Charleston Town Center

Charleston Town Center
Central court of Charleston Town Center
Location Charleston, West Virginia, United States
Coordinates 38°21′18″N 81°38′21″W / 38.35500°N 81.63917°W / 38.35500; -81.63917Coordinates: 38°21′18″N 81°38′21″W / 38.35500°N 81.63917°W / 38.35500; -81.63917
Opening date November 1983
Management CBRE Group (as receiver)
Owner Forest City Enterprises (in receivership)
No. of stores and services 130
No. of anchor tenants 4 (1 vacant, 1 converted to office space)
Total retail floor area

933,979 square feet

(GLA)[1]
No. of floors 2 plus partial third level
Parking 4,000+
Website http://www.charlestontowncenter.com/

Charleston Town Center is an enclosed shopping mall in downtown Charleston, West Virginia, United States, with large portions converted into office space. One of the largest enclosed malls to be located in a downtown shopping district, it comprises more than 130 tenants on two levels, as well as a food court on a partial third level. Popular full-service restaurants include Chili's Bar & Grill, the Chop House, Outback Steakhouse and Tidewater Grill. Anchor stores are JCPenney and Macy's. The mall is owned by Forest City Enterprises. It is in receivership.

History

Charleston Town Center opened in 1983 in downtown Charleston, West Virginia, as the largest downtown-based shopping mall located east of the Mississippi River.[2] At the time, it included four anchor stores: JCPenney, Sears, Kaufmann's and Montgomery Ward. The mall remained largely unchanged until Stone & Thomas opened next to Montgomery Ward, moving from an existing location downtown. This Stone & Thomas store was later renamed Elder-Beerman when the chain was purchased in 1998, but Elder-Beerman closed it in 2000, the same year that Montgomery Ward closed.[3]

The Montgomery Ward location sat empty for some time. In 2002, plans were announced to renovate the mall. Under these plans, Dillard's (which, at the time, had no locations in West Virginia) would have opened in the former Montgomery Ward space.[4] In return, the Dillard's chain asked for a $1-a-year lease as part of an incentive package,[5] in addition to asking for $7.5 million in city loans.[6] However, the plans for a Dillard's at the mall were later canceled, and the former Montgomery Ward remained dark, while the former Elder-Beerman space was converted to a Steve & Barry's clothing store in 2002.[7]

In 2005, the retail bookstore chain Books-A-Million also expressed interest in replacing the former Montgomery Ward,[8] although this store also never came to fruition. Finally, by 2006, it was announced that BrickStreet Insurance would locate its offices in the former Montgomery Ward space, and half of the food court was closed and converted into state government offices.[9] A year later, Kaufmann's was converted to Macy's due to the acquisition of Kaufmann's then-parent company, May Department Stores. Steve & Barry's, along with all other Steve & Barry's stores, was closed in September 2008 due to bankruptcy; that space is now divided between Rue21 and Rack Room Shoes. In 2011, television station WOWK sub-leased some unused space in the Brickstreet area to relocate its TV studio. In 2017, Sears announced it would close, leaving the mall with only two anchor stores.

The extent of the mall's financial problems was slowly revealed in late 2017. The nature and amount of Macy's actual rent payment was disputed by local politicians, with some stated that it actually was staying rent free. Finally on January 12, 2018, the Circuit Court of Kanawha County placed the mall in receivership and appointed CBRE Group as its receiver. [10]

References

  1. ↑ "Charleston Town Center". International Council of Shopping Centers. Retrieved 2008-10-06.
  2. ↑ "About Us". Charleston Town Center. Archived from the original on May 9, 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-06.
  3. ↑ Elmer, Joann C. (2001-07-09). "Charleston Town Center working to fill rash of empty storefronts". The State News. Retrieved 2008-10-06.
  4. ↑ Finn, Scott (2002-10-25). "Charleston, W.Va., Mall to Attract Upscale Retailers". The Charleston Gazette. Retrieved 2008-10-06.
  5. ↑ Finn, Scott (2002-10-16). "Dillard's Wants Hefty Incentive Package to Open in Charleston, W.Va. Location". Charleston Gazette. Retrieved 2008-10-06.
  6. ↑ Stone, Greg (2002-10-23). "Dillard's Seeks $7.5 Million City Loan to Fix Up Charleston, W.Va., Store". The Charleston Gazette. Retrieved 2008-10-06.
  7. ↑ Wilson, Paul (2005-02-01). "Sportswear Store to Open in Charleston, W.Va". Charleston Gazette. Retrieved 2008-10-06.
  8. ↑ Wilson, Paul (2005-02-01). "Books-A-Million looks at Charleston Town Center space". Charleston Gazette. Retrieved 2008-10-06.
  9. ↑ Walters, Nicky (2006-12-05). "BrickStreet Insurance May Move into Charleston Town Center". WOWK TV. Archived from the original on 2011-06-03. Retrieved 2008-10-06.
  10. ↑ http://wvmetronews.com/2018/01/12/charleston-town-center-mall-placed-in-receivership/
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