Grand Cities Mall

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The Grand Cities Mall (or South Forks Plaza) is an enclosed shopping mall located on South Washington Street in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was the first enclosed shopping mall built in North Dakota, but by a quirk of fate, the second opened to the public by only six days difference. The mall covers 351,429 ft² and is anchored by Kmart, Ace Hardware, and Big Lots. The Grand Cities Mall has many other smaller stores, including a few national chains, although most tenants are local businesses. The mall opened in 1964.

1 History
2 Current anchors
3 See also
4 References
5 External links

[edit] History

Originally called South Forks Center, the mall was built in stages. Kmart was opened on February 26, 1964 ^[1], before the rest of the mall, which was built over the summer. Sears opened its location in the mall on October 8, 1964^[2]. It was the first enclosed shopping mall in the city of Grand Forks. For most of its life, the mall was called South Forks Plaza and was anchored by Kmart and Sears.

The property was acquired by J. Herzog & Sons, Inc. in 1998. The old "South Forks Plaza" name was subsequently dropped and some renovations took place. In 2000, Sears left the mall and moved to the newer and larger Columbia Mall. The empty Sears space at the Grand Cities Mall was divided up into several smaller stores including a Big Lots store, a local furniture store, and a dollar store. Recently, Burgraaf's Ace Hardware opened at the mall. A Ben Franklin Arts and Crafts store which had previously operated in a small shopping center owned by the city of East Grand Forks will move into the Grand Cities mall in early 2007.

The Grand Cities Mall has had a hard time adjusting to increased competition within the city of Grand Forks. The Columbia Mall opened in 1978 and the Grand Forks Marketplace mall opened in 2001. Its location in a less affluent part of the city also leads many to think of it as a lower class shopping center. Today, the mall usually has several vacant spots and has had a hard time holding on to some of its long-time tenants.

The Grand Cities Mall contains many tenants that are not usually located in shopping malls, including a church, a rock climbing wall, a dance studio, and the local Motor Vehicle Department office ^[3]. A studio of KKEQ (Q107), a Christian radio station based in Fosston, Minnesota, is being built in a kiosk in Grand Cities Mall and will host an afternoon radio show in 2007.^[4]

The mall is currently managed by Mary Anne Noel.

[edit] Current anchors

[edit] See also

Columbia Mall

[edit] References

^ "Opening Of New K-Mart City Business Landmark", Grand Forks Herald, February 26, 1964, p. 28
^ "Sears Has Official Opening", Grand Forks Herald, October 8, 1964, p. 8
^ Motor Vehicle Locations, North Dakota Department of Transportation. Retrieved 14 September 2006.
^ Shine the Light, Inc. July 2006 newsletter