Fashion Mall

Infobox shopping mall
shopping_mall_name = The Plantation Fashion Mall


image_width = 250px
caption = One of the Fashion Mall's entrances following its closure.
location = Plantation, Florida, United States
opening_date = 1988
manager =
owner = U.S. Capital Holdings Group
developer =
building_costs = $350 Million
number_of_stores = 110
number_of_anchors = 2
floor_area = 660,000 sq ft
floors = 3
parking = A large six-story lot for the main mall, a smaller, two-story lot for Lord and Taylor, and a ground lot for Macy's.
website =

The Plantation Fashion Mall was a three-level shopping mall in Plantation, Florida, a suburb of Fort Lauderdale. The mall recently closed and is undergoing a large-scale renovation project.

History

Fashion Mall opened with Lord and Taylor as an anchor store in 1988, and a Macy's was opened in 1994.cite press release |url=http://www.macysinc.com/pressroom/macys/macysflorida/media_kits.asp?strAction=ShowItem&itemid=471&pr=1 |title=Macy's Florida announces plans to permanently close Fashion Mall Plantation location |Publisher=Macy's |date=26 July 2006 |accessdate=2007-12-02] The mall struggled to attract retail tenants due to competition from Broward Mall, located about a block away. The Lord and Taylor store closed in 2003, when the chain exited the state of Florida.cite news |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2003/07/28/daily23.html |title=May to close all Fla. Lord & Taylor stores |last=Londner |first=Robin |publisher="South Florida Business Journal" |date=30 July 2003 |accessdate=2007-12-02] After a series of sales, the property was acquired by U.S. Capital Holdings Group in 2004. The Macy's remained open until 2005, when Hurricane Wilma caused significant damage to the store; on 26 July 2006, Macy's announced it was permanently closing the Fashion Mall store.

Leadup to closure

After the Macy's closed, the occupancy dwindled to fewer than 20 stores. Adding to the center's woes was an agreement signed by the previous owners with the city of Plantation, agreeing to install upgrades to the mall's fire safety systems. While U.S. Holdings considered plans to redevelop the property, the city pressed to have the upgrades installed, since the deficiencies had been noted since 2003 and nothing had been done to remediate them. After a number of discussions between the city and the owner, the city informed the mall's tenants that they would be required to vacate their locations in the mall by October 15, 2007, and that any occupational licenses held by tenants of the center were revoked.cite web |url=http://www.plantation.org/docs/city-clerk/fashion-mall-occupational-license_info.pdf |title=Fashion Mall occupational license information |publisher=City of Plantation |accessdate=2007-12-02]

Redevelopment

On 25 January 2007, U. S. Capital announced their plans to redevelop the mall into a mixed-use project called "321 North" (named for its address on University Drive).cite press release |url=http://www.321north.com/press.cfm?view=news&uid=15 |title=Developers plan $350 Million redevelopment of Plantation Fashion Maa incorporating residential, office, shopping, dining and entertainment components |publisher=U.S. Capital Holdings Group |date=1 February 2007 |accessdate=2007-12-02] The plan calls for a significant portion of the mall structure to be demolished, and the retail portion to be reconfigured to street-front stores. When completed, there will be approximately convert|525000|sqft|m2|-3 of retail space, more than convert|300000|sqft|m2|-3 of office space in two new buildings, and approximately 600 residential units. The development will be the first in South Florida to adhere to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System, incorporating environmentally-friendly materials and construction techniques.cite news |url=http://www.nbc6.net/news/14151987/detail.html |title=Green Neighborhood Planned In So. Fla. |publisher=NBC6 |date=20 September 2007 |accessdate=2007-12-02]

Legacy

Photographer Cap Blackard, who had frequented the mall as a child, was allowed to photograph and videotape the interior of the derelict mall in order to preserve the beauty of its grandiose architecture. His work is currently available on his flickr account. cite web |url=http://flickr.com/photos/capblackard/sets/72157603973829346/ |title=Cap Blackard's photography of the derelict Plantation Fashion Mall |publisher=Cap Blackard |accessdate=2008-06-23]

References