North DeKalb Mall, Decatur (Atlanta), GA

     When a mall is under construction, it was probably conceived as a good idea, being that said mall presumably saw its planning in the mall era. The conditions were ripe at the time, including good demographics, low competition, and a nice list of stores to choose from. Over time, pretty much everything has taken a shot at the mall, and it's pretty much nothing today. This was never thought of at all at the beginning, but this can't really be blamed on the original owners. Of course, stuff changes over time, and this couldn't be stopped. This rings perfectly true for the ever-forgotten North DeKalb Mall, located in Decatur, Georgia, one of Atlanta's wealthiest, biggest, and major suburbs. To elaborate, in Decatur's small city limits are 25,000 people and two colleges : Agnes Scott College and prestigious Emory. So why doesn't it have a top-tier mall?

Here we have an outdated directory. What is with these dead malls not fixing these? You know someone's going to actually think there is a Macy's.

     The history of the mall reveals its pretty much underdog status. The mall opened up in 1965, with only two anchors. A Rich's bookended one side with a Woolworth anchoring the other. This was actually unique, with Woolworth more commonly taking a space on the side. Taking the sides of Woolworth was the Atlanta grocer Colonial, and a theatre. All of this added up to Atlanta's first enclosed mall, where you could "leave your umbrella at home." It wouldn't be long before others joined the ranks, and didn't help much.

This big clock is pretty much the centerpiece here. About ten years back, this area looked much better, with no vacant spots and lots of greenery. Following the closure of Macy's, this area pretty much died.

     It didn't take long before the mall had competitors. Just up I-285, both the Northlake and Perimeter Mall opened up in 1971. If you find it at North DeKalb, you could find it there. One difference : it was all closer for a huge population. Not much was done to begin with, so North DeKalb began its decline. The movie theatre was twinned in 1976. The owners woke up in 1986, when a major expansion was completed, along with the name change to The Market Square at North DeKalb. In the large expansion was a new Lechmere, Mervyn's, and a food court. While these anchors never truly had a day, they were vastly different from the anchors at competing malls. This expansion wasn't done in the traditional fashion however. What was once a simple, dumbbell mall was now a pretty complicated diamond shape, with all corners leading to anchors.

Clock from a different angle. It is 8:53 somewhere, and that somewhere is the North DeKalb Mall.

Sterling Organization partially owns the mall, and they must be happy to know there is a store for them too. Wendy's is part of the food court. 

     Unfortunately, this wasn't the complete solution to a successful mall, and bankruptcies pretty much pushed the mall back to the pit. Lechmere closed and became Phar-Mor, which never really was a strong anchor. Part of the dead Lechmere also became an AMC 16 theatre. Not much longer, in 1997, Mervyn's said goodbye, which Upton's Furniture took up briefly for two years, and lastly turning into a Burlington Coat Factory. Lechmere would change the most, becoming a revolving door for furniture stores and eventually turning into a Marshalls in 2010. Rich's stayed pretty much static in its life, only becoming Macy's in 2005 and the latter would close in 2016, along with the mall's Ross store. This pretty much killed off a large section of the mall as usual and is now a hulking, decaying white box. And we definitely mean white box. Renters, anyone?

First is the mall entrance, second is the outside, third is the old Rich's auto center. I am beating myself for not looking inside the glass.

      So what made the North go south? An overlooked factor in its death can be the anchors. While Rich's was no slacker, Lechmere and Mervyn's never attracted die-hard fans and were never the saviors. This was before the store spaces became tons of other things, which isn't very useful. And today, while Marshalls is something of a draw, Burlington just gives vibes of a dying mall (just for fun, the most successful mall a Burlington is in is probably the Crossgates Mall in Albany, NY, but who really cares) and is pretty low on the store chain. It was never in a bad location or had the competition flu (the two main historic battlers of the mall aren't feeling so hot either). North DeKalb probably could have fallen into some niche-type center, but didn't. Yes, Buckhead, Perimeter, or the Mall of Georgia are quite the malls, but aren't the type to completely squash a mall not in the same trade area. Said malls are more or less "destinations." 

Food court photos, including on the second one a direct look at an old Applebee's.

This is a wing that runs from the food court to Burlington. I realize that the architecture is very consistent, almost too consistent, in this mall.

     So where does NDM go from here? In my eyes, there is a solution to keeping things out of the rain. For thirteen years there has been talk of bringing Costco to the mall and finishing its days of enclosure, but nothing has come to fruition. What I would do is snatch an advantage from the competitors. Kohl's at Northlake closed recently, so I would demolish the old Macy's and place Kohl's there. This would rejuvenate the whole wing and bring back a traditional department store. The old Applebee's could become a bookstore, and the whole mall would be given a renovation. The latest facelift is showing its age and is very 80's. A small big-box renovation could also be done, along with finding a replacement for the old Ross. NDM wouldn't be some massive sterile supermall, but would better cater to those nearby and supplement an area. The community garden, installed in 2012, has already begun this change. 

From the clock to the old Macy's. The light waaay down on the left is the most sadistic looking Foot Locker I've ever seen. You could probably score some decent deals there.

Looking down to Burlington's.

Here is the mall entrance entering the food court from the inside.

      I would say visit NDM while you still can. It's a pretty cool vintage mall with no shortage of dead retail, but a shortage of climate control. If you like the retailing underdog (and humid mall corridors) you won't be disappointed. If you came to shop, well, too bad. But, they have a Bath and Body Works, so soap maybe? Oh, of course you'd just visit all the dead malls for soap. Atlanta has no shortage of business failure, so you're in good hands. Well, never mind.

Stale candy, anyone?

Play It Again won't be shopping again. 

Various court shots. I'm getting oddly sick of this mall look somehow....On second glance, WHERE ARE THE FOUNTAINS AND PLANTERS?! There's the problem...

Columbia/Avondale Mall, Decatur, GA

     Just because it's 1964, and just because it's a mall, it doesn't mean it's a good idea. And we think that the Columbia, or Avondale Mall in later years wasn't a good idea. Nothing's a good idea when it dies from multiple reasons. Once a mall built on cloudy planning, it declined into stereotypical dead mall status before becoming a Bentonville retailer I won't bother to mention. It's currently now a casualty of an overmalled Atlanta, and a firm proof that if you build it, they come...for a while. Then something else takes its place.

Here's a WABE (Atlanta's NPR branch) view of the mall shortly before demolition.

       The original configuration of Columbia Mall consisted of the *very* original dumbbell setup - without the mall itself. A Davison's store took the right side, and a Sears took the left. Only after the anchors opened would mall construction occur. The actual mall opened up fairly quickly. It was only one story, with 25 tenants and 350,000 square feet of retail space. It was the rare Atlanta enclosed mall in its heyday, so success was high originally. Of course Atlanta would be soon stuffed with enclosed centers (and eventually lifestyle centers later on, after 2001) in a wave from 1971 to 2001. These first malls didn't help the original mall.

Mall entrance photo from Pinterest.

     The first malls to fight Columbia were out of Columbia's league. North DeKalb, Northlake, and Perimeter malls came in the first six years of existence. If you could find it at Columbia, you could pretty much find it elsewhere, with many other new stores, same anchors, and bigger digs. Let's mention that the area wealth could go to Buckhead for Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth, and Lord and Taylor. And when I mean area wealth, I mean before the area turned on its head, and when new money reached Gwinnett. 

Openbuildings photo of the mall entrance, McCrory five-and-dime, and Davison's structure.

     As time proceeded, the area and its mall receded. Sears left the mall in 1984. This all meant that the mall was ready for a renovation and rejuvenation. In 1985, a groundbreaking was done on a renovation, including an in/exterior facelift and the conversion of the Sears store into a Sears Surplus, with a food court on the upper level. Also in the renovation was a McCrory store with an outside entrance. All was joined with the name change to Avondale Mall. It's unclear if this actually did much, with the five-and-dime falling out of favor, the area declining quicker before you could cough out "Gwinnett", and food courts being nothing new. Every other area mall had one included. 

     Davison's became Macy's in 1985. Sooner than later, the store became primarily clearance, before being permanently shuttered in 1992. The upper level turned into a 16-screen megaplex in 1994. The 1990's weren't kind at all to the mall. Mom & pop's grew like black mold in the main mallway. This all snowballed to a sale of the officially-dead mall in 1999. All interior stores closed in Dec. 2001.

Sky City photo of the deteriorating interior. 

     The mall would lay vacant for five years before demolition started. This process was interesting as demolitions go - a time capsule filled with newspapers and folders from the early Sixties was discovered, now in holding of the DeKalb History Center. During the demolition, a war was waged between area citizens and Wal-Mart. Eventually, the big-boxer came out victorious, and the lot was SuperCentered. What was once an exciting mall of the 60's was now a discount center. Gentrification can be weird. Obviously an eyesore wasn't helping much, but a Wal-Mart is basically catering to the lower-income type isn't improving the image. 

Photo from Bing Maps via Mall Hall of Fame.

     Maybe this post taught you a little about the rules of retail. Locating on a road not near an interstate in a soon to struggle area is no way for economy. Placing yourself in a tough to expand area is no way for economy. This all forms the way-too-common dead mall phenomena that wows everyone nowadays. The process is way too simple and reveals the lines of business. The traditional dead mall is all too true. 

Gwinnett Place Mall, Lilburn/Duluth (Atlanta), GA

     A retail anomaly is when something dies but not in the normal fashion. The "normal" way would be competition, demographics, or a shrinking store base. Instead, the mall dies out quietly, with other forces doing the job. In the case for superregional mall Gwinnett Place, the reason for death was partially the ownership, and partially competition. This forms a very interesting picture of a mall, and that mall we cover today.

We begin with a picture of the main entrance. To the right is a place called The Eye Gallery, since closed. 

You can imagine way back when, before MoG and Sugarloaf Mills, that happy kids would enjoy a cookie here. Now the store has, well, burnt out. 

First shot is of some '84 neon. Second is of the food court and Beauty Master to the left. About three places still locate in the food court, including trashy college desperation in Great Wraps.

      The Gwinnett Place Mall history is far from pleasant. Original 1984 mall anchors included Rich's, Davison's, and Sears. The Rich's gained a little popularity following its opening. Satellite Blvd. was originally Davidson Industrial Blvd., but Rich's didn't want to locate on a road similar to its main competitor, Davison's. This never truly mattered, with Davison's becoming Macy's two years past opening. In the same year, a Mervyn's was added to the mall, on a small wing. This would be a contributing factor in the reign of the mall, taking shoppers from as far away as neighboring states. This super-status was only a cent in the addition of Parisian in 1993. While Mervyn's closed in 1997, the mall wasn't declining yet. Only one year later, a JCPenney replaced the spot, giving the mall a full anchor roster once again.

I have seemingly collected a ton of redundant food court photos. Only eight years ago, CFA, Subway, McDonald's, and Dairy Queen had a part of The Eatery.

This is looking off the main mall to the Mervyn's/JCP/Beauty Master. I presume the façade isn't from JCPenney, given that isn't like them to have an entrance like that. If it was, props to them. On the left is an old The Pink, before that Gamestop, and below an old Things Remembered. I love Labelscar.

     Of course the honeymoon didn't last forever. The one-two punch came in the late of the 90's. This first bullet shot was the Mall of Georgia, a behemoth with six anchors and a massive retail strip around it. Only two years later, in 2001, then-Discover Mills was constructed under four miles away, completely oversaturating the market with shiny new options. Truth be told, the new malls were probably needed, given the spectacular growth Gwinnett and the rest of Atlanta was having at the time. Gwinnett Place didn't have much room to expand and had pretty simple offerings. If it wasn't for MoG, Lord and Taylor and Belk wouldn't be as accustomed to the market, along with tons of other stores. Interestingly, it wasn't just the competition that eroded the mall. As of a 2009 Labelscar post, the mall seemed to be holding its own. Based on comments, most vital chain closings happened shortly after that. This probably meant the recession wasn't exactly kind to the area and the mall.

This fountain is one of the best I've seen. Though I can't show much of it working, the water sprays at untimed intervals upward to the glass roof. It's seriously cool to watch.

     Even with new face(s) in town, GPM didn't show struggles for a while. Rich's became Rich's-Macy's in 2003, before becoming the full Macy's nameplate. Rich's took the new store, with the original Davison's closing. This would become the Mega Mart in 2011. Parisian turned into a Belk operation in 2007, before being downgraded to an outlet and closing in 2013. JCPenney left in 2015, to be replaced by Beauty Master, a regional beauty store. But truly the funeral was in 2012, when Simon unloaded the mall to Moonbeam Capital Investments, a move that will haunt the mall forever.

Dead Belk covered by an unsuspecting wall.

Despite being quite the thing on the outside, the interior Macy's entrance is leaving much to be desired.

Dead Belk from first floor. This mall is on the train southward.

     First, a little about the so-called retail rehabber. Moonbeam owns a few struggling shopping centers in the US to apparently fix them up. They tend to give out opulent plans to save the malls, but they sit there and do absolutely nothing. It doesn't matter how many tax incentives or how much money. Nada. This has led to plenty of well-deserved government hate across the country, and Gwinnett is no exception. Moonbeam had no comment on this matter. Ever since the purchase, vacancy rates have climbed, anchors have left, and the mall has become a lost cause. This holds a bit in my heart, given I spent part of my early childhood roaming and playing in the mall before MoG was of choice. My parents traveled to shop here years ago in Athens. It really shouldn't have died, but it did.

While not North Point or Mall of Georgia level, the mall isn't ugly. Marble floors were added following the birth of MoG. Sadly, I think a lot more than marble floors were needed.

     As much as I hate to say it, the future is unclear for the once-venerable center. Moonbeam is - sort of - trying to convert the mall into a international center such as Plaza Fiesta or the very nearby Santa Fe Mall. I don't think this will successful, however. While Atlanta has a large minority population, and is a cultural hub for the US, Buford Highway is quite the ethnic retail stretch, and nearby Plaza Las Americas and Santa Fe Mall do well enough. But what are the new plans for the mall? Believe it or not, a cricket stadium with a team is in the planning stages. While nothing has started yet, it's not out of the realm of possibility. I truthfully don't think Atlanta needs a cricket team, but if you put it next to the population most familiar with the sport, something could happen. There are also plans for an Avalon-esque lifestyle center by the Infinite Energy Center a couple of exits up, which I truly think is an awful idea given the retail indulgence of the area. Most wealth is by the Mall of Georgia anyway, so please no. That's a different story for a different day. Point given, the owners have to realize the mall won't get back to pre-MoG status.

Here's the entrance for the extra-special Sears I have a post on.

     The tune of the mall war is clear. It's a race of time in what could become a mess of Gwinnett's retail. It's only a matter of time before GPM dies off in little respect. Only a matter of time before MoG expands (while there are no plans for this move, it will probably happen eventually). Only a matter of time before said lifestyle center gets shot down, approved, or hopefully not built. It's a bitter battle, with GPM not the favorite. We will see how things wind out down the road.

Everything in this last photo has been here since 2009, except for the space to the left of Avon. That was once a Sleep Number store.

     Anyways, if you want to see a very stereotypical dead mall, that's about all the mall is good for at this point. As much pain it gives me to type this, but this mall is dead. It's indeed a sad time, but I really hope it lands in the hands of a caring owner, and something is done. The entire firm of Moonbeam just angers me, and I couldn't shake that on my two visits. I'd rather something else happened instead of that purchase. But I'm just dreaming, much like the owners.

I can say that if you leased this space, you would not be nearly as happy as this leasing feller.

Outdated directories? Great, I need to stop at JCPenney! 

I can't confirm what I accomplished in this shot, but I can confirm that palm trees aren't native to hilly northern Georgia and were trendy a couple of decades ago. The store behind it was once something called GITI.

While a weird angle, the Macy's is covered by glass and has a Rich's labelscar. I presume another labelscar will be found at the Cobb Center Mall, which had a Rich's before it's closure in the mid-2000's. That glass needs a cleaning, tbh.