Palm Beach Mall
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 The mall's main entrance |
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| Location | West Palm Beach, Florida United States |
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| Coordinates | 26°43′27″N 80°05′18″W / 26.72430°N 80.08823°WCoordinates: 26°43′27″N 80°05′18″W / 26.72430°N 80.08823°W |
| Address | 1801 Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard |
| Opening date | October 27, 1967 |
| Closing date | January 2010 |
| Developer | Edward J. DeBartolo Corp. |
| Management | Madison Marquette |
| Owner | Orix |
| No. of stores and services | 19 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 2 |
| Total retail floor area | 1,085,000 square feet (0.1008 km2) |
| Parking | Parking lot |
| No. of floors | 1 |
| Website | Operator website |
The Palm Beach Mall is an enclosed shopping mall located in West Palm Beach, Florida. It is the first fully enclosed shopping center that was developed in Palm Beach County, and earliest still in operation. Strong competition from newer shopping destinations and high area crime rates have however, since pushed it toward a dilapidated state. On December 5, 2009, the malls court appointed receiver announced that the Palm Beach Mall will officially close by January 31st, 2010 with the exception of J.C.Penney and George's Music, which have outdoor entrances. Upon foreclosure under Simon ownership, Orix seized ownership of the Mall in December 2009 and will take full control in 2010, with the expecation of the mall being demolished. Madison Marquette wil continue to manage the malls operations. [1]
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[edit] History
The mall originally opened on October 27, 1967 as the largest mall in the Southeastern United States. It was built by the Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation which ultimately merged with Simon. When that company foreclosed on the mall in late 2010, it was seized by Orix, the current owner. The shopping center has been renovated three times in its history, initially in 1980, again in 1987 and later in 2000. The initial renovation included expanding the Palm Beach Mall to its current 1,085,000 square feet (100,800 m2) of Gross Leasable Area and the entire floor of the mall was replaced. A parking garage was also added to the mall.[where?] [2]
In 1987, the closure of Pantry Pride allowed space to create a food court which the mall called "Treats." In addition to the food court, the original ceiling was removed in order to incorporate a more open air experience, as well as the addition of skylights.[2]
The later renovation replaced most of the malls interior fixtures, redesigned the food court (this time calling it "Sea Side Café), and replaced the Wonderfall with a much more modern fountain sporting a seahorse theme.
On May 1st, 1999, Nicholas Megrath, an 18 year old manager at the Chick-fil-A restaurant formerly located in the mall's food court was murdered execution style by Jessie Miller Jr. Investigators said Miller entered the store, gagged and bound Megrath to a chair with duct tape and unsuccessfully attempted to open the store's safe. Investigators then claim the Miller became frustrated and fired a bullet into the 18-year-old's temple. Miller and his gang fled the scene with about $500 cash. Miller was sentenced to life without parole in 2009. [3]
From the decline of business at the mall, Dillard's abruptly closed on October 31, 2008.[4] Macy's announced as of January 8, 2009, that the Palm Beach Mall location will close due to under par performance.[5] On March 9, the mall started operating under reduced hours to negate the lower foot traffic.[6] Sears is expected to close by January 17, 2010, announcing liquidation sales to start November 19 of the preceding year.[7]
Beginning the first week of November, 2009, J.C. Penney has closed off its entrance to the mall. The store continues to see heavy use, but the air-conditioning in the respective wing of the mall has since been turned off due to vacancies.[8]
On April 14, 2009, banking firm JPMorgan Chase filed for a foreclosure suit against Simon for the failure to repay a $55.4 million loan used on the shopping center. The proposed foreclosure seeks the sale of the mall to satisfy the mortgage.[9] As of July, 2009, Washington-based Madison Marquette is temporarily operating the mall by a circuit court judge's decision.[10]
Plans were devised but never executed to redevelop the property into mixed-use development, one proposal was a 290,000-square-foot (0.027 km2) IKEA. In addition to this 700,000 square feet (0.065 km2) of retail, 300,000 square feet (0.028 km2) office space, and 500 residential units were considered.[11] David Simon, CEO of Simon Property Group, claimed in July of 2009 that the mall will remain open in its present form and that his company would continue being dedicated to making the aging mall a viable place to shop.[12]
J.C. Penney currently owns the land where its store resides. Similarly, both Dillard's and Macy's continue to own the building and land their stores once occupied. It is expected that once Orix takes control of the Mall in early 2010 it will be torn down.[clarification needed]
[edit] Anchors
- J. C. Penney; 202,812 square feet (18,841.9 m2) (Opened in 1967)
- Sears; 163,476 square feet (15,187.4 m2) (Opened in 1980, Closing in January, 2010)
[edit] Former Anchors
- Burdines (Opened 1979, converted to Macy's in 2005)
- Dillard's (Opened 2000, closed 2008, space is currently vacant)
- Jordan Marsh (Opened 1967, closed 1992, became Mervyn's)
- Lord & Taylor (Opened 1980, closed 2001, store demolished)
- Macy's (Converted in 2005 from Burdines, closed 2009, space is currently vacant)
- Mervyns (Opened in 1991 in former Jordan Marsh building, demolished 2000, became Dillard's and additional store space)
- Pantry Pride (Opened in 1967 as Food Fair, became food court in 1988)
- Richard's (Opened in 1967, closed 1980, became Sears)
- Woolworth's (Opened 1967, closed 1997, space later occupied by Borders, DSW, and George's Music Superstore)
[edit] References
- ^ "Palm Beach Mall's Last Christmas", "Palm Beach Post", 2009-12-21. Retrieved on 2009-12-21.
- ^ [1] "The Palm Beach Post" Sept 26, 1988
- ^ "Jurors Reach Verdict In Chick-fil-A Murder Trial", "WPBF", 2009-07-24. Retrieved on 2009-12-06.
- ^ Ostrowski, Jeff. "West Palm Dillard's closing, laying off 109", The Palm Beach Post, 2008-08-29. Retrieved on 2009-02-16.
- ^ Jeff and Allison Ross. "Macy's to close Palm Beach Mall store, 10 others after poor holiday sales", The Palm Beach Post, 2009-01-08. Retrieved on 2009-02-14.
- ^ Ross, Allison. "Palm Beach Mall to cut hours next month", The Palm Beach Post, 2009-02-25. Retrieved on 2009-02-20.
- ^ "Another Anchor Store At Palm Beach Mall To Close", WPBF, 2009-10-16. Retrieved on 2009-10-16.
- ^ Ross, Allison. "J.C. Penney separates itself from the Palm Beach Mall", The Palm Beach Post, 2009-11-17. Retrieved on 2009-11-18.
- ^ Clough, Alexandra. "Palm Beach Mall in West Palm Beach slapped with foreclosure suit", The Palm Beach Post, 2009-04-20. Retrieved on 2009-04-20.
- ^ Clough, Alexandra. "Palm Beach Mall's 'new sheriff in town' to ensure lights stay on during foreclosure", The Palm Beach Post, 2009-06-07. Retrieved on 2009-07-01.
- ^ Owers, Paul. "Palm Beach Mall loses Dillard's, may get Ikea after overhaul", TCPalm, 2008-09-23. Retrieved on 2009-02-16.
- ^ Clough, Alexandra. "Simon's redevelopment of Palm Beach Mall derailed by downturn", The Palm Beach Post, 2009-07-19. Retrieved on 2009-08-10.
[edit] External links
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