Whitehall Mall

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Coordinates: 40°38′07″N 75°29′00″W / 40.6353°N 75.4833°W / 40.6353; -75.4833
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Whitehall Mall
Exterior of the mall in October 2019
Map
LocationWhitehall, Pennsylvania[1]
Coordinates40°38′00″N 75°29′10″W / 40.633264°N 75.486245°W / 40.633264; -75.486245
Opening dateSeptember 26, 1966; 57 years ago (1966-09-26)[2]
OwnerWashington Prime Group[3]
No. of anchor tenants2[3][4]
Total retail floor area603,475 square feet (56,064.7 m2)[5][a]
Parking2,558 spaces[6]

Whitehall Mall is a shopping mall located in Whitehall, Pennsylvania.[1] It is anchored by Kohl's.[3][7] Whitehall Mall was one of the Lehigh Valley's first malls and is located across from the Lehigh Valley Mall.[2][4]

History

Interior of the mall, October 2019

1966-1997

Land for the mall (19 acres (7.7 ha)) was purchased for $125,000 from a farmer and groundbreaking occurred in 1965.[2][8] Zollinger's opened before the mall on August 15, 1966, with the rest of the mall opening on September 26, 1966.[2] The mall had 52 stores including Sears, Weis Markets, Woolworth's, and Zollinger's.[2][9][10] Whitehall Mall expanded in 1973, and in 1978 Leh's opened, replacing the closed (bankrupt) Zollinger's.[2][11] Sears interior underwent a major overhaul in 1984.[12] The mall received a lowered tax assessment after settling with the county, township, and school district in 1985.[13][14]

In 1987, a suspicious fire started in the back of the mall that later caused an wall of the Leh's to be demolished.[15] Sears interior underwent another overhaul in 1994 that added 35,000 sq. ft. to the sales floor, and converted the former second floor offices to store space.[16] Several stores suffered damage due to a large roof leak in January 1990, with all stores reopening after a few days, and the roofs replacement planned for April.[17][18] Leh's closed in June 1996 due to bankruptcy, with Gallery Furniture taking over its former space in 1997.[19] Clover closed in 1996, with its replacement Kohl's opening in April 1997.[4][20]

1998–present

Whitehall Mall received a $15 million renovation in 1998, where it was almost totally demalled, except for a portion near Kohl's.[4][21][22] Retaining the traditional mall look was determined to not be cost effective.[8] Sears was expanded during this time.[4] Three additional buildings were added to the mall's grounds during the renovation.[22] Weis Markets closed during renovations that almost doubled its space.[9] Plaza Theater closed in June 1999 due to having only two screens and being obsolete.[23] The theater was previously operated by Budco, and by AMC from 1987-1996.[24] The opening of Gold's Gym in the mid 2000s was delayed due to design changes. Gold's Gym would use the former Leh's store and Plaza Theater.[23][25] Raymour & Flanigan relocated to the mall in 2012, occupying two vacant storefronts.[26][27] PREIT sold its 50% ownership of the Whitehall Mall in 2014 to Washington Prime Group, the mall's other owner.[3][28] Sears closed in February 2020.[29]

Notes

  1. ^ Information varies, but all numbers are above 590,000 sq ft.

References

  1. ^ a b "Washington Prime Group Whitehall Mall". Washington Prime Group. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Whelan, Frank (February 1, 1998). "Remembering When Whitehall Mall Was Cool". The Morning Call. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d Petty, Precious (December 29, 2014). "PREIT sells Whitehall Mall share to Washington Prime Group". LehighValleyLive. The Express-Times. Advance Local Media. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d e Todd, Susan (October 31, 1997). "Whitehall Mall To Be Given $10 Million Makeover In '98". The Morning Call. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  5. ^ Harris, Jon (October 12, 2018). "With Sears bankruptcy looming, Whitehall Mall gets ready for life without once-popular retailer". The Morning Call. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  6. ^ "Washington Prime Group Whitehall Mall 2014" (PDF). Washington Prime. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  7. ^ Harris, Jon (November 7, 2019). "Sears plans to close Whitehall Mall store, the last one in the Lehigh Valley". The Morning Call. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  8. ^ a b Todd, Susan (January 18, 1998). "`Power' Mall Is New Trend In Whitehall". The Morning Call. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  9. ^ a b Todd, Susan (October 13, 1998). "Weis Store In Whitehall Mall To Be Closed During Renovations". The Morning Call. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  10. ^ Fox, Martha Capwell (September 15, 2004). Whitehall and Coplay. Pennsylvania: Arcadia Pub. p. 121. ISBN 9780738536279. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  11. ^ Moylan, Tom (June 11, 1986). "Zollinger Bankruptcy Nears The End". The Morning Call. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  12. ^ "Whitehall Mall Sears Begins Remodeling Job". The Morning Call. April 26, 1984. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  13. ^ Duckett, Jodi (August 13, 1985). "WHITEHALL MALL GETS TAX BREAK IN SETTLEMENT TO GET $200,000 IN REFUNDS". themorningcall.com. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  14. ^ Duckett, Jodi (August 30, 1985). "SCHOOL DISTRICT MUST REFUND TAX TO WHITEHALL MALL". The Morning Call. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  15. ^ "Suspicious' Fire Damages Areas Of Whitehall Mall Police". The Morning Call. April 17, 1987. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  16. ^ Wittman, Bob (August 7, 1994). "Young And The Restless Sears' Hoopla Unveils Whitehall Remodeling". The Morning Call. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  17. ^ Snyder, Susan (January 1, 1990). "Whitehall Mall Springs Roof Leak 6 Stores Shut". The Morning Call. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  18. ^ "Roof Fixed - Whitehall Mall Stores Reopen". The Morning Call. January 3, 1990. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  19. ^ Shope, Dan (January 28, 1997). "Gallery Furniture Leases Anchor Store In Whitehall Mall". The Morning Call. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  20. ^ Kupper, Thomas (October 12, 1996). "Kohl's Department Store Will Open In Whitehall Mall In April". The Morning Call. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  21. ^ Noah, Peter (January 13, 1998). "Commissioners Approve Redesign Of Whitehall Mall". The Morning Call. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  22. ^ a b Noah, Peter (April 16, 1998). "Phase I Of Renovations Of Whitehall Mall Begins At Its Southeast Entrance". The Morning Call. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  23. ^ a b Blumenau, Kurt; Jackson, Kirk (October 17, 2003). "Former Leh's store may be converted to Gold's Gym". The Morning Call. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  24. ^ Elwell, Gay (February 21, 1996). "Plaza 2 Theater In Whitehall Mall To Close, Amc Reveals". The Morning Call. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  25. ^ Beldon, Kirk (December 1, 2004). "Lehigh Valley's newest Gold's Gym now set for spring 2005". The Morning Call. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  26. ^ "Legend Proerties, Inc. brokers 43,328 s/f deal". Mid Atlantic Real Estate Journal: 9B. November 25, 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  27. ^ Petty, Precious (January 5, 2012). "Raymour & Flanigan opening new store in Whitehall Township". LehighValleyLive. The Express-Times. Advance Local Media. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  28. ^ Glose, Jennifer (December 2, 2014). "PREIT sells interest in Whitehall Mall". Lehigh Valley Business. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  29. ^ Snyder, Irene (February 16, 2020). "Shoppers reflect on decades of deals as Sears closes last Lehigh Valley store". WFMZ. Retrieved 21 February 2020.

External links

40°38′07″N 75°29′00″W / 40.6353°N 75.4833°W / 40.6353; -75.4833

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