Crystal River Mall facts for kids
| Location | Crystal River, Florida, United States |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 28°54′38″N 82°36′12″W / 28.910531°N 82.603295°W |
| Address | 1801 US-19 |
| Opening date | 1990 |
| Developer | Edward J. DeBartolo, Sr. |
| Owner | United Realty |
| No. of anchor tenants | 4 (1 open, 3 vacant) |
| Total retail floor area | 29,265 sq ft (2,718.8 m2) |
| No. of floors | 1 |
Crystal River Mall is a shopping center located in Crystal River, Florida, United States. It first opened its doors in 1990. Today, its main store is Rural King.
Mall History: How It Started
The idea for Crystal River Mall came about in 1988. It was planned to open in mid-1990. The mall officially opened on October 17, 1990. Famous guests like Phyllis Diller and Jack Jones were there for the opening.
When it first opened, the mall had three large main stores, called "anchor stores." These were Belk-Lindsey, Sears, and Kmart. About 85% of the other smaller shops were also open. The mall's design looked like a "giant wheel with spokes." In the middle of the mall, there was a food court where people could eat. The mall also had a very tall fabric roof, which was 65 feet high!
Originally, another store called J. Byrons was supposed to be the fourth main store. But instead, the spot was sold to J.C. Penney. This J. C. Penney store opened on September 30, 1992. Later, in 1998, Regal Entertainment Group added a movie theater to the mall. In 1999, OfficeMax also opened a store in the south part of the mall.
Changes Over Time: Stores Closing
In the 2000s, the mall started to have more empty stores. One reason for this was its location. The mall was built on the north side of Crystal River. However, most of the new shops and businesses in the city were built on the south side instead.
By 2011, about 77% of the mall was empty. This made it one of the least busy malls owned by Simon Property Group. Simon Property Group had bought the company that built the mall. The mall building also started to have problems, like a leaking roof.
In 2011, the mall was sold to Boxer Properties. Many of the main stores began to close. Sears closed its store in 2012. J. C. Penney closed in 2013. Belk announced its closing in August 2013 and shut down in January 2014.
In 2014, Rural King took over the space where Sears used to be. On December 31, 2016, it was announced that Kmart would also close. This Kmart store closed its doors for good on March 26, 2017. This meant about 60 employees lost their jobs.
Future Ideas for the Mall
A city council member, Cindi Guy, has suggested an interesting idea for the mall's future. She thought that the new Crystal River City Hall could be placed inside one of the empty stores at the mall. This idea could help bring more people and businesses back to the mall.
