McFarland Mall

McFarland Mall
Location Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Coordinates 33°10′14.57″N 87°31′15.08″W / 33.1707139°N 87.5208556°W
Address 900 Skyland Boulevard East
Opening date February 1969
Closing date March 19, 2014
Developer Ward Wharton McFarland
Owner Stan Pate
No. of stores and services 40 at peak
No. of anchor tenants 4
No. of floors 1

McFarland Mall was a regional 497,000-square-foot (46,200 m2) shopping mall on Skyland Boulevard (U.S. Route 11) in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Located near the interchange of Interstate 20/59 with McFarland Boulevard (U.S. Route 82), it is in the southern section of the city. Opening in February 1969, the mall replaced Woods Square Shopping Center and Leland Shopping Center as the main commercial retail center in the Tuscaloosa area. At its height, McFarland Mall had 4 anchors, 40 stores, a 12-screen movie theater and a food court. Despite the opening of the larger University Mall in 1977, the mall survived an additional 30 years. However, the mall saw a steady 10 year decline during the 2000s following the closing of two anchors. Redevelopment was slated for 2013.

History

The center was originally developed by Ward Wharton McFarland and James Hinton. When opened in February 1969, McFarland Mall was the sixth fully enclosed mall constructed in the state of Alabama after Eastwood Mall in Birmingham, Heart of Huntsville Mall and The Mall in Huntsville, Bel Air Mall in Mobile and Southgate Mall in Muscle Shoals.[1] Gayfers, Woolco, and Winn-Dixie (in an out-parcel) anchored the one-story new mall. Gayfers added a second floor to its store in 1975 and remained the only two-story tenant.[2] Woolco closed in 1983 and was replaced by Zayre that same year.[3] Following the demise of Zayre in 1989, the anchor space was divided into several smaller spaces. Jefferson Home Furniture (later Heilig-Meyers), TJ Maxx and Drug Mart moved into the spaces, of which only TJ Maxx opened out into the mall.[4][5]

The mall saw significant renovations in 1980 and again in 1993, with the addition of a 320-seat food court under an enormous atrium and a new anchor space, occupied by Goody's Family Clothing.[6] Winn-Dixie moved away from the mall and book retailer Books-a-Million moved into the out-parcel. Drug Mart became Shoe Station, and a Crafts, Etc. (later Michaels) store opened between Drug Mart and Heilig-Meyers in 1993. Heilig-Meyers became Sticks & Stuff. Gayfers was acquired by Dillard's in 1998.[7] The theaters closed in 2005.

The mall remained under the ownership of the McFarland family through 2009.[1] In May 2009 it was announced the Tuscaloosa developer Stan Pate had purchased the mall from Ward McFarland, Inc. ending the McFarland family association with the facility.[8] The new owners have declared that they will be looking at many options to make the facility more profitable, from future renovations to completely demolishing the structure and building anew.[8] McFarland is the second oldest enclosed mall in the state of Alabama with only Bel Air Mall being constructed earlier.[1][8]

Following the closure of Dillard's and Goody's, the only remaining anchor is TJ Maxx.[9] The Dillard's wing has been blocked off to the public since 2010.[10]

Redevelopment

In December 2012, Pate announced development plans to start sometime in 2013. Under these plans, most of the mall would have been demolished, including the former Dillard's building. Cheddar's Casual Café and Texas Roadhouse were also announced, and Books-A-Million was slated to move from an existing outparcel. Bed Bath & Beyond had also expressed interest in building a store on the property, which was to be renamed Encore Tuscaloosa.[11] Cheddar's opened in April 2013; however, Books-a-Million closed their store in May 2013.

Demolition of the mall structure began on March 19, 2014.[12]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Staff Reports (May 20, 2009). "McFarland Mall sold". The Northport Gazette.
  2. ↑ Morton, Jason (March 27, 2008). "Dillard's to close McFarland Mall store". The Tuscaloosa News.
  3. ↑ Heine, Max (August 21, 1983). "Association recognizes best man". Tuscaloosa News. Retrieved March 27, 2010.
  4. ↑ "Harco deep-discount unit opens in its home market. (Harco Drug Inc.)". Chain Drug Review. January 2, 1990. Retrieved September 22, 2009.
  5. ↑ Heine, Max (October 29, 1989). "Novel retailer opens today". Tuscaloosa News. Retrieved March 27, 2010.
  6. ↑ Morton, Jason (February 17, 2007). "McFarland mall goes on market". The Tuscaloosa News.
  7. ↑ Taylor, Stephanie (June 27, 2008). "Dillard's is gone with the wind". The Tuscaloosa News.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Rupinski, Patrick (May 21, 2009). "Developer Stan Pate to take over McFarland Mall". The Tuscaloosa News.
  9. ↑ Rupinski, Patrick (January 8, 2009). "Goody’s clothing store latest retail casualty". The Tuscaloosa News.
  10. ↑ "McFarland Mall". WVUA. 21 June 2010. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
  11. ↑ Morton, Jason (27 December 2012). "Changes coming to site of McFarland Mall: Shopping center plans to add restaurants, demolish old stores". Tuscaloosa News. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
  12. ↑ http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20140319/NEWS/140319536/1291/ENTERTAINMENT?Title=McFarland-Mall-demolition-makes-way-for-new-shopping-center