Dalton Mall
Total retail floor area 449,239 square feet (41,735.7 m2)[1] | | |
| No. of floors | 1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Parking | 2,535 spaces | |
| Website | daltonmall | |
Dalton Mall, formerly known as Walnut Square Mall is an indoor shopping center located in Dalton, Georgia
History
Construction and grand opening
Originally named Walnut Square Mall, the indoor shopping center was designed and built by CBL Properties. Located on the former "Patterson Horse Racing Arena", CBL and Associates conducted a groundbreaking ceremony on the property in 1979 to construct Dalton's first enclosed shopping center. The mall opened with the anchors Sears and Belk, with Loveman's (a Chattanooga-based department store) opening later on August 20, 1980. During the five day period July 23 -27 1980, CBL celebrated their grand opening of the mall with guest appearances from Steve Gipson and Fubar the Robot.
Tenants
In addition to
In 1990, Walnut Square Mall underwent a renovation which included a new facade, tile flooring in the courts, and a new color scheme. Many inline stores also underwent renovations at that time. In an effort to promote the new renovations, in November 1990 the mall celebrated a 10-year anniversary grand re-opening. This coincided with the construction of the
Martin Triple Theater was operated by the Leon Hurst family throughout its tenure at the mall. In 1993, Carmike Cinemas closed the Plaza Five Theater across the street (also managed by Dale Hurst, the son of Leon Hurst), and expanded the former Martin Triple into a nine-screen complex with the latest up-to-date technology. Carmike Cinemas 9 would become Georgia's largest inline cinema at the time.[4] Dale Hurst and his family conducted many promotions for new movies that are still memorable today.
Decline
Dale Hurst was promoted to corporate in 2007, and Carmike Cinemas 9 closed following the opening of the new Carmike 12 behind the mall.[5] The inline cinema space was converted to mall storage, and eventually fell into a dilapidated state. Other tenants suffered a similar fate. In 2015, JCPenney closed their location at the mall.[6] RadioShack and Deb soon followed, declaring bankruptcy and closing.
Loveman's was acquired by Proffitt's in 1986, and Belk acquired Proffitt's in 2008, using that store as their Home and Children department. In 2015, Belk shuttered the former Loveman's location.
In 2017, Sears announced closures which included its location at Walnut Square. Only the auto center remained open.[7] Sears closed the auto center in November 2017 and moved all equipment to their Hamilton Place Mall location in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Jo-Ann Crafts (a junior anchor) also shuttered, leaving the Sears end nearly vacant. In 2019, a new discount store named Gimme-A-Five leased the former Loveman's location.
New owner, rebranding and renovation
In 2016, CBL and Associates sold the mall property to Hull Property Group (Georgia-based company).[8]
Hull
References
- ^ a b "Walnut Square Mall fact sheet". CBL & Associates Properties. Retrieved January 31, 2010.
- ^ "Goody's moving to sell stores, March timeline for liquidation". The Daily Citizen. January 7, 2009. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
- ^ Inc, Slamdot (July 30, 2014). "The Rush Fitness Complex to be Acquired by Gold's Gym". Goldman Partners Realty.
{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ^ "Cinemas to expand complex at mall". Walker County Messenger. February 3, 1993. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
- ^ Pare, Mike (July 24, 2007). "Carmike building 12-screen theater". Chattanooga Times-Free Press. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
- ^ "JCPenney Store Closures Announced January 7, 2015" (PDF). media.bizj.us. January 7, 2015. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
- ^ "Sears, Kmart stores to close in Dalton, Fort Oglethorpe". timesfreepress.com.
- ^ "Hull Property Group Acquires Three Enclosed Malls". hpgcorporate.