🚀 go-pugleaf

*I reposted this snipped topic hoping that a better name for the post
would generate more interest, so here goes:*

<snip>

Here's my take on local malls that appear to be facing a bleak future:

Shannon Mall

Change in demographics, median income and a high crime rate in the
area is not faring well in this mall with two of four anchors gone and
a portion of the mall closed.  If you look at the graveyard of boarded
up outlots, it seems that the owners were too optomistic when they
renovated a couple years ago.  I guess those of us who know where this
place is may be looking at a Dixie Square in the future.  More
importantly is that this mall, built in 1980, is suffering horribly
from competition from the new Arbor Place Mall in Douglasville and
from northside malls, such as Perimeter and Lenox.

Cumberland Mall

From what I understand, this was in its time the largest mall in the
country.  Opened in 1973, it drew in customers from far away and
subsequently destroyed nearby Cobb Centre Mall which was finally torn
down in the late 1990's.  The irony these days is that Cumberland Mall
has earned a reputation as the "black mall", and is beginning to see
the effects that such a stigma has as the mall is loosing one of its
strongest anchors.  As I spent many childhood years in this mall, I
would hate to see it go, but I wonder what is ahead.  If it looses any
more anchors, it might not be good news.

Gwinnett Place Mall

A mall I am not very familiar with, but it is in a similar situation
with Cumberland, though it is more of a sister to Town Center than to
Cumberland.  It now faces stiff competition from the Mall of Georgia
and is in an area that has seen significant demographic change just in
the past few years.  It is my guess that it will have to form its own
niche to hold its own.

Southlake Mall

Don't know much about it, but I haven't heard that it's doing all that
well.  It seems odd considering that there is a large population base
that is starved for a mall in that area.  It almost seems that the
region has chosen big box over mall in attempts to avoid these malls
judging by the phenomenal complex built between GA 85 and GA 314 in
Fayetteville.

...and now for the totally dead and completely gone...

Cobb Centre Mall (Smyrna)

As one of the first regional malls outside Atlanta, Cobb Centre opened
in the post WWII inner ring suburbs around Smyrna.  I understand it
was very successful for many years after it opened in the 1960's
featuring a two-level Rich's, W.T. Grant, Woolworths, Turtles, Davis
Brothers Cafeteria, Dunaway Drugs and several other tenants.  It was
also originally an open air mall as well.  The slow and painful death
of this tiny mall began in the 1970's when Cumberland Mall opened.  In
response, the mall was enclosed in some of the dreariest 70's stylin'
ever seen.  I vaguely remember the architecture featured very dark
wood and dim lighting and looked very dated by the late 1980's.  This
is when the fatal death blow came: Town Center.  Opened in 1986, this
mall effectively wiped out the regional customer base, which could not
be matched with a local base.  In an attempt to save the mall itself,
which was dying despite the fact that Rich's continued to do better,
it was again renovated with a lighter more modern interior and
redubbed "Four Seasons Mall".  Howard's moved from a local bar and
grill into the old Davis Brothers and established itself as a bona
fide restaurant.  Howard's relocated soon after to a former steakhouse
and the movie theatre was getting in bad shape next to the mall. 
After Woolworth's left, the only remaining tenants included Eckerds
and Friedmann's Jewerlry.  The mall was closed and finally gutted in
the late 1990's.  After the demolition, all that remained was Rich's
and the movie theaters.  The front entrance to the mall is now a strip
mall with a Publix and only the Rich's remains, but now only as an
outlet store and the future of this outlet store remains in doubt as
the area continues to further decline despite the best efforts of the
city of Smyrna.

Riverbend Mall (Rome)

This mall was a disaster area...literally.  It went from a small
regional serving Rome, parts of Alabama and parts of NW GA into an
empty shell within 10 years.  It would be reasonable to say it began
when the whole mall was flooded by muddy brown water from Etowah
River.  (photo of the flooding
here)http://gaia.fc.peachnet.edu/geology/images/riverbend%20photo.jpg

Built in the river's natural floodplain, it was a poor choice for a
mall site, but it did well for about 15 years, opened sometime in the
1970's with three anchors, a Belk Rhodes, JCPenney and Miller's. 
Miller's later became Hess's.  In the early 1990's, this mall was
replaced with a very poorly located Mount Berry Square, but it
effectively emptied this mall in one fellow swoop with Belk Rhodes and
JCPenney opening larger, nicer stores at the new mall.  This was
pretty rough considering the mall had just opened a new food court a
few years earlier that included Chick Fil'A.  The old Belk's became a
shared outlet with the west end of the store becoming a medical
center.  The Hess's changed briefly to a very odd Bon-Ton (the only
one I have ever seen in the Southeast) and at last Ford's Furniture. 
It is not known what happened in the interior, but CVS (formerly Reed
Drugs and Revco) was one of the last tenants remaining, and it had an
outside entrance as well.

The mall as it was is now demolished in favor of new development built
on filled higher ground including a Barnes and Noble, Ross, Outback
Steakhouse and a new medical center to replace the old one located in
the old Belk's.

I would appreciate any additional details on this old mall-it is of
great interest to me.

Roswell Mall (Roswell)

Opened in 1974 with Richway as its sole anchor, it was doomed from the
start.  Nevertheless, it was at the time the only regional mall north
of Perimeter.  It basically consisted of Richway, the mall itself, a
movie theater and Morrison's Cafeteria.  Kmart came as a new anchor
later and the mall became wedged in an uncomfortable position not
visible from the highway.  Morrison's later closed and the mall,
already basically empty in 1989, was completely dead by the 1990's
except for an Upton's that opened next to the Target that replaced
Richway.  In the 1990's, Upton's closed, Target changed to Value City
and Kmart is now closed.  Even with the mall recently gutted and
reconstructed with a better cinema, it still looks grim for this
ill-fated plaza in an area that is beginning to decline.  Once again,
further info appreciated on this mall.

OTHER malls of curiosity:

What did the Plaza Fiesta (obviously a Mexican shopping mall) used to
be?  I noticed it on the news recently and was amazed that a bona fide
shopping mall is now a mall with a unique niche.

Avondale Mall: I hear this mall was very similar in its history to
Cobb Centre.

Walnut Square Mall (Dalton).  I wonder how this mall is doing in a
city that is largely Hispanic.

Lake Shore Mall (Gainesville): As the only mall in Hall County, this
mall has always gotten a thriving business, but as Hall County is a
major mecca for Mexican immigrants, it seems to have become a "Mexican
Mall".  Does anyone know anything about this mall, anchored by Sears
and Belk?  It looks to be very small but by no means dead.

I would also LOVE to hear your other entries for dead, dying or sickly
looking malls across the state of Georgia.  There are a few others I
wanted to mention here, but avoided in fear of starting a flame war,
because I could be dead wrong.