Laurel Mall (Maryland)
Laurel Mall was a
History
The Laurel Centre Mall was developed by Shopco Inc. and included two anchor stores, Montgomery Ward and JCPenney, with a third anchor, Hecht's, added in 1981. The 167,000-square-foot (15,500 m2) Montgomery Ward store opened for business on April 16, 1969, as a stand-alone business.[4] Montgomery Ward's entered a long-term lease for a $1.60/sf, which was to be offset by higher rates charged to satellite shops drawing on the anchor.[5] It would be ten years until the 83,000-square-foot (7,700 m2) JCPenney store opened in 1979, with the 265,000-square-foot (24,600 m2) Laurel Centre expansion, creating a traditional enclosed mall. The Hecht Company moved its store from its previous location in the Laurel Shopping Center. In 1991, the 662,000-square-foot (61,500 m2) mall received a $2 million face lift and update.[6] Though it was small in comparison with most malls today, Laurel Mall had two levels and, when it opened, had modern innovations such as a slowly rotating two-story island in the middle of a fountain known as the "Carousel" with room for seven kiosks on the bottom and a stage on top. Time Out Tunnel arcade had a location near the main entrance on the second level. Other features at the mall were a glass-sided walkway over a roadway and parking lot and an enclosed bridge between JCPenney and Woolworth's at the Laurel Shopping Center. The food court "Inner Circle", later changed to "Circle Eatery", was located at the mall's south end. Here the mall split into a one level mezzanine section to accommodate Montgomery Ward, which had no second floor. Connecting it all were Maryland's shortest escalators at the time,[citation needed] one rising to a height of only 13 steps.[7] A double-door elevator transported customers between the three levels and to a management office in the basement.
On November 1, 1980, Congresswoman Gladys Noon Spellman collapsed at a campaign appearance at the Laurel Mall after suffering an incapacitating heart attack.[8] She represented the 5th congressional district of Maryland from January 3, 1975, to January 3, 1981.
By the 2000s, the Mall had been in decline. In 2001, anchor store Montgomery Ward went out of business, and JC Penney vacated the mall in 2002. Around the same time, the expansion and renovation of the nearby
In January 2012, Macy's announced it would close five underperforming stores with final clearance sales beginning January 8, and would run through early spring, including the Laurel Mall location,[11] which left Burlington Coat Factory its last remaining anchor store. During this phase, the mall advertised its transformation with cryptic messages printed across some of the shuttered store fronts, such as "Don't judge a book by its cover", "Looks can be deceiving", "Beauty is more than skin deep", "If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies", and "It's what's inside that counts".[12]
Redevelopment
In 1991, the mall removed its wood-finished floors and store fascias, and updated with modern pastel colored Formica panels. The floor was redone with a cream colored marble, and the revolving center shops were replaced with a blue painted steel stairway and security desk.[13]
In 2006, the mall fell into receivership and was sold to Somera Capital Management, which owns and operates many malls across the nation, for $31 million. Somera hired General Growth Properties to redevelop the space. Renovation plans were unveiled to the public on January 30, 2007, at Laurel City Hall. The plans included a new 80,000-square-foot (7,400 m2) anchor, a 16-screen
Greenberg Gibbons Commercial (GGC) took partial ownership and began managing the mall on March 1, 2011. GGC also unveiled new plans for the redevelopment of the mall, to include demolition of most of the existing mall with the exception of Macy's and the rear parking structure. The new plans called for an open air multi-use shopping center which would include a movie theater, health club, restaurants, and a residential area. The mall would also receive a new name, "Laurel Town Center." Construction was scheduled to begin in approximately 18 months from the time that the new plans were announced in March 2011.
The mall closed on May 1, 2012.
On August 14, 2012, the city of Laurel hosted a groundbreaking ceremony to begin destruction of the current mall.[15] By October 12, 2012, all of the parking garage on the Rt 1 side of the mall had been demolished, and interior demolition of the mall had begun. The Burlington Coat Factory (former Montgomery Ward) building was demolished in July 2013;[16] it was the only remaining portion of the former mall.
The new center, named
References
- ^ "Crown America to manage Maryland regional mall". Retail Traffic. Penton Media, Inc. 2001-11-01. Archived from the original on 2005-09-14. Retrieved 2008-07-09.
- ^ "Laurel Centre Expansion Under Way," The Washington Post, June 30, 1978, p. F1.
- ^ a b c d Holly, Nunn (May 3, 2012). "Laurel Mall officially closed". The Gazette. Archived from the original on May 8, 2012. Retrieved May 18, 2012.
- ^ "Ward to Open Fifth Area Store in Laurel," The Washington Post and Times-Herald April 13, 1969, p. 138.
- ^ "Supervisor of Assessments of Prince George's County v. Melvin J. Berman, et al. Court of Special Appeals of Maryland. February 8, 1990". Retrieved September 13, 2013.
- ^ "Laurel Centre Gets Makeover," The Washington Post, March 21, 1991, p. MD1C.
- ^ CaltecCenter (March 20, 2012). "Tour of the dead Laurel Center Mall, Laurel, MD". You Tube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
- ^ "Spellman still in critical condition". The Palm Beach Post. Nov 3, 1980. p. A12.
- ^ "Mall Repair in Laurel Foundering Shopping Center To Get an Extreme Makeover". The Washington Post. March 5, 2007.
- ^ Klein, Allison (2005-07-02). "Walkway Collapse Shuts Laurel Mall". Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-07-09.
- ^ Rector, Kevin (January 5, 2012). "Macy's in Laurel Mall to close by early spring". The Laurel Leader. Retrieved January 24, 2012.
- ^ Richard Friend. "img_5239" (JPG). Wordpress. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
- ^ "In The News". The Washington Post. March 21, 1991.
- ^ Panchuk, Kerri (April 23, 2010), "Simon Property Group sweetens General Growth deal", Charlotte Business Journal
- ^ Garner, Joshua (August 14, 2012), "Laurel Mall Redevelopment Officially Underway", Laurel Patch
- ^ Davisson, John (May 31, 2013). "Laurel Mall Redevelopment: New Tenant, Construction Schedule Unveiled". Laurel Patch. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
- ^ O'Connell, Jonathan (May 14, 2013). "Regal Cinemas, Harris Teeter agree to open at former Laurel Mall". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
- ^ Lazo, Luz (January 28, 2014). "First phase of new town center at former Laurel Mall site is set to open in March". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 7, 2014.
Further reading
- Glenn, Gwendolyn (March 3, 2011). "New name, new plans revealed for Laurel Mall". The Laurel Leader. Archived from the originalon March 4, 2011.
- Mui, Ylan Q. (March 5, 2007). "'Mall Repair' in Laurel – Foundering Shopping Center To Get an Extreme Makeover". The Washington Post.
- "'Mall Repair' in Laurel – Foundering Shopping Center To Get an Extreme Makeover". Associated Press. February 15, 2006.