Shipyard Boulevard / US 117 and South College Road
Wilmington, North Carolina
This Port City shopping hub was one of the few new open-air malls built in the United States during the 1970s. Constructed on 25.1 acres, located 3.3 miles southeast of center city Wilmington, LONG LEAF MALL was developed by Charlotte-based Lat Purcer & Associates.
The mall's grand opening, held May 14, 1973, was officiated by John C. Symmes (Mayor of Wilmington). He cut the ceremonial ribbon. Phyllis Griffin, "Miss Wilmington 1973," was also in attendance. Music was provided by the New Hanover High School Band.
There were twenty-two stores in operation at the dedication. When fully leased, LONG LEAF MALL housed forty-eight. A single-level structure, the shopping hub encompassed 232,200 leasable square feet and was anchored by a 1-level (80,000 square foot) Woolco discount mart. Charter tenants included Eckerd Drugs, Balentine's Buffet, Cloth World, The Stork Shop, Wig Affair and a (26,400 square foot) Winn-Dixie supermarket.
Wilmington, North Carolina
This Port City shopping hub was one of the few new open-air malls built in the United States during the 1970s. Constructed on 25.1 acres, located 3.3 miles southeast of center city Wilmington, LONG LEAF MALL was developed by Charlotte-based Lat Purcer & Associates.
The mall's grand opening, held May 14, 1973, was officiated by John C. Symmes (Mayor of Wilmington). He cut the ceremonial ribbon. Phyllis Griffin, "Miss Wilmington 1973," was also in attendance. Music was provided by the New Hanover High School Band.
There were twenty-two stores in operation at the dedication. When fully leased, LONG LEAF MALL housed forty-eight. A single-level structure, the shopping hub encompassed 232,200 leasable square feet and was anchored by a 1-level (80,000 square foot) Woolco discount mart. Charter tenants included Eckerd Drugs, Balentine's Buffet, Cloth World, The Stork Shop, Wig Affair and a (26,400 square foot) Winn-Dixie supermarket.
On the north end of the mall site was a (29,200 square foot) annex building with a Firestone Car Care store and twin cinema. The Stewart & Everett Theaters Long Leaf Mall Cinemas I & II showed its first features on April 19, 1973.
Competition came in 1979, with the completion of INDEPENDENCE MALL {1.2 miles northwest, in Wilmington}. The shuttering of the LONG LEAF MALL Woolco, in January 1983, was the mall's first major vacancy. It was filled by a Henderson, North Carolina-based Roses, which opened on June 1, 1983. This discount department store was in business until July 1991.
A temporary tenant, American All-Star Gymnastics, was signed. Then, a Canton, Massachusetts-based Hills renovated the store and opened on October 25, 1995. In the late 1990s, Rocky Hill, Connecticut-based Ames absorbed stores in the Hills chain. Ames rebranded the LONG LEAF Hills in October 1999 and were in business there until September 2001.
Competition came in 1979, with the completion of INDEPENDENCE MALL {1.2 miles northwest, in Wilmington}. The shuttering of the LONG LEAF MALL Woolco, in January 1983, was the mall's first major vacancy. It was filled by a Henderson, North Carolina-based Roses, which opened on June 1, 1983. This discount department store was in business until July 1991.
A temporary tenant, American All-Star Gymnastics, was signed. Then, a Canton, Massachusetts-based Hills renovated the store and opened on October 25, 1995. In the late 1990s, Rocky Hill, Connecticut-based Ames absorbed stores in the Hills chain. Ames rebranded the LONG LEAF Hills in October 1999 and were in business there until September 2001.
A Home Accents Superstore took the empty space in May 2003. This store was replaced by Buy-Rite Furniture, which was shuttered in August 2005. The latest tenant in the old Woolco space, Murfreesboro, Tennesse-based Old Time Pottery, began business in the spring of 2006.
Meanwhile, the mall, itself, was to undergo several changes. A half-million-dollar renovation in 1984-1985 added new landscaping and lighting and removed the original Moorish Modern mall entrance. The center was also renamed LONG LEAF PLAZA. This metamorphosis was successful for a few years, but by the early 1990s, the complex was over fifty- percent vacant and in need of maintenance. Wilmington-based Zimmer Development purchased the property in December 1999, becoming its fourth owner. They began a demalling in August 2000, with the eastern half of the shopping center being demolished.
This redevelopment stalled out soon after. It would not be completed until the fall of 2009. Meanwhile, a Harris Teeter supermarket had assumed the Winn-Dixie space, which had been vacated in 1986. Harris Teeter relocated into a newly-built (52,000 square foot) store. It was officially dedicated on September 23, 2009.
A strip of inline stores was also built on the east end of the shopping hub. Tenants included Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches, Great Clips, LongLeaf Nails, Rita's Italian Ice, Miyako Express and Mattress Capital. The old Harris Teeter space was taken by Columbus, Ohio-based Big Lots, who held a grand opening on November 12, 2010. The remodeled shopping complex, which housed 172,800 leasable square feet, was known -once again- as LONG LEAF MALL.
Sources:
The Wilmington Star News
http://www.myreporter.com / Judy Royal
New Hanover County property tax assessor website
http://www.cinematreasures.org
http://www.wilmingtonbiz.com
