet.
AZALEA MALL was sold in February 1980, with the buyer being a joint venture of the Rental Property Service Corporation, of Beverly Hills, California, and Rental Property Service International, of Amsterdam, Holland. The new proprietors completed a $250,000 face lift in May 1982. The mall's exterior was painted and new planters and banners installed in the interior.
AZALEA MALL was sold in February 1980, with the buyer being a joint venture of the Rental Property Service Corporation, of Beverly Hills, California, and Rental Property Service International, of Amsterdam, Holland. The new proprietors completed a $250,000 face lift in May 1982. The mall's exterior was painted and new planters and banners installed in the interior.
Store
rebrandings got underway with Food Fair's conversion to a Pantry Pride, on May 22, 1979. Woolco was shuttered in January 1983. It re-opened, as a Rocky
Hill, Connecticut-based Ames, in October 1984 but was permanently
shuttered in March 1994. Thalhimers was in business until May 1991 and was also never retenanted. The AZALEA MALL Woolworth held on until January 1994.
With its two anchors sitting idle, the shopping hub began a downward spiral. Its owner, Holland-based DBA Associates, defaulted on their loan. The vacant complex was auctioned off in 1998 to Atlanta-based Dewberry Capital. Demolition got underway in November 1999, leaving a freestanding Garden Center and four small outparcels standing. The plan was to redevelop the site into a 460,000 square foot power center to be known as AZALEA SQUARE. This never came to fruition.
News concerning the abandoned mall site surfaced in February 2014. Dewberry Capital released tentative details about AZALEA SQUARE, now envisaged as a mixed-use complex. The "upscale open-air" development was to include an (84,000 square foot) Martin's Food Market, an additional 316,000 square feet of retail, and up to 1,000 residential units.
These plans eventually fell through, as well. In October 2016, Arizona's Bromont Developments, Limited Liability Company submitted a bid to purchase the vacant mall site. They also proposed AZALEA COMMONS, an open-air, mixed-use project that would be anchored by a (90,000 square foot) supermarket.
With its two anchors sitting idle, the shopping hub began a downward spiral. Its owner, Holland-based DBA Associates, defaulted on their loan. The vacant complex was auctioned off in 1998 to Atlanta-based Dewberry Capital. Demolition got underway in November 1999, leaving a freestanding Garden Center and four small outparcels standing. The plan was to redevelop the site into a 460,000 square foot power center to be known as AZALEA SQUARE. This never came to fruition.
News concerning the abandoned mall site surfaced in February 2014. Dewberry Capital released tentative details about AZALEA SQUARE, now envisaged as a mixed-use complex. The "upscale open-air" development was to include an (84,000 square foot) Martin's Food Market, an additional 316,000 square feet of retail, and up to 1,000 residential units.
These plans eventually fell through, as well. In October 2016, Arizona's Bromont Developments, Limited Liability Company submitted a bid to purchase the vacant mall site. They also proposed AZALEA COMMONS, an open-air, mixed-use project that would be anchored by a (90,000 square foot) supermarket.
In September 2018, Westminster Canterbury Richmond, a retirement community adjacent to the vacant mall site, purchased a 10.6-acre section. They planned to build 125 residential units on the property.
Sources:
The Richmond Times-Dispatch
Sources:
The Richmond Times-Dispatch
Richmond News Leader
B1Bob / Nat Atkins' Azalea Mall memories
http://vintagerva.blogspot.com / Vintage Richmond
http://www.roadstothefuture.com
Henrico County, Virginia tax assessor website
Ames Fan Club website
http://www.dewberrycapital.com / Dewberry Capital
http://www.virginiabusiness.com
B1Bob / Nat Atkins' Azalea Mall memories
http://vintagerva.blogspot.com / Vintage Richmond
http://www.roadstothefuture.com
Henrico County, Virginia tax assessor website
Ames Fan Club website
http://www.dewberrycapital.com / Dewberry Capital
http://www.virginiabusiness.com
