Wikipedia

Raleigh Springs Mall

The Raleigh Springs Mall was an enclosed shopping mall serving the city of Memphis, Tennessee, United States. The site is located on the north side of Memphis, on Austin Peay Hwy. just north of Interstate 40. It began construction in 1969 and opened two years later on August 11, 1971 as one of the city's first two shopping malls (the other being Southland Mall),[1] owned and managed by the Edward J. DeBartolo corporation. The Raleigh Springs Mall originally featured about seventy stores and later featured a twelve-screen multiplex, with four anchor stores, formerly occupied by Sears, JCPenney, Goldsmith's and Dillard's. The theater closed in December 2011, Sears closed in April 2011, and the other three anchors closed in 2003. The mall property was won by the City of Memphis in multiple court challenges in favor to build a city Civic Center. The mall closed with 3 business still operating, City Trends, World Diamond Center, and a church.

Raleigh Springs Mall
Map
LocationMemphis, Tennessee, United States
Coordinates35°13′9.141″N 89°54′30.2286″W / 35.21920583°N 89.908396833°W / 35.21920583; -89.908396833
Address3384 Austin Peay Hwy
Opening dateAugust 11, 1971
Closing dateNovember 18, 2016
DeveloperEdward J. DeBartolo Corporation
ManagementAngela Whichard, Inc.
No. of stores and services70
No. of anchor tenants4 (4 vacant)
Total retail floor area918,217 square feet (85,305.2 m2)[1]
No. of floors3 including Dillard's but originally 1
renovation project sign
The sign that was placed at the Raleigh Springs Mall site after the Memphis City Council passed the legislation to approve the redevelopment project.

History

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When the Raleigh Springs Mall opened in 1971, it was located between Austin Peay Highway and Yale Road in northeastern Shelby County, in the Raleigh community, what was then outside of Memphis.[2] The mall was developed by the Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation (now known as Simon Property Group)[3] as one of the first two malls in the Memphis area, it featured four major anchor stores: national chains JC Penney and Sears, as well as local chains Lowenstein's (which was sold to Dillard's in 1982) and Goldsmith's. A Woolworth dime store also served as a junior anchor next to JC Penney; after the Woolworth store closed in the 1990s, it was replaced with a twelve-screen multiplex (that closed December 5, 2011).

Initially the dominant mall in the Memphis area, Raleigh Springs Mall would lose several stores over time as newer malls opened, such as Hickory Ridge Mall and Mall of Memphis.[1] Hickory Ridge Mall, in turn, has lost most of its national tenants as well, while Mall of Memphis has been demolished; both of these malls lost most of their business to the newer Wolfchase Galleria, which opened in 1997.[3]

By the 2000s, Raleigh Springs Mall had begun to lose many of its tenants. In early 2003, Dillard's announced that its location at Raleigh Springs Mall would be one of several stores closed that year.[4] Goldsmith's parent company Federated Department Stores (now known as Macy's, Inc.), who was in the midst of significant corporate reorganization at the time, announced that the Goldsmith's location at Raleigh Springs would be shuttered by April of the same year.[5] Finally, the JC Penney store (which had been downgraded to a JC Penney outlet center along with Dillard's) was closed as well, leaving Sears as the only anchor store.

Starting in 2005, Wal-Mart began negotiations with Simon Property Group to open a Supercenter at the mall. These plans would call for the demolition of the former JC Penney space, as well as the mall's movie theater, to make way for the Supercenter. However, these plans never materialized, and Wal-Mart signaled its intentions of staying at its current location when it started renovating it in early 2010.[1]

In January 2011, Sears confirmed that its location in the mall would close on April 3, 2011.[6][7] This left the Raleigh Springs Mall without an anchor store.

Demolition and redevelopment

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In November 2016, the City of Memphis officially purchased the Raleigh Springs Mall property, making way for a complete demolition and re-development of the space into a civic center.[8] The City of Memphis plans to spend approximately $32 million in capital to create a civic plaza on the space once occupied by the Raleigh Springs Mall. The civic plaza will consolidate city services that were previously held at various locations. A library, traffic precinct, and police precinct will be constructed on the property. The civic center will house an 11-acre lake, green space, and 1-mile walking trail. A skate park is located near the police station. The mall started closing November 18, 2016.[9][10][11] With support from the Raleigh Community Council,[12] this project has involved consolidated efforts. The re-development is designed by OT Marshall Architect.[13] Construction was underway between 2017-2019, with a projected opening of fall 2020 [14]

Raleigh Springs Civic Center

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Main article: Raleigh Springs Civic Center
 
Image of the proposed redevelopment sign placed in front of the Raleigh Springs Mall site (mall sign can still be seen in the background)

The former property of the Raleigh Springs Mall is now replaced with the new Raleigh Springs Civic Center. Buildings' design was handled by O.T. Marshall Architects, Memphis. The City of Memphis started breaking ground of the new Raleigh Springs Civic Center on December 2, 2017 and groundbreaking was held November 19, 2020. Construction has slowed down with the new library at the civic center, before groundbreaking was held on the effect date.[15] The official ribbon cutting ceremony occurred on November 19, 2020.[16]

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    Demolition began in May 2016 with the Sears Auto Center.
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    Site, with demolition complete, (collection and recycling of the material underway)
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    Demolition in progress
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    Councilman Morrison speaks at the Raleigh Springs Town Center ground breaking ceremony on December 2, 2017
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    Participants with shovels during the ground breaking ceremony for the Raleigh Springs Town Center

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Ashby, Andy (January 8, 2007). "Wal-Mart negotiating for Raleigh Springs space". Memphis Business Journal. Memphis, TN: American City Business Journals. Retrieved May 3, 2008.
  2. ^ "City Council Reviews Raleigh Springs Mall Plan - Memphis Daily News". www.memphisdailynews.com. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
  3. ^ a b Smith, Eric (March 28, 2007). "Malled by the competition; Hickory Ridge, Raleigh Springs malls limp along as 'burbs draw shoppers". The Daily News. Memphis, TN: The Daily News Publishing Co. Retrieved May 3, 2008.
  4. ^ "Dillard's to close Raleigh Springs store". Memphis Business Journal. Memphis, TN: American City Business Journals. January 31, 2003. Retrieved May 3, 2008.
  5. ^ Moore, Linda A. (January 17, 2003). "Federated Department Stores Closes Goldsmith's Store in Memphis, Tenn". The Commercial Appeal. Memphis, TN: E. W. Scripps Company. Archived from the original on October 19, 2012. Retrieved May 3, 2008.
  6. ^ Sells, Toby (January 5, 2011). "Sears, Raleigh Springs Mall's last anchor store, will close April 3". The Commercial Appeal. Memphis, TN: E. W. Scripps Company. Retrieved April 11, 2013.
  7. ^ Thompson, April (January 4, 2011). "Raleigh Springs Sears Store Closing". Memphis, TN: WREG-TV. Retrieved January 7, 2011.
  8. ^ "Raleigh Springs Mall Project Could Soon be Cleared for Take off".
  9. ^ "Memphis buys last Raleigh mall property for development". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved 2017-05-31.
  10. ^ Jones, Lindsay (November 11, 2010). "Can Raleigh Spring Back?". Retrieved November 11, 2010.
  11. ^ "Interior demolition begins on Raleigh Springs Mall project". WREG.com. 2017-03-03. Retrieved 2017-05-31.
  12. ^ Parker, Tom. "Raleigh Springs Mall Project". www.raleighcconline.com.
  13. ^ "Otma". otma.
  14. ^ "From Raleigh Springs Mall to Raleigh Springs Town Center: the renovation is well underway". localmemphis.com. 10 October 2019. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
  15. ^ "COVID-19 slows down construction at the Raleigh Springs Civic Center". LocalMemphis. July 1, 2020.
  16. ^ "Ribbon cutting held for new Raleigh Springs Civic Center". 19 November 2020.
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