Harrodsburg Road / US 68 and Lane Allen Road
Lexington, Kentucky
Ground was broken for Lexington's first fully-enclosed shopping center in November 1965. TURFLAND MALL was built on 41.6-acres, located 2.5 miles southwest of downtown Lexington. The single-level complex was developed by New York City's Frank Properties.
The 5 million dollar retail complex spanned approximately 531,200 leasable square feet. It was added to a freestanding, 1-level (187,000 square foot) Montgomery Ward, which had been dedicated on March 17, 1966. A 2-level (74,000 square foot) W.T. Grant welcomed its first shoppers on August 10, 1967. Cincinnati-based McAlpin's built a 2-level (167,500 square foot) store. It was officially dedicated -along with the mall- on August 24, 1967.
When fully-leased, TURFLAND MALL housed thirty-eight stores and services. These included Walgreen Drug, Wenneker's Shoes, Graves-Cox & Company men's wear, Hymson's Tots & Teens, Spencer Gifts, Three Sisters ladies' wear and Blue Boar Cafeteria. A (17,900 square foot) Winn-Dixie supermarket was a south parking area outparcel. On December 27, 1967, The General Cinema Corporation Turfland Cinema On-The-Mall made its debut.
Two additional mall-type complexes were built in Lexington; FAYETTE MALL (1971) {2.4 miles southeast, in Lexington} and LEXINGTON MALL (1975-2011) {4.1 miles east, also in Lexington}. The three shopping hubs coexisted peaceably for several years but FAYETTE MALL gained a competitive edge after a major expansion in 1993.
Anchor store rebrandings commenced at TURFLAND MALL in 1973. Grants was converted into a Grant City discount mart. The store closed for good in late 1975. J.C. Penney opened in the vacant space on April 21, 1976. Penney's closed their TURFLAND store on November 4, 1993, when they relocated to FAYETTE MALL.
Meanwhile, TURFLAND MALL had been renovated, with the refurbishment done over the course of four years. The Graves-Cox men's store was remodeled in 1987. A vacant Winn-Dixie was enlarged, with a 1-level (34,000 square foot) McAlpin's For The Home opening in the building on September 3, 1989. The main McAlpin's was also remodeled. It was expanded, taking over an adjacent entrance hall and three inline stores. This project was completed in 1991. McAlpin's Turfland now covered 215,000 square feet. A final facet of the renovation updated the mall's exterior with new entrances.
Over the years, Turfland Cinema On-The-Mall would go through several changes. It was twinned in the 1970s. USA Cinemas bought the venue in January 1987. It would eventually operate under the Loew's banner. The theater closed in August 1990. It re-opened -as a 1 dollar movie house- in May 1991 and was in operation until 2007.
On October 17, 1998, all McAlpin's locations, including the TURFLAND MALL unit, were rebranded by Dillard's. The Arkansas-based retailer also renamed the McAlpin's For The Home store as a Dillard's For The Home.
The Rubloff Development Company, of Hoffman Estates, Illinois, bought TURFLAND MALL in September 1997. The shopping hub had been enduring intense competition from FAYETTE MALL for several years and was in a downward spiral. A comprehensive renovation got underway in July 1998. During this project, the McAlpin's For The Home moved into the J.C. Penney space, which had been vacant for over 4 years.
New marble flooring and landscaping were installed in the shopping concourse. Three mall entrances were updated (again) and three freestanding restaurants built in the south parking area. Cooker Bar & Grill opened in December 1998, Ruby Tuesday in March 1999 and O'Charley's in May of the same year. TURFLAND MALL was rededicated in June 1999. Unfortunately, another retail rival had come on the scene. The HAMBURG PAVILION power center {6.2 miles east, in Lexington} debuted in October 1997.
Troubles at TURFLAND were exacerbated by the shuttering of Montgomery Ward, in March 2001. Home Depot demolished the old Ward's and built a 1-level (119,500 square foot) store. It opened for business in 2002, but did not connect with the shopping concourse. Hopes for a prosperous future at TURFLAND were dashed for certain in 2008, when Dillard's shuttered both of its "underperforming" stores. Dillard's For The Home shut down in April, with the main store going dark June 22nd. The mall closed for good on October 1, 2008.
A redevelopment plan was announced in 2009. TURFLAND TOWN CENTER, an open-air, mixed-use project, was proposed. The bulk of the mall was to be razed, leaving the Home Depot, Staples and main Dillard's structures standing. Three outparcel restaurants, and a freestanding Walgreen's, would also remain.
New construction would have included two 75,000 square foot data centers, fifty inline store spaces, urban loft-type condominiums and a parking garage. Unfortunately for Rubloff Development, a new tenant for the McAlpin's / Dillard's building could not be found. By June 2012, Rubloff had defaulted on their mall loan. The bank foreclosed and the virtually vacant and deteriorating property was sold in December.
The new owner, Lexington's Ron Spritzer, would repurpose the moribund mall under the auspices of a concern known as Turf Development. Demolition got underway in February 2014. The Staples, Home Depot and main Dillard's buildings were left standing, along with eight outparcel structures. The University of Kentucky acquired the abandoned Dillard's and renovated it into the UK Health Care at Turfland medical clinic and UK Dentistry at Turfland dental facility. A grand opening was held on April 20, 2015.
Sources:
The Lexington Herald-Leader
The Louisville Courier
http://movie-theatre.org / Mike Rivest
http://cinematreasures.org
"Protecting Its Turf" / Retail Trade Magazine / Amy Baldwin / May 1, 1999
University of Kentucky Libraries
Karl B. Raitz Photo Collection
James Edwin Weddle Photo Collection
Clay Lancaster Slide Collection
Lexington Public Library
http://www.rubloffusa.com / The Rubloff Development Group
http://www.turflandtowncenter.com
http://www.fayette-pva.com / Lexington-Fayette County Property Value Administrator
http://uknow.uky.edu
"Turfland Mall" article on Wikipedia
FAIR USE OF TURFLAND MALL IMAGES:
The images from the Karl B. Raitz Photo Collection, James Edwin Weddle Photo Collection and Clay Lancaster Slide Collection (University of Kentucky Libraries) illustrate a key moment in the mall's history that is described in the article.n The images are not replaceable with free-use or public-domain images. The use of the images does not limit the copyright owners' rights to distribute the images in any way. The images are being used for non-profit, informational purposes only and their use is not believed to detract from the original images in any way.
