- Oglethorpe Mall
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Oglethorpe Mall Location Savannah, Georgia, USA Opening date April 1969 Developer Scott Hudgens Owner General Growth Properties No. of stores and services 150 No. of anchor tenants 4 Total retail floor area 948,000 square feet (88,000 m²) (GLA) Parking 5,348 spaces (including parking deck) No. of floors 1 Website oglethorpemall.com Oglethorpe Mall is a super-regional shopping mall on the Southside of Savannah, Georgia. Named after General James Oglethorpe, the founder of Savannah, it has grown over the last forty years to be nearly one million square feet. Among some of its features are several restaurants, a 10-unit food court, approximately 150 stores and anchors of Barnes & Noble, Belk, JC Penney, Macy's (formerly Rich's), Stein Mart and Sears.
Oglethorpe Mall opened in 1969 and was Savannah's first shopping mall. Largely written off as obsolete once the larger Savannah Mall opened in 1990, Oglethorpe Mall has been expanded and refurbished to include a strong tenant line-up. It has also maintained a low vacancy rating. Oglethorpe Mall is currently owned by General Growth Properties.
Center Court of Oglethorpe Mall, present day
History
Center Court of Oglethorpe Mall, 1977.The mall opened in April 1969 at 7804 Abercorn Street. Its main anchors were Belk-Beery, McCrory, (now Stein Mart) and Sears. Local department store Adler's and a single screen GA Theatre were located on the rear side of the mall. The basic design of the mall was very simple. It consisted of suspended ceilings, fluorescent lighting, and terrazzo floors. And, due to unparalleled growth on Savannah's Southside, in 1974 the mall was expanded by 25,000 square feet (2,300 m2). This expansion wing jutted out from center court and began the mall's growth towards Fairmont Avenue.
By 1982 a 230,000-square-foot (21,000 m2) expansion wing was constructed with JC Penney and Levy's of Savannah. Subsequently in 1986, Levy's was acquired by Maas Brothers of Tampa, which in itself became Jordan Marsh in 1988. Beginning in 1989, the mall was gutted and aesthetically redesigned with design schemes of the 1980s. 1990 saw the completion of the renovation with a new two level parking garage. A year later, in 1991, the Oglethorpe Mall was expanding again with the addition of Rich's and the renovation of Jordan Marsh into an expansion wing.
Since the late 1990s many modernizations have occurred, like the replacing of a section of the mall known as The Promenade (a long corridor with small shops along either side and a restaurant at the end, all decorated in what would now be defined as '80s kitsch – Day-Glo colors, neon lights, and glass tile blocks, among many other popular construction designs from the '80s) with Barnes and Noble. Three years later, in 2002, a new food court opened, replacing the older sporadically placed restaurants throughout the mall. The latest anchor change occurred in 2005 when Rich's was converted to Macy's.
2011 saw a return of good prosperity to the mall, with the opening of several new stores and several stores returning to the mall. Charming Charlie opened a store in the space vacated by Tilt! arcade in the spring. Bare Escentuals and Jimmy Jazz have opened, and La Parrilla Mexican Grill (an Atlanta based restaurant), and Shape's Brow Bar will open late in the year. Also, The Limited reopened a store in the mall after it left the Savannah market in 2008. Kirkland's opened a store in the mall in late September. The Briar Patch, a predecessor to Kirkland's left the mall in 2005 for a new Kirkland's store at Abercorn Walk. Kirkland's did not renew their lease at Abercorn Walk after the space was given to Williams-Sonoma. Oglethorpe Mall is now 98% occupied.
Entrance to Oglethorpe Mall's Food Court in Sears Court, present daySources
- Savannahnow.com – Savannah Morning News Article 1 January 2003
- WSAV.com - "Business Good at Oglethorpe Mall" 11 July 2011
- Generalgrowth.com – Mall management and mall portfolio website
External links
- oglethorpemall.com · Official Website
Categories:- Shopping malls in Georgia (U.S. state)
- Buildings and structures in Savannah, Georgia
- Visitor attractions in Savannah, Georgia
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