Chapel Hill Mall

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This article is about Chapel Hill Mall in Akron, Ohio. For Chapel Hills Mall in Colorado, see Chapel Hills Mall.
Chapel Hill Mall
"The Friendliest Mall of All"
"The Friendliest Mall of All"
Mall facts and statistics
Location Akron, Ohio, USA
Opening date 1967
Developer Forest City Enterprises and R.B. Bucholzer
Management CBL & Associates Properties, Inc.
Owner CBL & Associates Properties, Inc.
No. of stores and services 102 [1]
No. of anchor tenants 3
Total retail floor area 860,000 ft²
Parking 4,200 [1]
No. of floors 1
Website http://www.chapelhillmall.com
The carousel in the food court.
The carousel in the food court.
JC Penney is one of the three department stores at the mall.
JC Penney is one of the three department stores at the mall.
A kiddie ride at the mall.
A kiddie ride at the mall.

Chapel Hill Mall is a one-story, 860,000 sq ft enclosed mall located at 2000 Brittain Road in Akron, Ohio [1]. Built by Richard (R.B.) Bucholzer and Forest City Enterprises [2], it opened on October 12, 1967 [3]. They continued to own the mall until 2004, when it was sold to the Chattanooga, Tennessee company CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. [4].

Contents

[edit] Background

Chapel Hill Mall sits on land once owned by Richard Bucholzer's father, J.J. Bucholzer. During the Great Depression, J.J. Bucholzer became owner of a Hower's department store in downtown Akron. The Bucholzers knew Akron would grow to the north, and they felt that a Hower's store should be located on their land. It later became evident that even larger opportunities existed, and the natural choice was a climate-controlled shopping mall. Bucholzer teamed up with Forest City Enterprises to build Akron's first indoor mall. Plans were ready by 1963, but before the mall opened, DeBartolo Corporation built Summit Mall on the west side of Akron [5].

[edit] Source of name

In the 1930s, young Richard Bucholzer found what appeared to be an old Indian council circle on his father's land. Because of this, Bucholzer named the development "Chapel Hill" [5].

[edit] Anchors

Three department stores anchor the development:

The mall also includes:

[edit] Layout

The mall follows a basic, horizontal plan. The main concouse has Sears at one end and Macy's at the other. At the very center of this concourse is the fountain. JC Penney is located here. Across the fountain from JC Penney is a corridor leading to the food court, added in the 1990s. The food court is home to a carousel. The carousel displays images of Akron-area landmarks and icons. These include the Stan Hywet estate, Blossom Music Center, Derby Downs, a Goodyear Blimp, Firestone Country Club, and the Ohio and Erie Canal.

[edit] Earlier expansion plans

Expansion plans to include a Higbee store came up numerous times in the late 1980s and early 1990s. A plan was considered in 1988 by part-owner Forest City Enterprises. It included a 90,000 square foot addition for an additional department store [6]. Expansion was again mentioned in 1989 [7]. A front-page story on the January 31, 1990 edition of the Akron Beacon Journal read "Higbee's Coming to Chapel Hill Mall". The store, along with a food court and additional retail space, would be open by Fall 1991, it said [8].

[edit] 1994 expansion

In 1994, the mall's owners added the food court and retail expansion that exists today. New flooring and ceiling tiles, a new fountain, and new lighting were also added [9],[10].

[edit] Former stores

  • There used to be a multi-screen cinema at the mall, located where Old Navy is today. It opened in October 1966 as a groundbreaking two-screen theater. Eventually, it was divided into 5 smaller theaters. In 1987, General Cinemas (owner of the mall's cinema) opened an 8-screen multiplex just west of the mall, and it became more popular. In October 1996, Regal Cinemas opened their 10-screen theater immediately south of the mall. Less than two weeks later, the General Cinemas at the mall closed [11].
  • Woolworth's closed in late 1997. The space was divided into smaller leases. Gap became a tenant, until closing in February 2006.

[edit] Other malls in Akron area

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Chapel Hill Mall - Fact Sheet. Retrieved August 19, 2006.
  2. ^ "West and South Side Malls" Cleveland Plain Dealer. February 22, 2004. Retrieved July 31, 2006.
  3. ^ http://www.ci.akron.oh.us/history/timeline/1950.htm Akron Ohio Historical Timeline 1950-1999. Retrieved August 16, 2006.
  4. ^ Akron Beacon Journal, September 11, 2004.
  5. ^ a b c Nevada, Charlene. "Man Behind Chapel Hill Mall- Richard Bucholzer's Idea Defines That Part of Akron." Akron Beacon Journal. 6 July, 1997: E1.
  6. ^ Mitchell, Jacqueline. "Forest City Waffles on Plan for Chapel Hill." Akron Beacon Journal. 7 May, 1988: A8.
  7. ^ Pantages, Larry and Peter Geiger. "Another Higbee Possible; Chapel Hill Plan Studied." Akron Beacon Journal. 28 April, 1989: A1.
  8. ^ Vanac, Mary. "Higbee's Coming to Chapel Hill Mall." Akron Beacon Journal. 31 January, 1990: A1.
  9. ^ Ethridge, Mary. "Chapel Hill Mall Getting A Face Lift; A 12-Restaurant Food Court, New Lights and New Ceiling Among Plans." Akron Beacon Journal. 9 March 1994: C7.
  10. ^ Adams, David. "Mall Courts Customers With Food; Dining Area Added at Chapel Hill to Keep Shoppers on the Premises." Akron Beacon Journal. 4 November, 1994: B9.
  11. ^ Nevada, Charlene. "Retailers to Replace Movies at Chapel Hill; General Cinema Closes 5-Screen Theater at Mall." Akron Beacon Journal. 19 November, 1996: C6.

[edit] External links

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