Cross County Mall (Illinois) facts for kids
| Location | Mattoon, Illinois, United States |
|---|---|
| Address | 700 Broadway Avenue East |
| Opening date | 1971 |
| Developer | Chahanie Development |
| Owner | Rural King Realty |
| No. of stores and services | 22 total 18 (inside the mall) 4 (outside the mall) |
| No. of anchor tenants | 5 (3 open, 2 vacant by March 2021) |
| Total retail floor area | 338,100 square feet (31,410 m2) |
| No. of floors | 1 |
| Website | http://www.crosscountymall.com |
The Cross County Mall is a popular shopping mall located in Mattoon, Illinois, United States. It first opened its doors in 1971. Big stores called "anchor stores" help attract shoppers to a mall. Today, some of the main anchor stores here include Rural King, Marshalls, and Jo-Ann Fabrics. JCPenney is closing in March 2021, and another large space used to be Carson's. The mall is currently owned by Rural King Realty.
Contents
History of Cross County Mall
How the Mall Started
The idea for the Cross County Mall began in 1967. A company called Chahanie Development planned the shopping center. Construction started two years later, in 1969.
Some of the first stores announced were JCPenney, a variety store called G. C. Murphy, and Walgreens. There was also a grocery store named IGA and a shoe store called Kinney Shoes.
Opening Day and Early Stores
The mall officially opened in October 1971. Many stores were already open for shoppers. On October 27, both the IGA grocery store and a department store called Myers Brothers opened. The big department store Sears joined the mall in 1972.
Changes in the 1970s and 1980s
In 1973, a store called Arlan's closed. The next year, that space became a Kmart store. This made Cross County Mall special. It was one of the first malls to have JCPenney, Sears, and Kmart all at once. These were three of the biggest stores in the country back then.
Another store, G. C. Murphy, closed in 1976. Its space was turned into a department store called Meis, which opened in 1978. Around the same time, Myers Brothers became Bergner's.
By 1981, the IGA grocery store space was empty. The mall tried to turn it into a food court in 1988. However, they couldn't find enough restaurants. So, in 1990, the space became an antique mall instead.
New Stores and Departures
In 1989, Meis was bought by Elder-Beerman. Also, Bergner's closed its doors at the mall after the 1989 Christmas season. Its space was later used by stores like Maurices.
In 1993, Kmart moved to a bigger store outside the mall. A year later, Sears moved into the old Kmart building. The original Sears building then became a furniture store. Later, it was used as a medical training center and then offices for the city's newspaper. Walgreens also moved out of the mall in 2003.
In 2011, Elder-Beerman changed its name to Carson's. A bookstore called Borders also closed that year. Sears closed its mall store in late 2014.
Recent Changes and New Owners
By 2014, some of the main stores in the mall included Jo-Ann Fabrics, Bath & Body Works, Maurices, and rue21. In 2016, RadioShack closed its store.
In 2017, a farming supply company called Rural King bought the mall. They planned to use the old Sears space for their company offices. On April 18, 2018, it was announced that Carson's would close. This left JCPenney as the only original anchor store.
However, on January 16, 2019, Rural King opened its own store in the former Sears location. A new Chinese restaurant, Super Jumbo Buffet, closed in 2018. It was replaced by Scotty's Brewhouse, which opened in December 2018. This restaurant also closed, and now McQuarter's Pub is in that spot. In 2019, Payless ShoeSource closed all its stores, including the one in the mall.
A new big store, Marshalls, opened in the mall on November 24, 2019. In March 2020, a clothing store called Glik's returned to the mall.
On December 17, 2020, it was announced that JCPenney would be closing its store in March 2021. This was part of a plan to close 15 JCPenney stores across the country.
