Richmond's Azalea Mall

Virginia's second fully-enclosed shopping hub was built in the northwestern environs of the Capital City. Stores in AZALEA MALL began opening in November 1962, with an official dedication held in May 1963. The prevailing slogan was "Winter, summer, spring or fall...it's always spring in Azalea Mall."
Graphic from Harrison & Bates, Incorporated 

Before there was AZALEA MALL, there was WILLOW LAWN CENTER; the
first major post-war shopping plaza in Greater Richmond. The 280,000
square foot strip complex opened in November 1956.
Graphic from Giant Food Properties, Incorporated
 

AZALEA was the nation's very first Woolco-anchored mall. The complex featured the F.W. Woolworth Company's sixth Woolco discount mart.
Graphic from the F.W. Woolworth Company

The AZALEA MALL Woolco welcomed first shoppers in November 1962. It opened along with thirteen inline stores and services.
Photo from the F.W. Woolworth Company Annual Report 1965

AZALEA MALL was developed in two phases. The first, shown in black, included the Woolco store and was comprised of fourteen stores. Phase 2 (light gray) added Thalhimers ["Thall-hiy-merz"] and fifteen stores. By mid-1963, the 5 million dollar complex covered approximately 295,000 leasable square feet, with thirty tenant spaces. Free parking was provided for 3,000 autos.

AZALEA MALL TENANTS 1963:

THALHIMERS / WOOLCO (with beauty salon, cafeteria, attached Garden Center and attached Auto Center) / F.W. WOOLWORTH 5 & 10 (with luncheonette and freestanding Garden Center) / FOOD FAIR supermarket / ABC Liquor Store / Azalea Bowl bowling alley (outparcel) / American Finance / Cinderella Cleaners & Launderers / Doctor Philip Dobken, Optometrist / Edgar's Outfitters For Men & Boys / Franklin Federal Savings & Loan / Galeski Photo Center / Gary's Cards & Gifts / Hofheimer's Shoes / Jim's Key Shop / Junior Shoe World / LaVier Hardware / LaVogue ladies' wear / Major Barber Shoppes / Mark Cargin Hairstylists / Peoples Drug (with Arbor Room Coffee Shop) / People's Shoe Rebuilders / Rees Jewelers / Singer Sewing Center / The Bank of Virginia / The Home Shop / The Young Men's Shop / Thom McAn Shoes / Wards TV & Appliance / Worths ladies' wear

The River City's Thalhimers chain opened its tenth branch at AZALEA MALL. The store, which covered 30,000 square feet, opened in May 1963. It was expanded, by 21,000 square feet, and re-dedicated in September 1966. The mall now encompassed 316,000 leasable square feet.
Photo from Thalhimers Department Stores

The complex was given an interior face lift in 1982. As part of the renovation, a new logo was commissioned.
Graphic from the Rental Property Service Corporation

 AZALEA MALL TENANTS 1983:

THALHIMERS (with Beauty Salon) / F.W. WOOLWORTH 5 & 10 / PANTRY PRIDE supermarket / ABC Liquor Store / Azalea Bowl bowling alley (outparcel) / Azalea Cleaners / Disc Jockey Records / Doctor Philip Dobken, Optometrist / Flower Square / Fox Photo / Framed / Franklin Federal Savings & Loan / Gary's Cards & Gifts / Genie of Oakton / Hair Fair / Hip Pocket / Hofheimers Shoes / Home Fashions / Jay Aldon's / Juvenile Bootery / Parklane Hosiery / Peoples Drug / Ragtime / Rees Jewelers / S & K / Speed Craft Shoe Repair / The Bank of Virginia / The Home Shop / Thom McAn Shoes / Whitney's 

An interior view of the mall's South Wing, with its Woolworth 5 & dime on the right.
Photo from www.labelscar.com / Michael Lisicky

Here we see Center Court, with the Thalhimers mall entry in the lower left.
Photo from www.labelscar.com / Michael Lisicky

 

AZALEA MALL began a slow decline in 1983, when its Woolco anchor store shut down. The mall's demise was hastened by the opening of VIRGINIA CENTER COMMONS, in October 1991.

Graphic from the Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation and Faison Associates

The shopping concourse at AZALEA closed in early 1996, with the moribund mall being bulldozed in late 1999. Over the years, redevelopment scenarios have come and gone. One for an AZALEA SQUARE never got off the ground. Another proposal for an AZALEA COMMONS was also abandoned.
Drawing from http://www.dewberrycapital.com / Dewberry Capital

AZALEA MALL
Westbrook Avenue and Brook Road
Richmond (City) 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 venue encompassed approximately 295,000 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, 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 second mall dedication got underway on May 9, 1963. Over $4,500 in cash was awarded. Prizes included a 14 cubic foot Westinghouse refrigerator, 21 inch General Electric color television and 1963 Chevrolet station wagon. Now fully-realized, AZALEA MALL housed thirty stores and services.

Shopping venues in Greater Richmond included WILLOW LAWN CENTER (1956) {2.3 miles southwest, in Henrico County}, which was renovated into an enclosed mall 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}. 

AZALEA MALL was expanded on one occasion. A 21,000 square foot addition, built onto the west side of Thalhimers, was officially dedicated on September 16, 1966. The mall now encompassed 316,000 leasable square feet. The complex was sold in February 1980; 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, on October 18, 1984 and was shuttered in March 1994. Thalhimers was in business until May 1991. Its building was never retenanted. The AZALEA MALL Woolworth went dark in January 1994.

The mall had entered a downward spiral after Woolco's departure. It was owned by the Aetna Insurance Company, of Hartford, Connecticut, for several years. They were an insurance provider, not a real estate developer. Maintenance was deferred, with the mall gradually falling apart. Aetna sold the property to Holland's DBA Associates, who defaulted on their mall loan in 1995. 

Aetna reluctantly re-assumed ownership. The mall, with two vacant anchors, was shuttered on January 2, 1996. Four tenants remained in business. Richmond Coin Laundry was inside the mall, with an exterior entry. Azalea Garden Center, Jiffy Lube and Signet Bank were in freestanding structures.   

 

The complex was auctioned off in 1998 to Atlanta-based Dewberry Capital. Demolition got underway in November 1999. 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 a Martin's Food Market, an additional 316,000 square feet of retail, and up to 1,000 residential units. These plans eventually fell through. 

 

In October 2016, Arizona's Bromont Developments, Limited Liability Company submitted a bid to purchase the vacant mall site. They proposed AZALEA COMMONS, an open-air, mixed-use project that would be anchored by a (90,000 square foot) supermarket. This never came to pass. In September 2018, Westminster Canterbury Richmond, a retirement community adjacent to the vacant mall site, purchased a 10.6-acre section. They built 118 residential units, a fitness & wellness center and clubhouse.

Sources:

The Richmond Times-Dispatch

The 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

https://blog.wcrichmond.org

Petersburg's Walnut Mall

The Shopping Showplace of Southside Virginia was developed on a plot located 27 miles southeast of center city Richmond. Sixteen stores and services were in operation at the November 1966 grand opening.

Graphic from Alsage Properties Management 

Richmond-based Thalhimers anchored the north end of WALNUT MALL. This was the chain's seventh suburban shopping center branch. The store opened for business in August 1966.

The shopping concourse entrance of  Thalhimers. Before the chain folded in 1992, it had stores in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.

Photo from www.labelscar.com / Michael Lisicky 

A mid-'60s rendering shows the climate-controlled shopping concourse of WALNUT MALL. 

Drawing from Brundage, Cohen & Holton Architects

A freestanding movie house, the Walnut Mall Theatre, was built across Walnut Boulevard from the complex. The single-screen venue opened in February 1967.
Drawing from Neighborhood Theatres, Incorporated

J.C. Penney anchored the south end of WALNUT MALL. The store, which was inaugurated in October 1967, encompassed 115,000 square feet. Some of its amenities included a Beauty Salon and Snack Bar.
Drawing from the J.C. Penney Company

The 8 million dollar WALNUT MALL was never physically expanded. It spanned approximately 300,000 leasable square feet and, when fully-leased, contained twenty-six stores and services. Some of these were located in outparcel structures. 

WALNUT MALL TENANTS 1967:

THALHIMERS (with Beauty Salon) / J.C. PENNEY (with Snack Bar, Beauty Salon and freestanding Auto Center) / COLONIAL STORES supermarket / American Finance Corporation / Carole Ann Shop / City Savings Bank & Trust Company (outparcel) / Firestone Tire & Auto (outparcel) / Frazier's, Limited men's wear / Galeski Photo Center / Gary's Gifts / Longworth Cafeteria / Morton's Jewelers / Peoples Drug (with Food Fountain luncheonette) / Petersburg Mutual Savings & Loan / Rucker-Rosenstock ladies' wear / Sandler's College Shop / Singer Sewing Center / So-Fro Fabrics / Standard-James Shoes / Taylor's on the mall / Thom McAn Shoes / TV & Appliance Center / Walnut Mall Theatre (single-screen outparcel) / Wice's ladies' wear 

WALNUT MALL fared well until a larger and more trendy shopping complex opened in its trade area. SOUTHPARK MALL was dedicated in March 1989. It encompassed 800,000 leasable square feet and housed eighty-eight stores and services. 

Graphic from Faison Associates

By the early 1990s, WALNUT MALL was on life support. In the snapshot above, we see its abandoned J.C. Penney. The store had been snatched by SOUTHPARK. WALNUT MALL was shuttered in the spring of 1991. 

Photo from http://www.film.virginia.org / The Virginia Film Office 

A boarded-up and abandoned shopping hub was given a wrecking ball renovation in the summer of 2006.

Photo from www.loopnet.com

WALNUT MALL

South Crater Road / US 301 and Walnut Boulevard
Petersburg, Virginia

News of a prospective Southside Petersburg shopper mall was announced by late 1963. WALNUT SQUARE would be an open-air facility, with its first phase covering approximately 160,000 leasable square feet. The mall was being developed by Norfolk's Phil S. Hamovit and Gerald L. Lavenstein, under the auspices of Alsage Properties. Norfolk's Brundage, Cohen & Holton firm would design the center.

The retail hub would occupy a 16.9-acre tract, located 1.7 miles south of downtown Petersburg. Ground was broken on December 13, 1965. The original plan for an open-air complex had been altered, with a fully-enclosed shopping center now being built. With this change of plans, the name of the facility was changed to WALNUT MALL.

    

Its first operational tenant, a (14,800 square foot) Colonial Stores supermarket, was dedicated on July 21, 1966. Richmond-based Thalhimers inaugurated their 1-level (50,000 square foot) department store on August 23rd. At the mall's official grand opening, which commenced on November 11, 1966, sixteen stores and services were up and running.  

WALNUT MALL was based on a 330' x 40' shopping concourse, which was lit by a series of clerestory windows. When fully-realized in late 1967, the complex encompassed approximately 300,000 leasable square feet and featured twenty-six in-mall and outparcel stores.  

Charter tenants included Galeski Photo Center, Morton's Jewelers, Sandler's College Shop, a (12,000 square foot) Rucker-Rosenstock ladies' wear and (15,000 square foot) Peoples Drug. The Neighborhood Theatres Walnut Mall Theatre opened for business on February 9, 1967. The single-screen venue re-opened, as the Walnut Mall I & II, on November 14, 1974. 

Meanwhile, the mall's second anchor department store, a 2-level (115,000 square foot) J.C. Penney, had welcomed first customers on October 5, 1967. Billed as a "Shopping Showplace," WALNUT MALL prospered until the completion of SOUTHPARK MALL {3.5 miles north, in Colonial Heights} in March 1989. 

The shiny new SOUTHPARK immediately snatched the WALNUT MALL J.C. Penney. The older center was given a 1980s-style, Post-Modern makeover. This included the installation of new flooring and reconstruction of the Main Entrance. 

After SOUTHPARK MALL opened, the WALNUT MALL Thalhimers briefly remained in business; competing with a new SOUTHPARK store. The WALNUT MALL store was shuttered in May 1991. By this time, WALNUT MALL was virtually vacant. It was closed, boarded-up and would sit -derelict and decaying- for 15 years.

The first redevelopment scenario, from 1995, advocated that the moribund mall be replaced by a new Home Depot and Kroger supermarket. This plan fell through. A second scheme proposed a new public library for the site. This never came to fruition, either.

Demolition of the mall finally commenced in August 2006. A group of buildings in the front parking area were left standing. These were incorporated into WALNUT CENTRE, an open-air strip complex that featured a (35,000 square foot) Food Lion supermarket and eleven inline stores. The new shopping venue was dedicated on May 23, 2007.

Sources:

The Progress-Index (Petersburg, Virginia)

The Richmond Times-Dispatch
http://www.labelscar.com / "Caldor"
Michael Lisicky
https://www.cinematreasures.org

Richmond's Cloverleaf Mall

The first major shopping mall in Greater Richmond was built by South Florida's Leonard L. Farber. He had developed the Sunshine State's POMPANO FASHION SQUARE and a second FASHION SQUARE in Orlando. In fact, the FASHION SQUARE and CLOVERLEAF malls were promoted with the same parasol logo (as seen above).
Graphic from the Leonard L. Farber Company

A vintage view of the Main Entrance and north parking area at CLOVERLEAF MALL. 

Photo from The Chesterfield Observer 

A Sears store was one of forty-four charter tenants that opened for business in August 1972. It encompassed 2 sales floors and 179,200 square feet.

Drawing from Sears, Roebuck & Company

The Phase I mall's second anchor was a 2-level (200,000 square foot) J.C. Penney. It was reputed to be the largest Penney's in Virginia...although a store of comparable size had opened, at Norfolk's MILITARY CIRCLE MALL, in January 1971.

Drawing from the J.C. Penney Company

Here we see the original mall's Center Court and East (or Sears) Wing.

Photo from http://pleasantfamilyshopping.blogspot.com

"Fist City's" hometown department store anchored the Phase II section of the mall, which opened in July 1973.
Photo from www.labelscar.com / Michael Lisicky

In a circa-1973 site plan, the original Phase I complex (in black) is anchored by Sears and Penney's. The Phase II structure (in gray) added a third anchor, Richmond-based Thalhimers. At that time, a potential fourth, Richmond-based Miller & Rhoads, was being considered. It would never be built.

An open-air complex was built across the Turnpike from CLOVERLEAF MALL. When fully-leased, it covered 280,000 leasable square feet, with thirty tenants. Charter BEAUFONT MALL stores opened between April 1976 and April 1978. They included Murphy's Mart, Best Products and an A & P. The mall eventually morphed into BEAUFONT CENTER and, in the present day, is known as SPRING ROCK GREEN.  

Graphic from the Beaufont Company

By the late 1980s, a freestanding 8-plex cinema is operating in the southwest parking area of CLOVERLEAF MALL. The original twin-plex inside the mall has been shuttered and rebuilt as the Take A Break Food Court. 

CLOVERLEAF MALL TENANTS 1988:

J.C. PENNEY (with Portrait Studio and Beauty Salon) / J.G. McCRORY 5 & 10 (with luncheonette) / SEARS (with Garden Center and freestanding Auto Center) / THALHIMERS (with Sword & Kilt  restaurant) / Art Explosion cards & gifts / B. Dalton Bookseller / Bakers Shoes / Baskin-Robbins ice cream / Barclay's Diamond Jewelers / Brooks ladies wear / Butler's Shoes / C.M. Wilkinson, Junior, Doctor of Dental Science / Casual Corner ladies' wear / Chess King men's wear / Cloverleaf Mall Cinema 8 (outparcel) / Disco Sports apparel / Docktor Pet Center / D.P. Paul Jewelers / Famous Chocolate Chip Cookie Company / Fanfares Shoes / Fine's men's wear / Firestone Tire & Auto (outparcel) / Florsheim Shoes / Foot Locker / Foxmoor Casuals ladies' wear / Geleski Optical / Hanover Shoes / Hardee's hamburgers /  Hickory Farms of Ohio / Hip Pocket apparel / Hofheimer's Shoes / Hofheimer's Stride-Rite Bootery / J. Riggings men's wear / Jeans West men's wear / Kay-Bee Toys / Kinney Shoes / Lane Bryant ladies' wear / La Vogue by Seiferts ladies' wear / Lechters housewares / Life Uniform / Marianne Shops ladies' wear / Mitchell's Formal Wear / Morrow's Nut House / Motherhood Maternity / Natural Nutrition / Orange Bowl snack bar / O'Neill's cards & gifts / Parklane Hosiery / Peoples Drug / Piccadilly Cafeteria / Radio Shack / Rave ladies wear / Ritz Camera / Regis Hairstylists / Ruby Tuesday restaurant / Sam Goody Music / Sea Dream Leather & Accessories / Size 5-7-9 Shops ladies' wear / Sovran Bank (outparcel) / Spencer Gifts / Stuarts ladies ready-to-wear / Susie's Casuals ladies' wear / Swartzschild Jewelers / Swiss Pretzel Shop / The Limited ladies' wear / This End Up Furniture Company / Thom McAn Shoes / Tinder Box Tobacconist /  Ups n Downs ladies' wear / Vacar Family Hair Center / Waldenbooks / Zales Jewelers 

 

CLOVERLEAF MALL was given an indoor facelift as part of the food court installation. The exterior -including this mall entrance-  was rebuilt as part of a 1998 refurbishment.
Photo from www.labelscar.com / Michael Lisicky

By the turn of the 21st century, the complex was in a pronounced state of decline; this due to on-site crime and unruly teenagers. An early 2000s photo shows a non-operational Center Court fountain. Most of the eighty-sum store spaces are vacant. The past-its-prime property was shuttered in early 2008 and demolished in late 2011.
Photo from www.labelscar.com / Michael Lisicky

A rendering of the CHIPPENHAM PLACE -make that STONEBRIDGE MARKETPLACE- mixed-use facility. A complete rebuild of CLOVERLEAF MALL, it included retail and residential components. The first Phase 1 segments were dedicated between December 2012 and August 2014.
Drawing from http://stonebridgerichmond.com

The eventual layout of STONEBRIDGE MARKETPLACE. Buildings once part of CLOVERLEAF MALL are highlighted in blue. The retail portion of STONEBRIDGE Phase 1 is surrounded in pink. The two store structures shown in orange were completed in early 2018. Additional Phase 2 retail is shown in brown. In yellow are the Element at Stonebridge apartments.
Original drawing from http://stonebridgerichmond.com

CLOVERLEAF MALL

Midlothian Turnpike / US 60 and Chippenham Parkway
Chesterfield County, Virginia

News of a "huge mall-type center" for Richmond's western suburbs was first reported in May 1966. In June 1969, Chesterfield County officials granted a zoning change for an 85.7-acre portion of property, which was part of the Gresham Nursery & Garden Center. The parcel was located 6.5 miles southwest of center city Richmond, in an unincorporated section of Chesterfield County known as Manchester.

Construction got underway on March 9, 1971. A fully-enclosed mall of approximately 600,000 leasable square feet was being developed by a joint venture of the Leonard L. Farber Company (of Pompano Beach, Florida) and Arlen Shopping Centers, Incorporated (of New York City). The architects on the project were the Carneal & Johnson firm of Richmond.

CLOVERLEAF MALL was named after an adjacent interchange where the Midlothian Turnpike (US Route 60) and Chippenham Parkway intersect. Oddly enough, at the time of the mall's completion, the two roads met at-grade with a traffic signal. A cloverleaf-type junction was proposed but would not be completed until 1978.

The Phase I shopping hub was officially dedicated on August 16, 1972. A 2-level (179,200 square foot) Sears held its grand opening at this time. A 2-level (200,000 square foot) J.C. Penney was also dedicated. Among forty-four charter stores were Harmony Hut Records, Bresler's 33 Flavors Ice Cream, Stuarts ladies-ready-to-wear, Vacar Barber Shop, The Stag Shoppes men's wear, Piccadilly Cafeteria, Waldenbooks, a (13,000 square foot) Peoples Drug, (14,800 square foot) McCrory 5 & 10 and District Theatres Cloverleaf Mall Cinemas I & II.

A Phase II section of the mall was officially dedicated on August 1, 1973. Thalhimers' 1-level (63,000 square foot) store was inaugurated along with sixteen inline stores. These included Bathique, Greentree's, K & K Toys, Mortimer's, Size 5-7-9 Shop and Ups 'N Downs. CLOVERLEAF MALL now encompassed approximately 760,000 leasable square feet and featured sixty-seven stores and services. It was promoted as "The Fashion Center of Richmond."

Regional-class rivals soon appeared. REGENCY SQUARE MALL {7.2 miles northwest, in Henrico ["hen-riy-ko"] County} opened in 1975. Although not a large-scale shopping center at first, CHESTERFIELD TOWNE CENTER (1975) {4.2 miles northwest, in Chesterfield County} was to eventually expand to over one million leasable square feet.

The Plitt Theatres Cloverleaf Mall Cinema 8, a freestanding multiplex, was built at the southwest corner of the site. This venue showed first features on March 31, 1982. An interior and exterior face lift of the shopping center got underway in February 1987. During the remodeling, the original twin-plex cinema was shuttered and rebuilt into the 8-bay Take A Break Food Court.

The only anchor store rebranding in the history of CLOVERLEAF MALL took place on January 23, 1992. The Thalhimers chain (which had been acquired by May Department Stores) was merged with -and rebranded as- Arlington, Virginia-based Hecht's. By this time, the south anchor store at CLOVERLEAF  had been expanded into a 2-level (126,000 square foot) unit.

CLOVERLEAF MALL was beginning to decline by 1996, when a brutal double murder occurred at the shopping center. Some locals also feel that the image of the mall was hurt by the proliferation of unruly teenagers who began to frequent the complex, scaring off droves of shoppers in the process. To dispel the mall's negative image, a second face lift was performed in 1998.

This renovation failed to reverse the downward spiral. J.C. Penney became the first anchor store to close down, in October 2000. The 8-plex cinema was shuttered in October 2001. Sears, which had been downsized into a 1-level operation, closed in January 2003. Hecht's followed in July. The final nail in the proverbial coffin was driven in 2003, with the dedication of STONY POINT FASHION PARK {4.1 miles northwest, in Richmond}, a lifestyle center.

In the ensuing years, redevelopment plans for the the anchor-less and abandoned CLOVERLEAF MALL came and went. One of the more noteworthy transpired in 2004, when Richmond-based Faith Alive Ministries offered to buy the mall and convert it into a mega church complex. The powers that be of Chesterfield County balked at this offer. Some opined that a church-based development, producing no tax revenues, would not be lucrative. In the end, the county itself bought the property.

Two different developers were enlisted to assist in remaking the mall, all to no avail. A third company, Charlotte-based Crosland Investments, came on the scene in January 2007. Crosland proposed a mixed-use project, anchored by a (123,600 square foot) Kroger Marketplace. Tentatively known as CHIPPENHAM PLACE, it was to include 400,000 square feet of retail, office space and residential units.

On February 29, 2008, CLOVERLEAF MALL closed for good. In October, STONEBRIDGE MARKETPLACE was adopted as the official name of the complex-to-be. The Great Recession resulted in progress on the project being delayed during 2009 and 2010. CLOVERLEAF MALL sat decrepit and decaying, as proposed demolition dates came and went.

Demolition finally got underway in October 2011, leaving only the Firestone Car Care (nee' Penney's Auto Center) and Bank of America outparcels standing. Construction of STONEBRIDGE MARKETPLACE Phase 1 soon began. Kroger marketplace opened for business on December 5, 2012.

The first tenants in the second segment of Phase 1 were dedicated in the fall of 2013. These included Sweet Frog Premium Frozen Yogurt, Qdoba Mexican Grill, ABC Liquors, Great Clips and Subway. The first 600 units in the Element at Stonebridge "upscale apartment" complex, were completed in August 2014.

Sources:

The Richmond Times-Dispatch

The Chesterfield Observer (Midlothian, Virginia)

http://www.richmond.com
https://mallmanac.blogspot.com
http://www.labelscar.com
Michael Lisicky
https://www.cinematreasures.org
https://www.cinematour.com
http://www.chesterfield.gov
https://stonebridgerichmond.com