The new owners of MIDDLETOWN MALL followed through on the proposed remodeling. Demolition work commenced in late 2018. When construction dust settled in 2022, the newly-renamed MIDDLETOWN COMMONS included retail, restaurant, office and medical components; all in an open-air format.
Drawing from Premier Commercial Real Estate Services
The original mall's enclosed shopping concourse (in light gray) was reconfigured as service corridors and new store and office space. Some of the old mall was demolished and a boulevard carved through the middle of the structure. A hospital was installed in part of the old Gee Bee building.
MIDDLETOWN MALL
Fairmont Avenue / US 250 and David Circle
Marion County (White Hall), West Virginia
Plans for the first shopping mall in West Virginia were announced in May 1966. A fully-enclosed retail complex -going under the provisional name of FAIRMONT MALL- would be built on a 31.2-acre site. This was located 5 miles southwest of downtown Fairmont, in an unincorporated section of Marion County.
The mall-to-be was designed by Carl E. Barefoot, of Johnstown, Pennsylvania and developed by a joint venture of the Johnstown-based Crown Construction Company and Boston-based First Union Real Estate Equity & Mortgage Investment Company. By the time construction got underway in the spring of 1969, the project had been re-named MIDDLETOWN MALL.
When completed, the shopping venue encompassed approximately 472,000 leasable square feet. An official dedication was held on March 13, 1971. Charter inline stores included Lerner Shops, The Jones Department Store, Thrift Drugs, Scruffy Pet Shop, Orange Bowl, Orange Julius, Chess King, Jo-Ann Fabrics and a (13,000 square foot) J.G. McCrory 5 & 10. A (23,000 square foot) Thorofare Super Market occupied a freestanding building in the south parking area.
Anchoring the mall were a 1-level (97,700 square foot) Sears, 1-level (40,000 square foot), Clarksburg, West Virginia-based Parsons-Souders and 1-level (65,000 square foot) W. T. Grant. This store would be rebranded as a Grant City in 1973.
Commercial competition arrived with MOUNTAINEER MALL {17.1 miles northeast, in Monongalia County}, which opened in 1975. MEADOWBROOK MALL {11 miles southwest, in Bridgeport} was completed in 1982. In 1990, MORGANTOWN MALL {16.9 miles northeast, also in Monongalia County} was officially dedicated.
The only expansion ever done to MIDDLETOWN MALL added a 1-level (60,000 square foot), Pennsylvania-based Gee Bee discount mart. This store opened in May 1975. With its completion, the shopping center spanned approximately 532,000 leasable square feet.
In 1975, Parsons-Souders was rebranded by Wheeling-based Stone & Thomas. The W.T. Grant chain went out of business in 1976. The MIDDLETOWN MALL store was leased by the Ira A. Watson Company (a.k.a. Watson's), which was a Knoxville-based discount retailer. After that store closed, its space was leased by Pennsylvania-based Hess's. They opened their 33rd store, in the old Watson's space, in early 1985. Hess's was in business until 1995.
Sears had vacated their store in 1989. The space was taken by a Massachusetts-based Hills discount mart. This closed in 1998, with Connecticut-based Ames moving into the space. Gee Bee closed in 1991. Its space was leased as temporary government offices. The Stone & Thomas chain was acquired by Dayton-based Elder-Beerman in July 1998. The MIDDLETOWN MALL Stone & Thomas was not converted to an Elder-Beerman and closed for good. The Ames store was shuttered in October 2001.
The area surrounding, and including, MIDDLETOWN MALL had been incorporated, as the City of White Hall, on December 8, 1992. The Crown Construction Company split into two entities in 1993. The Crown American Realty Trust was established to manage the company's shopping mall portfolio. The property in White Hall was sold to Morgantown's Stephen Fansler in July 1998.
MIDDLETOWN MALL had been a thriving hub of commerce for a number of years. However, by 1990, there were three newer -and larger- malls operating in its trade area. The complex was in a downward spiral by the mid-1990s. With two of its anchors vacant, the facility went into foreclosure in 2002. A loan was secured. An entity known as Pin Oak Properties was created by local entrepreneur Stephen Fansler to own and operate the shopping center.
By 2003, MIDDLETOWN MALL was enjoying an occupancy rate of 98-percent. Much of its space was being leased as offices. Professional tenants included the Social Security Administration, Department of Motor Vehicles and State of West Virginia. Retailers included BBT Bank, Hank's Deli, Fashion Bug, Dollar General, GNC, Diane's Hallmark, Subway, D & S Collectibles and Goodwill Industries.
The north anchor, originally a Sears, was subdivided into four spaces. A Sav A Lot supermarket and Ace Hardware opened, in two of these, in 2004. Offices for Lockheed Martin, and the Colasessano's Pizza Parlor, occupied the remainder of the building. By this time, offices in the old Gee Bee structure had expanded, taking up a great deal of the mall's remaining inline store space.
In November 2004, Sears returned to MIDDLETOWN MALL, after a 15-year hiatus. They opened a Catalog & Appliance store in the freestanding building previously housing a supermarket. By this time, a Shop 'n Save food store was leasing the adjacent Grant City-Watsons-Hess's space.
Office-type tenants eventually vacated the mall. By the 2010s, the complex was 50-percent vacant. Pin Oak Properties declared bankruptcy. In April 2018, the struggling shopping center was acquired by Morgantown's David and Rick Biafora, under the auspices of the General Acquisitions, Limited Liability Company. They changed the name of the facility to MIDDLETOWN COMMONS.
A massive redevelopment commenced in late 2018. The interior of the mall was gutted, with some sections demolished. New leasable space was built, the roof repaired and parking lot repaved. In essence, the old enclosed mall was turned inside out, with all stores, offices and restaurants now having only exterior entrances.
In September 2021, a (10,000 square foot) Next Level Fitness opened its doors. A (24,100 square foot) Aldi discount grocery welcomed first shoppers on April 28, 2022, with a (17,200 square foot) Michaels being dedicated on September 17th.
Sources:
Mrs. Betty L. Schmidt, Middletown Mall Office Manager & Marketing Director
The Exponent Telegram (Clarksburg, West Virginia)
The Morning Call (Allentown, Pennsylvania)
The Observer-Reporter (Washington, Pennsylvania)
The Charleston Gazette (Charleston, West Virginia)
The Times West Virginian (Fairmont, West Virginia)
http://web.mountain.net / Town of White Hall, West Virginia
https://www.wvnews.com
https://www.premiercommercialres.com / Premier Commercial Real Estate Services
