Georgia Square Mall

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Georgia Square Mall
Gasquare2007.jpg
LocationAthens, Georgia, United States
Coordinates33°56′38″N 83°28′03″W / 33.943983°N 83.467491°W / 33.943983; -83.467491Coordinates: 33°56′38″N 83°28′03″W / 33.943983°N 83.467491°W / 33.943983; -83.467491
Opening dateFebruary 11, 1981
OwnerHendon Properties
No. of stores and services66
No. of anchor tenants4 (1 open, 3 vacant)
Total retail floor area673,138 sq ft (62,536.6 m2).
No. of floors2
Parking3,807
Websitegeorgiasquaremall.com

Georgia Square Mall is a largely vacant shopping mall located in Athens, Georgia, in United States. Its clientele includes relatively few students attending the nearby University of Georgia, catering primarily to local residents of the Athens area.

History[]

Opened in 1981, this two-level mall was originally noted for its retro design features including the foil-copper look used on the mall entrance to Belk. This was also one of the largest more rural malls in the country in the era it was built. The mall also opened with other anchors Davison's, Sears and JCPenney. The anchors to the mall had originally been in Downtown Athens and relocated when it opened.

In 2007, the mall began a renovation to the exterior entrances in the rear as well as an updated look on the interior.[1] However, even with two overhauls, the mall is now much like it was when it opened. The only anchor change was in the name of Davison's; it was converted to Macy's in 1986, Rich's in 1998, Rich's-Macy's in 2003 and back to Macy's in 2005. As of February 2017, Macy's has closed. As of Tuesday August 6, 2019, Sears just announced it will be closing its doors down this fall for good as part of a plan to close 26 stores.[2] On June 4, 2020, JCPenney announced that it would be closing as part of a plan to close 154 stores nationwide.[3] After JCPenney closed in October 2020, Belk became the only remaining anchor store.

In early 2022, an Athens construction syndicate proposed a mixed-use development for the site of the mall, which would include more than 1,000 residential apartments and almost 100,000 square feet (9,300 m2) of new retail and restaurant space.[4] Some of the existing retail space, including the sole remaining anchor store, Belk, would be retained, but the rest of the mall would be demolished.[4]

Anchors[]

Current[]

  • Belk (127,381 sq ft.)

Former[]

References[]

  1. ^ http://www.georgiasquaremall.com/shop/georgiasquare.nsf/whatsinstore Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine Information on Renovation
  2. ^ Tyko, Kelly (August 6, 2019). "Sears and Kmart store closings: 26 stores to close in October". USA Today. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
  3. ^ "JCPenney Store Closings".
  4. ^ a b Tyler Wilkins. "Massive redevelopment pitched for decaying Athens mall." Atlanta Business Chronicle. 7 January 2022. Retrieved 15 January 2022.

External links[]

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