Laurel Mall

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2007)

This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone or spelling. You can assist by editing it now. A how-to guide is available. (December 2007)

Laurel Mall is a shopping mall in Laurel, Maryland. The mall was opened in 1979, and connected two pre-existing structures, the freestanding Montgomery Ward on the South Side and Laurel Shopping Center on the north side.

[edit] History

The mall was first named Laurel Centre Mall and included two anchor stores, Montgomery Ward and JCPenney, with a third anchor, Hecht's, added soon thereafter. Though small in comparison with most malls today, Laurel Mall has two levels and, when it opened, had modern innovations such as a rotating circular platform with four small stores in the center, and a glass-enclosed walkway over a roadway and parking lot between JCPenney and the Laurel Shopping Center.

[edit] Present

In recent years, the Mall has been in decline, for various reasons. Many stores which were once staples of the mall, such as JCPenney and Montgomery Ward, have closed and given way to more "mom and pop" retail spaces. As a result, business at the mall has dwindled. Today, a Burlington Coat Factory occupies most of the former Montgomery Ward space. JCPenney has subleased its former space to International Furniture Company. Macy's has replaced Hecht's. On two occasions, sections of the aging parking decks have crumbled and fallen onto the parking lots below, resulting in their closure.

[edit] Redevelopment

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, which owns and operates nearby Columbia Mall to redevelop the space. Renovation plans were unveiled to the public on January 30, 2007, at Laurel City Hall. The plans include a new 80,000-square-foot anchor, a 16-screen Regal Theaters with stadium seating, a two-story bookstore, a new food court, restaurants with sidewalk dining (including Mimi's Cafe), new national and regional shops, a new parking deck, a redesigned exterior of bricks and stones, and a new interior. The redesigned mall will receive a new name, "Laurel Commons," and will be accompanied by luxury apartments and a grocery store on the mall property. The first phase of the project is scheduled to begin construction in August 2008.

[edit] Anchors

[edit] Current

• Macy's
• Burlington Coat Factory

[edit] Former

• Hecht's (became Macy's in 2006)
• JC Penney
• Montgomery Ward
• International Furniture (closed 2008)

[edit] Future

• Regal Theaters

[edit] Further reading

• Mui, Ylan Q.. "'Mall Repair' in Laurel - Foundering Shopping Center To Get an Extreme Makeover", The Washington Post, March 5, 2007. 
• "'Mall Repair' in Laurel - Foundering Shopping Center To Get an Extreme Makeover", Associated Press, February 15, 2006. 

[edit] External links

• Laurel Mall
• Laurel Commons
• Somera Capital Management - Laurel Mall
• Welcome, Laurel Commons