.gif)
University Mall (Little Rock, Arkansas)
Encyclopedia
University Mall was a shopping center in central Arkansas
which operated for approximately 40 years, from 1967 until 2007. When it closed, University Mall was the oldest enclosed shopping center in the Little Rock metropolitan area
. Located in the central part of Little Rock
, the site is situated along South University Avenue, north of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock
and Interstate 630
. The mall was managed by Indianapolis
-based Simon Property Group
.
The Mall was initially a huge success, but its popularity declined as new retail outlets in Little Rock drew customers away. Then the departure of its anchor stores, beginning with the bankruptcy of Montgomery Ward in 2001, left more than half the building empty. Throughout the 1990s, the mall steadily declined as retailers and customers left. Due to the waning popularity and litigation involving the deterioration of the building, the mall was sold in 2007 to Strode Property Company, and the remaining few tenants were told to vacate. Demolition began for the primary structure in early 2008. Prior to this, associated buildings were razed beginning in December 2007, starting with the former Montgomery Ward
auto center, as well as the former JCPenney auto center, which had been used several years as an automotive maintenance facility for the City of Little Rock.
The developer was Melvin Simon & Associates, an Indianapolis based real estate developer and management company that is now known as the Simon Property Group Inc. This was the company's first venture in Arkansas; however, they had already built around 40 other shopping centers in the United States. The landowners were stockholders in a corporation that was listed as Developers Inc. Developers Inc. included "Judge" William J. Smith, a prominent Little Rock Attorney and adviser to Gov. Orval E. Faubus. Smith's wife, daughter, and Son in Law Mr. and Mrs. William L. Patton, Jr. and John Cella of St. Louis who owned Oaklawn Jockey Club
, the thoroughbred racetrack in Hot Springs, Arkansas
. Developers Inc. dissolved a few months before the announcement of the mall. According to newspapers from the time stockholders of the former corporation became the owners of the mall property. George Cella and Bill Patton, children of the original corporation owners, were mentioned in the later litigation regarding the property that led to its closure and sale in 2007.
Smith told a reporter that he got the idea for the mall when he was driving down University Avenue in the 1950s, when it was known as Hayes Street. He felt that it was a good buy and called John Cella and told him it would be a good investment for them. During the next 15 years, the two managed to acquire the surrounding 28 acres (113,312.1 m²) for the mall site. This included a cemetery that was moved during construction. The acreage was leased to the Simon Property Group until 2026.
Plans for the mall were announced in 1965. Simon is quoted as saying that the site offered "the best potential he had ever seen" for a city the size of Little Rock. The mall complex comprised 1300000 square feet (120,774 m²) for leasing, the rest for parking of 2,500 cars, and was a single level structure when it opened. MM Cohn
was the first major department store to sign a lease at the new mall. At the time, it was one of the three big locally-owned department stores in downtown Little Rock. A few weeks later, Montgomery Ward
and J.C. Penney
announced that they too would build their own stores on the property as well. Montgomery Ward built a 1457000 square feet (135,359.7 m²) store on the southeast corner of the mall. It marked a return of the national store to full-scale operation in Little Rock, where it had operated only a catalog store downtown for 11 years. The addition and a 37000 square feet (3,437.4 m²) warehouse took up about 40 percent of the mall's square footage. The J.C. Penney store, at the west end of the mall, contained some 175000 square feet (16,258 m²) and a free-standing auto center, marking it the largest department store in the state.
Simon was planning for North Little Rock. The mall's reopening was held in March of that year. News accounts say that special emphasis was placed on a security program. University Mall drew thousands of shoppers yearly and was known for its holiday displays and programs. It also became a favorite place for many walkers, including retirees and heart patients from St. Vincent Infirmary Medical Center, located just across University Avenue.
In October 1987, Simon announced a $15 million expansion and renovation of the University Mall structure. The renovation was handled by the Vratsinas Construction Co. of Tulsa and started in 1988, ending about a year later. The expansion would add 70000 square feet (6,503.2 m²) to existing 465000 square feet (43,199.9 m²) in the mall. Several existing tenants also said they would spend another $3 million on remodeling and expansion. MM Cohn updated their store and added a mall entrance on their second floor. The J.C. Penney store was enlarged. This expansion gave the mall its most distinctive feature, the unusual Teflon-coated tent-like structure over part of the new concourse. It was referred to as the skylight because it let so much light in. The skylight reached nine stories high and a height variance had to be sought for its construction. The concourse was expanded to two levels connected by escalators and an elevator. The new upper level had a cantilevered walkway overlooking the bottom level and a 9000 square feet (836.1 m²) food court. A multi-level parking garage was also built on the north side of the mall.
A grand four-day reopening was held in November 1988. Corbin Bernsen
of the television show L.A. Law
was brought in to help celebrate. An oversized electrical switch turned on the lights that officially reopened the renovated mall. The reopening also featured an elaborate carousel as its centerpiece.
By this time, the mall had about 55 stores and was expecting eventually to house 70. The mall had some 545000 square feet (50,632.2 m²) of leasable space. However, there was other retail activity in the city the would eventually affect University Mall. Herring Marathon Group Inc. of Dallas unveiled plans to convert the then-open-air Park Plaza shopping center into an enclosed mall directly across Markham Street, just north of University Mall. The Park Plaza shopping center was almost 30 years old at the time, and a landmark of the rapidly expanding West Little Rock area. Herring Marathon said that it would completely rebuild and enclose the total area, increasing it to 676569 square feet (62,855.3 m²) — including 25000 square feet (2,322.6 m²) of new retail area, plus a new 86000 square feet (7,989.7 m²) Dillard's
store anchoring the west end of Park Plaza. Builders estimated that the work would cost about $20 million. Renaissance Properties Ltd. of Little Rock, which had created the Main Street Mall in downtown Little Rock, announced its 22 initial tenants. For the next decade, University Mall still had plenty of business. But when the Main Street Mall succumbed to the effects of Little Rock's dying downtown, McCain Mall and Park Plaza emerged as the best places to shop.
of Washington, D.C.
, said 40 percent of the mall was vacant. In 2004 the William L. Patton Jr. Family Limited Partnership of Arkansas and southern Real Estate and Financial Co. sued Simon Property Group Inc seeking an injunction forcing Simon to "undertake any and all actions necessary" to restore the mall to good conditions. The land owners said the entire mall was in a state of disrepair and neglect. They claimed that Simon's neglect to maintain the building had been driving away tenants for decades. A team of inspectors hired by the landowners to document the condition of the mall testified in 2005 that the vacant Montgomery Ward space was full of puddles, moldy ceiling tiles, and dead pigeons.
In December 2006, Simon presented a proposal to raze the mall and build a 625,000 to 675000 square feet (62,709.6 m²) mixed use facility with retail, office, medical, and residential space at a news conference at the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce building in Little Rock. The project would have potentially included half a dozen individual structures, including a big-box retailer on the west, two high-rise multifamily residential buildings on the north and a multistory medical office complex on University Avenue. Paschall Strategic Communications, who was assisting with Simon’s public relations campaign on the project, said that the negotiations were “going very well”, however these plans did not apparently come to pass.
In June 2007, US District Judge Bill Wilson, Jr. ruled that Simon must make more than $7 million in repairs to get the mall into "good and tenable condition". Pending the sale of the property, the law suit was dropped .
In October 2007, the William L. Patton, Jr. Family Limited Partnership and the Southern Real Estate & Financial Co. sold the 27 acres (109,265.2 m²) beneath the mall and another acre with a convenience store on the corner of Markham and McKinley. Dallas-based Strode Property Company, led by Jim Strode, under the name of SPC Park Avenue Limited Partnership took out a loan for $27.65 million mortgage from Texas State Bank of Dallas and purchased the mall property for $21 million. The Simon management issued a deadline to the remaining tenants to vacate the mall by midnight on October 27. Strode plans to demolish the mall and build an open air shopping center called "Park Avenue" similar to the Midtowne Little Rock shopping center just to the northeast of the property.. Strode says that after knocking down the old mall he plans to build a “lifestyle center” with a Main Street feel. The only parts of the old University Mall that will be integrated into Park Avenue are the parking deck, with a possible third level added, and the Montgomery Ward basement.
Saturday, October 27, 2007 was the last shopping day at the mall, although only two locally-owned retailers remained open — Paul's Shoes and Nouri Dress Shop. (Both businesses relocated to Shackleford Crossings, on the property which had been slated as the long-disputed potential Summit Mall site.) The entire University Mall property was then surrounded by chain link fence or other barricades following the exit of all tenants. Demolition of buildings in outer parcels began in December 2007, with demolition of the primary structure starting January 2008 and finishing up in March. Strode has projected that its mixed-used Park Avenue development should open on the site in 2010.
As of December, 2010, the only property operating on the former mall grounds is a new Target store.
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
which operated for approximately 40 years, from 1967 until 2007. When it closed, University Mall was the oldest enclosed shopping center in the Little Rock metropolitan area
Little Rock metropolitan area
The Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is a six-county area in central Arkansas, and anchored by state's capital and largest city, Little Rock...
. Located in the central part of Little Rock
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...
, the site is situated along South University Avenue, north of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock
University of Arkansas at Little Rock
University of Arkansas at Little Rock , is a public research university located in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States, and the second largest university by enrollment in the state of Arkansas....
and Interstate 630
Interstate 630
Interstate 630 in Arkansas is an east–west connector within Little Rock. It is also known as the Wilbur D. Mills Freeway and starts at Interstate 30/US Route 65/US Route 67/US Route 167 traveling west through downtown Little Rock to Interstate 430 and an at-grade intersection with...
. The mall was managed by Indianapolis
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
-based Simon Property Group
Simon Property Group
Simon Property Group, Inc. is an American commercial real estate company, ranked #1 in the United States as the largest real estate investment trust. Simon is a fully integrated real estate company which operates from five retail real estate platforms: regional malls, Premium Outlet Centers, The...
.
The Mall was initially a huge success, but its popularity declined as new retail outlets in Little Rock drew customers away. Then the departure of its anchor stores, beginning with the bankruptcy of Montgomery Ward in 2001, left more than half the building empty. Throughout the 1990s, the mall steadily declined as retailers and customers left. Due to the waning popularity and litigation involving the deterioration of the building, the mall was sold in 2007 to Strode Property Company, and the remaining few tenants were told to vacate. Demolition began for the primary structure in early 2008. Prior to this, associated buildings were razed beginning in December 2007, starting with the former Montgomery Ward
Montgomery Ward
Montgomery Ward is an online retailer that carries the same name as the former American department store chain, founded as the world's #1 mail order business in 1872 by Aaron Montgomery Ward, and which went out of business in 2001...
auto center, as well as the former JCPenney auto center, which had been used several years as an automotive maintenance facility for the City of Little Rock.
Development
Oaklawn Park
Oaklawn Park is an American thoroughbred racetrack in Hot Springs, Arkansas. It is the home to The Racing Festival of the South.In 2009, the Horseplayers Association of North America introduced a rating system for 65 Thoroughbred racetracks in North America. Of the top Ten, Oaklawn was ranked...
, the thoroughbred racetrack in Hot Springs, Arkansas
Hot Springs, Arkansas
Hot Springs is the 10th most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas, the county seat of Garland County, and the principal city of the Hot Springs Metropolitan Statistical Area encompassing all of Garland County...
. Developers Inc. dissolved a few months before the announcement of the mall. According to newspapers from the time stockholders of the former corporation became the owners of the mall property. George Cella and Bill Patton, children of the original corporation owners, were mentioned in the later litigation regarding the property that led to its closure and sale in 2007.
Smith told a reporter that he got the idea for the mall when he was driving down University Avenue in the 1950s, when it was known as Hayes Street. He felt that it was a good buy and called John Cella and told him it would be a good investment for them. During the next 15 years, the two managed to acquire the surrounding 28 acres (113,312.1 m²) for the mall site. This included a cemetery that was moved during construction. The acreage was leased to the Simon Property Group until 2026.
Plans for the mall were announced in 1965. Simon is quoted as saying that the site offered "the best potential he had ever seen" for a city the size of Little Rock. The mall complex comprised 1300000 square feet (120,774 m²) for leasing, the rest for parking of 2,500 cars, and was a single level structure when it opened. MM Cohn
MM Cohn
The M.M. Cohn Company, more popularly known simply as MM Cohn was a regional specialty department store chain in Arkansas, based in Little Rock. Independently operated from its opening until 1989, the chain was purchased by The Dunlap Company of Fort Worth, Texas, which operated the stores until...
was the first major department store to sign a lease at the new mall. At the time, it was one of the three big locally-owned department stores in downtown Little Rock. A few weeks later, Montgomery Ward
Montgomery Ward
Montgomery Ward is an online retailer that carries the same name as the former American department store chain, founded as the world's #1 mail order business in 1872 by Aaron Montgomery Ward, and which went out of business in 2001...
and J.C. Penney
J.C. Penney
J. C. Penney Company, Inc. is a chain of American mid-range department stores based in Plano, Texas, a suburb north of Dallas. The company operates 1,107 department stores in all 50 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. JCPenney also operates catalog sales merchant offices nationwide in many...
announced that they too would build their own stores on the property as well. Montgomery Ward built a 1457000 square feet (135,359.7 m²) store on the southeast corner of the mall. It marked a return of the national store to full-scale operation in Little Rock, where it had operated only a catalog store downtown for 11 years. The addition and a 37000 square feet (3,437.4 m²) warehouse took up about 40 percent of the mall's square footage. The J.C. Penney store, at the west end of the mall, contained some 175000 square feet (16,258 m²) and a free-standing auto center, marking it the largest department store in the state.
Two Renovations
In 1975, the mall underwent some cosmetic renovation and was renamed from simply The Mall to University Mall, probably to diversify it from the new McCain MallMcCain Mall
McCain Mall is the second largest shopping mall by surface area in the Little Rock metropolitan area, located near Interstate 40 in North Little Rock, Arkansas. McCain Mall opened in 1973, and it is the one of two enclosed shopping centers within Central Arkansas, with the other enclosed mall...
Simon was planning for North Little Rock. The mall's reopening was held in March of that year. News accounts say that special emphasis was placed on a security program. University Mall drew thousands of shoppers yearly and was known for its holiday displays and programs. It also became a favorite place for many walkers, including retirees and heart patients from St. Vincent Infirmary Medical Center, located just across University Avenue.
In October 1987, Simon announced a $15 million expansion and renovation of the University Mall structure. The renovation was handled by the Vratsinas Construction Co. of Tulsa and started in 1988, ending about a year later. The expansion would add 70000 square feet (6,503.2 m²) to existing 465000 square feet (43,199.9 m²) in the mall. Several existing tenants also said they would spend another $3 million on remodeling and expansion. MM Cohn updated their store and added a mall entrance on their second floor. The J.C. Penney store was enlarged. This expansion gave the mall its most distinctive feature, the unusual Teflon-coated tent-like structure over part of the new concourse. It was referred to as the skylight because it let so much light in. The skylight reached nine stories high and a height variance had to be sought for its construction. The concourse was expanded to two levels connected by escalators and an elevator. The new upper level had a cantilevered walkway overlooking the bottom level and a 9000 square feet (836.1 m²) food court. A multi-level parking garage was also built on the north side of the mall.
A grand four-day reopening was held in November 1988. Corbin Bernsen
Corbin Bernsen
Corbin Dean Bernsen is an American actor and director, known for his work on television. He is best known for his roles as divorce attorney Arnold Becker on the NBC drama series L.A. Law, and as retired police detective Henry Spencer on the USA Network comedy-drama series Psych...
of the television show L.A. Law
L.A. Law
L.A. Law is a US television legal drama that ran on NBC from September 15, 1986 to May 19, 1994. L.A. Law reflected the social and cultural ideologies of the 1980s and early 1990s and many of the cases featured on the show dealt with hot topic issues such as abortion, racism, gay rights,...
was brought in to help celebrate. An oversized electrical switch turned on the lights that officially reopened the renovated mall. The reopening also featured an elaborate carousel as its centerpiece.
By this time, the mall had about 55 stores and was expecting eventually to house 70. The mall had some 545000 square feet (50,632.2 m²) of leasable space. However, there was other retail activity in the city the would eventually affect University Mall. Herring Marathon Group Inc. of Dallas unveiled plans to convert the then-open-air Park Plaza shopping center into an enclosed mall directly across Markham Street, just north of University Mall. The Park Plaza shopping center was almost 30 years old at the time, and a landmark of the rapidly expanding West Little Rock area. Herring Marathon said that it would completely rebuild and enclose the total area, increasing it to 676569 square feet (62,855.3 m²) — including 25000 square feet (2,322.6 m²) of new retail area, plus a new 86000 square feet (7,989.7 m²) Dillard's
Dillard's
Dillard's, Inc. is a department store chain in the United States, with 330 stores in 29 states. Headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas, Dillard's locations are concentrated in Texas and Florida; with a major presence in other states including Arizona, Iowa, Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, Missouri,...
store anchoring the west end of Park Plaza. Builders estimated that the work would cost about $20 million. Renaissance Properties Ltd. of Little Rock, which had created the Main Street Mall in downtown Little Rock, announced its 22 initial tenants. For the next decade, University Mall still had plenty of business. But when the Main Street Mall succumbed to the effects of Little Rock's dying downtown, McCain Mall and Park Plaza emerged as the best places to shop.
Decline
The first real problems with University Mall started appearing in the 1980s when tenants voiced concerns about remodeling and marketing efforts. Osco Drug began closing its stores everywhere, three in Little Rock alone in 1997. In 2001, Montgomery Ward went bankrupt and closed all of its stores leaving a two-story 140900 square feet (13,090 m²) vacant building on the University Mall site. Shopping traffic dropped dramatically afterward and a steady stream of tenants began leaving the property. In the beginning of 2001 Simon Property said the occupancy of University Mall was at 95 percent. In April 2001, after the departure of Montgomery Ward, a report by the Urban Land InstituteUrban Land Institute
The Urban Land Institute, or ULI, is a non-profit research and education organization with offices in Washington, D.C., Hong Kong, and London...
of Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, said 40 percent of the mall was vacant. In 2004 the William L. Patton Jr. Family Limited Partnership of Arkansas and southern Real Estate and Financial Co. sued Simon Property Group Inc seeking an injunction forcing Simon to "undertake any and all actions necessary" to restore the mall to good conditions. The land owners said the entire mall was in a state of disrepair and neglect. They claimed that Simon's neglect to maintain the building had been driving away tenants for decades. A team of inspectors hired by the landowners to document the condition of the mall testified in 2005 that the vacant Montgomery Ward space was full of puddles, moldy ceiling tiles, and dead pigeons.
In December 2006, Simon presented a proposal to raze the mall and build a 625,000 to 675000 square feet (62,709.6 m²) mixed use facility with retail, office, medical, and residential space at a news conference at the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce building in Little Rock. The project would have potentially included half a dozen individual structures, including a big-box retailer on the west, two high-rise multifamily residential buildings on the north and a multistory medical office complex on University Avenue. Paschall Strategic Communications, who was assisting with Simon’s public relations campaign on the project, said that the negotiations were “going very well”, however these plans did not apparently come to pass.
In June 2007, US District Judge Bill Wilson, Jr. ruled that Simon must make more than $7 million in repairs to get the mall into "good and tenable condition". Pending the sale of the property, the law suit was dropped .
Demolition
Saturday, October 27, 2007 was the last shopping day at the mall, although only two locally-owned retailers remained open — Paul's Shoes and Nouri Dress Shop. (Both businesses relocated to Shackleford Crossings, on the property which had been slated as the long-disputed potential Summit Mall site.) The entire University Mall property was then surrounded by chain link fence or other barricades following the exit of all tenants. Demolition of buildings in outer parcels began in December 2007, with demolition of the primary structure starting January 2008 and finishing up in March. Strode has projected that its mixed-used Park Avenue development should open on the site in 2010.
As of December, 2010, the only property operating on the former mall grounds is a new Target store.
External links
- An article from Arkansas Business with a brief overview of the mall's decline, and potential redevelopment plans for the mall site
- A story from KTHVKTHVKTHV , is the CBS network affiliate television station serving the Little Rock/Pine Bluff television market and central Arkansas. The station is owned by Gannett Company, which purchased the station in 1994...
on Simon's proposed site plans for the mall site - University Mall at deadmalls.com