Edgewater Mall

Edgewater Mall

Aerial view of Edgewater Mall and anchor stores
Location	Biloxi, Mississippi
Coordinates	30°23′24″N 88°59′17″W / 30.390°N 88.988°W / 30.390; -88.988
Address	2600 Beach Boulevard
Opening date	1963
Developer	Holcomb & Milner[1]
Owner	Jim Wilson & Associates
No. of stores and services	100+
No. of anchor tenants	4
Total retail floor area	843,652 square feet (78,000 m2)[2]
No. of floors	1

Edgewater Mall, two weeks after Hurricane Katrina

Edgewater Mall is an enclosed shopping mall in Biloxi, Mississippi. Opened in 1963, it features Belk, Dillard's, J. C. Penney, and Sears as its anchor stores.

History

The mall was built in 1963^[3][4] as Edgewater Plaza. Among its first tenants were Godchaux's, Gayfers, and J. J. Newberry. In the early 1970s, the mall was expanded with a new wing ending in Sears. The addition of this wing required the demoltion of the Edgewater Gulf Hotel.^[5] Sears opened in July 1972.^[6] J. J. Newberry closed in 1979 and became J. C. Penney the same year.^[7] McCrory Stores operated a dime store in the mall until 1996.^[8]

A year later, the mall underwent a major expansion and renovation program that included the addition of McRae's (now Belk) as an anchor,^[9] along with the expansion of the J.C. Penney and Sears stores. A second story was added to the Sears,^[6] while the J. C. Penney store was expanded into a space previously occupied by a Jitney Jungle supermarket.^[7] The Gayfers chain was sold to Dillard's in 1998.^[10]

The mall was damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Sears was the first store to reopen after the hurricane.^[11] Dillard's, which suffered the most damage from the hurricane, was rebuilt and did not reopen until 2008.^[12]

References

External links

• Official website