HEART OF HUNTSVILLE MALL
South Memorial Parkway / US 231 & 431 and Clinton Avenue West
Huntsville, Alabama
By the early 1960s, Alabama's Rocket City was rapidly becoming cosmopolitan. Its first mall-type shopping center, HEART OF HUNTSVILLE MALL, was built on an 18.8 acre parcel, located on the southwestern edge of the downtown area.
HEART OF HUNTSVILLE MALL was developed by Birmingham's Engert Corporation and Engel Realty Company. In its original state, the open-air complex covered around 195,000 leasable square feet. A 450-foot shopping concourse -and two entry halls- were landscape with oak, dogwood and sugar maple trees and azalea and camelia bushes.
The 2 million dollar shopping hub was designed by Atlanta's Stevens & Wilkinson firm. It was situated on a single level, anchored by a 1-level (70,000 square foot) Sears, (17,500 square foot) Mulkey & Jackson ("M & J") supermarket and (27,200 square foot) F.W. Woolworth 5 & 10.
An official dedication was held on November 1, 1961. Twenty stores, out of an eventual twenty-seven, opened their doors. Charter tenants included Three Sisters ladies' wear, Bill's Men's Wear, Happy House Candies, Liggett Rexall Drug and Mazer's For Modern Huntsville Furniture. There were a freestanding Sears Auto Center and Henderson National Bank in the periphery of the mall.
Major shopping centers in the region included DUNNAVANT'S MALL (1963) {.3 mile southeast, in Huntsville}, THE MALL (1966) {1 mile northwest, in Huntsville} and PARKWAY CITY MALL (1976) {1 mile southeast, also in Huntsville}. The completion of THE MALL caused the owner of HEART OF HUNTSVILLE to enclose the facility. This project was completed in 1966. At this time, the original
water feature in the north court was replaced by a falling glycerine,
"Wonderfall" fountain.
HEART OF HUNTSVILLE fared well for over 20 years. The facility began to decline in 1984, when its Sears moved to the new MADISON SQUARE MALL {3.9 miles northwest, in Huntsville}. In the late 1990s, HEART OF HUNTSVILLE was renamed MARKET SQUARE, with its major tenants being Burlington Coat Factory and Gold's Gym.
By the 21st century, the shopping center had run its course. It was demolished in early 2007 to make way for a mixed-use development. Known as CONSTELLATION, it was to include 63,300 square feet of retail, seven restaurants, 187,000 square feet of office space, 150 residential units, two hotels and two parking structures.
The project was spearheaded by Huntsville's D. Scott McLain. Construction work on Phase One got underway in late 2009. This comprised the 6-story Springhill Suites Huntsville Downtown hotel, whose grand opening was held on September 14, 2011.
Further progress on the CONSTELLATION project was delayed by an economic recession and the death of one of its developers. After several false starts, work commenced on a second construction phase in October 2019. Chicago's Equibase Capital Group had signed on as a developing partner. Constellation Apartment Homes, a 4-story, 219-unit luxury residential complex, began leasing in September 2022.
When fully-realized, CONSTELLATION will feature a second hotel, approximately 72,000 square feet of retail and restaurants, 347,000 square feet of office space and a second multi-level parking garage.
Sources:
The Huntsville Times
http://www.cbcworldwide.com
http://www.citydata.com / "Things You Don't See In Huntsville Anymore"
http://www.servinghistory.com
http://huntsvilledevelopment.blogspot.com
http://www.al.com / Alabama Business
https://yancywilkinson.com
https://constellationhuntsville.com
"Huntsville, Alabama" article on Wikipedia
