Drawing from Forest Acres
RICHLAND MALL
North Beltline Road and Forest Drive
Forest Acres, South Carolina
America's shopping mall phenomenon reached the Palmetto State with the completion of the RICHLAND MALL shopping center. Comprised of approximately 253,600 leasable square feet, the open-air retail complex was built on a 36-acre section of a 50-acre site. This land parcel was located 2.6 miles northeast of the South Carolina State House, in the suburb of Forest Acres.
North Beltline Road and Forest Drive
Forest Acres, South Carolina
America's shopping mall phenomenon reached the Palmetto State with the completion of the RICHLAND MALL shopping center. Comprised of approximately 253,600 leasable square feet, the open-air retail complex was built on a 36-acre section of a 50-acre site. This land parcel was located 2.6 miles northeast of the South Carolina State House, in the suburb of Forest Acres.
Plans for an EVANS SHOPPING CENTER were announced in June 1960. The prospective mall, which was being developed by the Evans Corporation of Columbia, was to be a fully-enclosed structure, with an estimated cost of 5 million dollars. By October 1960, the Greenville-based Liberty Life Insurance Company had taken over development of the project. RICHLAND MALL would be a scaled-down, open-air facility, with a price tag of only 3 million dollars.
Atlanta's Toombs, Amisano & Wells firm designed the structure with the K.S. Espedahl firm, of Columbia. Work commenced in December 1960, with an official grand opening being held on November 2, 1961. As part of the grand opening, several ceremonial ribbons were cut. In attendance were W.J. Stubbs, Junior (Mayor of Forest Acres), Lester Bates (Mayor of Columbia) and officials from the Forest Acres City Council, Richland Mall Association and Liberty Life Insurance Company.
Anchoring the mall was a 1-level (60,000 square foot), Augusta-based J.B. White (a.k.a. White's). The tenant list of twenty-one stores and services included Eckerd Drugs, Redwood Cafeteria, a (22,600 square foot) F.W. Woolworth 5 & 10, (22,600 square foot) Colonial supermarket and (24,800 square foot) Winn-Dixie supermarket.
The mall's first motion picture venue, the Wilby-Kincey Richland Mall Theatre, showed its first feature on July 9, 1966. The cinema, built as a southeast parking area outparcel, would eventually house four auditoriums.
An all-new motion picture venue, the Litchfield Theatres Litchfield 7, made its debut on March 2, 1990, signaling completion of the 150 million dollar revitalization. RICHLAND FASHION MALL now encompassed 875,000 leasable square feet and an initial forty-five stores and services. The mall would eventually contain over 100.
Before the RICHLAND FASHION MALL project was even completed, the Hooker Corporation was in deep financial trouble. Construction of Greater Cincinnati's FOREST FAIR MALL (1988) had gone seriously over budget. Moreover, the Hooker Corporation's purchase of the Bonwit Teller chain, and a majority interest acquisition of the Parisian chain, left the company 1.7 billion dollars in the red. A chapter 11 bankruptcy was filed in September 1989, with the Hooker enterprise being purchased by another Australian concern in 1990.
Bonwit Teller was shuttered in August 1990. Its building was expanded and re-opened, as a (189,300 square foot) Dillard's, on August 4, 1993. The rooftop 7-plex became a Regal venue in 1995. By this time, the 984,000 square foot mall was failing.
The reasons for this were many, but the fact that the shopping hub was anchored by two unfamiliar department stores probably carried the most weight. It is also opined that the parking situation, with few surface spaces, caused Columbia shoppers -who tend to dislike parking garages- to spend their money elsewhere.
By 1996, management of the shopping hub had changed four times. Youngstown's Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation had a stint, as did Montgomery, Alabama's Aranov Realty. As a promotion, the official name of the complex was truncated to RICHLAND MALL in November 1996. Customers still stayed away in droves.
Two renovations were done to RICHLAND MALL during the 1990s. The first relocated tenants such as the TGI Friday restaurant. The mall's northeast entrance was remodeled and a new facade built. A 1-level (20,700 square foot) Barnes & Noble opened November 12, 1997. The second remodeling, an 11 million dollar project, relocated the existing Upper Level Food Court into a new 5-bay facility on the center's ground floor.
The original culinary complex was gutted and reconfigured as Richland Centre, which housed a Bell Atlantic Call Center. This facility, which opened in October 1999, was rebranded, as the Verizon Wireless Columbia Call Center, in the year 2000. It was expanded, from 70,000 to 132,000 square feet, in May 2001.
Anchor nameplate changes began September 23, 1998, when Charlotte-based Belk rebranded the RICHLAND MALL White's. Dillard's shuttered their store in the spring of 2003. The (93,000 square foot) first floor was leased to Charlotte-based Blacklion, who dedicated their furniture store in October 2003. This operation was short-lived and was followed by another brief endeavor known simply as The Department Store. Parisian went dark in February 2007, with its store space never being retenanted.
Raleigh's Whichard Realty acquired the struggling shopping hub in May 2003 and soon flipped the property. In March 2005, the Spruce Pine, North Carolina-based Peerless Development Group took possession. A grandiose, 300 million dollar renovation was proposed. An exterior Streetscape would be added, new upscale shoppes and bistros opened and 3-level condo tower built on the Dillard's spot.
By December 2006, local residents were frustrated by the lack of progress on the mall's redevelopment. A name change, to MIDTOWN AT FOREST ACRES, was about the only thing that had transpired. Then came The Great Recession. Peerless defaulted on their 39 million dollar mall loan. The shopping center was auctioned off in February 2007.
Sarasota's Richland Joint Venture operated the mall until it was sold, to a joint venture of Columbia's Century Capital Group and Kahn Development, in early 2010. They re-changed the name of the complex to RICHLAND MALL soon after. Several stores closed, including S & S Cafeteria (January 2011), TGI Friday (March 2013), Jackson's Southern Kitchen (March 2014), China Max (May 2014), Gymboree (July 2017) and the Regal Columbia 7 (February 2022).
Sources:
The State (Columbia, SC)
Anchoring the mall was a 1-level (60,000 square foot), Augusta-based J.B. White (a.k.a. White's). The tenant list of twenty-one stores and services included Eckerd Drugs, Redwood Cafeteria, a (22,600 square foot) F.W. Woolworth 5 & 10, (22,600 square foot) Colonial supermarket and (24,800 square foot) Winn-Dixie supermarket.
The mall's first motion picture venue, the Wilby-Kincey Richland Mall Theatre, showed its first feature on July 9, 1966. The cinema, built as a southeast parking area outparcel, would eventually house four auditoriums.
In January 1967, work got underway on an expansion of the RICHLAND MALL White's. A second floor was added, with the store's square footage increased to 120,000. New departments included the Showboat Tea Room, Paddle Wheel Coffee Shop, gourmet shop and ladies' wear Gold Room. The refurbished store held a grand re-opening on August 17, 1967.
Major shopping centers in the RICHLAND MALL trade area included DUTCH SQUARE CENTER (1970) {5.7 miles northwest, in Richland County / Columbia}, DECKER MALL (1977) {3.6 miles northeast, in Columbia}, COLUMBIA PLACE (1977) {3.6 miles northeast, in Columbia} and WOODHILL MALL (1978) {2.7 miles southeast, in Columbia}. In later years, there were COLUMBIANA CENTRE (1990) {10.2 miles northwest, in Richland County / Columbia} and THE VILLAGE AT SANDHILL (2004) {10 miles northeast, in Richland County}.
RICHLAND MALL operated in its original configuration until late 1987. Winn-Dixie was shuttered December 23rd, signaling the beginning of a redevelopment of the property. All was demolished, except for the White's store and two outparcels. Construction of the first phase of a new fully-enclosed mall soon got underway.
Built southeast of the existing White's, the complex was constructed by Atlanta-based Hooker Development, an American subsidiary of Australia's J.L. Hooker Corporation. The first phase of RICHLAND FASHION MALL included a 2-level (80,000 square foot), New York City-based Bonwit Teller. The store, and a 2-level Phase One mall, opened for business on October 18, 1988.
A third floor and 2-level expansion were added to White's, with the newly-renovated store encompassing 219,000 square feet. At the same time, work was underway on the 2-level Phase Two mall, which extended northwest of White's and was anchored by a 2-level (99,600 square foot), Birmingham-based Parisian. This store, and its adjacent mall wing, were dedicated on November 15, 1989.
The new RICHLAND FASHION MALL featured dancing fountains, brass railings and a glass-enclosed elevator. There was a 14-bay, aviation-themed Food Court, multilevel parking garage and rooftop parking deck. The complex was considerably upscale, but also included middle-market tenants such as Woolworth Express and S & S Cafeteria.
Major shopping centers in the RICHLAND MALL trade area included DUTCH SQUARE CENTER (1970) {5.7 miles northwest, in Richland County / Columbia}, DECKER MALL (1977) {3.6 miles northeast, in Columbia}, COLUMBIA PLACE (1977) {3.6 miles northeast, in Columbia} and WOODHILL MALL (1978) {2.7 miles southeast, in Columbia}. In later years, there were COLUMBIANA CENTRE (1990) {10.2 miles northwest, in Richland County / Columbia} and THE VILLAGE AT SANDHILL (2004) {10 miles northeast, in Richland County}.
RICHLAND MALL operated in its original configuration until late 1987. Winn-Dixie was shuttered December 23rd, signaling the beginning of a redevelopment of the property. All was demolished, except for the White's store and two outparcels. Construction of the first phase of a new fully-enclosed mall soon got underway.
Built southeast of the existing White's, the complex was constructed by Atlanta-based Hooker Development, an American subsidiary of Australia's J.L. Hooker Corporation. The first phase of RICHLAND FASHION MALL included a 2-level (80,000 square foot), New York City-based Bonwit Teller. The store, and a 2-level Phase One mall, opened for business on October 18, 1988.
A third floor and 2-level expansion were added to White's, with the newly-renovated store encompassing 219,000 square feet. At the same time, work was underway on the 2-level Phase Two mall, which extended northwest of White's and was anchored by a 2-level (99,600 square foot), Birmingham-based Parisian. This store, and its adjacent mall wing, were dedicated on November 15, 1989.
The new RICHLAND FASHION MALL featured dancing fountains, brass railings and a glass-enclosed elevator. There was a 14-bay, aviation-themed Food Court, multilevel parking garage and rooftop parking deck. The complex was considerably upscale, but also included middle-market tenants such as Woolworth Express and S & S Cafeteria.
An all-new motion picture venue, the Litchfield Theatres Litchfield 7, made its debut on March 2, 1990, signaling completion of the 150 million dollar revitalization. RICHLAND FASHION MALL now encompassed 875,000 leasable square feet and an initial forty-five stores and services. The mall would eventually contain over 100.
Before the RICHLAND FASHION MALL project was even completed, the Hooker Corporation was in deep financial trouble. Construction of Greater Cincinnati's FOREST FAIR MALL (1988) had gone seriously over budget. Moreover, the Hooker Corporation's purchase of the Bonwit Teller chain, and a majority interest acquisition of the Parisian chain, left the company 1.7 billion dollars in the red. A chapter 11 bankruptcy was filed in September 1989, with the Hooker enterprise being purchased by another Australian concern in 1990.
Bonwit Teller was shuttered in August 1990. Its building was expanded and re-opened, as a (189,300 square foot) Dillard's, on August 4, 1993. The rooftop 7-plex became a Regal venue in 1995. By this time, the 984,000 square foot mall was failing.
The reasons for this were many, but the fact that the shopping hub was anchored by two unfamiliar department stores probably carried the most weight. It is also opined that the parking situation, with few surface spaces, caused Columbia shoppers -who tend to dislike parking garages- to spend their money elsewhere.
By 1996, management of the shopping hub had changed four times. Youngstown's Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation had a stint, as did Montgomery, Alabama's Aranov Realty. As a promotion, the official name of the complex was truncated to RICHLAND MALL in November 1996. Customers still stayed away in droves.
Two renovations were done to RICHLAND MALL during the 1990s. The first relocated tenants such as the TGI Friday restaurant. The mall's northeast entrance was remodeled and a new facade built. A 1-level (20,700 square foot) Barnes & Noble opened November 12, 1997. The second remodeling, an 11 million dollar project, relocated the existing Upper Level Food Court into a new 5-bay facility on the center's ground floor.
The original culinary complex was gutted and reconfigured as Richland Centre, which housed a Bell Atlantic Call Center. This facility, which opened in October 1999, was rebranded, as the Verizon Wireless Columbia Call Center, in the year 2000. It was expanded, from 70,000 to 132,000 square feet, in May 2001.
Anchor nameplate changes began September 23, 1998, when Charlotte-based Belk rebranded the RICHLAND MALL White's. Dillard's shuttered their store in the spring of 2003. The (93,000 square foot) first floor was leased to Charlotte-based Blacklion, who dedicated their furniture store in October 2003. This operation was short-lived and was followed by another brief endeavor known simply as The Department Store. Parisian went dark in February 2007, with its store space never being retenanted.
Raleigh's Whichard Realty acquired the struggling shopping hub in May 2003 and soon flipped the property. In March 2005, the Spruce Pine, North Carolina-based Peerless Development Group took possession. A grandiose, 300 million dollar renovation was proposed. An exterior Streetscape would be added, new upscale shoppes and bistros opened and 3-level condo tower built on the Dillard's spot.
By December 2006, local residents were frustrated by the lack of progress on the mall's redevelopment. A name change, to MIDTOWN AT FOREST ACRES, was about the only thing that had transpired. Then came The Great Recession. Peerless defaulted on their 39 million dollar mall loan. The shopping center was auctioned off in February 2007.
Sarasota's Richland Joint Venture operated the mall until it was sold, to a joint venture of Columbia's Century Capital Group and Kahn Development, in early 2010. They re-changed the name of the complex to RICHLAND MALL soon after. Several stores closed, including S & S Cafeteria (January 2011), TGI Friday (March 2013), Jackson's Southern Kitchen (March 2014), China Max (May 2014), Gymboree (July 2017) and the Regal Columbia 7 (February 2022).
Augusta, Georgia's Southeastern Development devised a plan to redevelop the past-its-prime property. In November 2022, government approval was granted to demolish the mall and replace it with a 100 million dollar, mixed-use facility. This would include a supermarket, public park and 500-unit apartment complex. Demolition was scheduled to commence in 2024.
Sources:
The State (Columbia, SC)
The Gamecock (Columbia South Carolina)
The Columbia Record
http://columbiaclosings.com
http://cinematreasures.org
http://columbiametro.com
http://columbiabusinessreport.com
http://irmoscnews.risblog.info
http://columbiaclosings.com
http://cinematreasures.org
http://columbiametro.com
http://columbiabusinessreport.com
http://irmoscnews.risblog.info
https://www.wltx.com
https://colatoday.6amcity.com / Cola Today
"Richland Mall" article on Wikipedia
"Richland Mall" article on Wikipedia
