Greenbrier Mall facts for kids
| Location | Chesapeake, Virginia, United States |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 36°46′45.6″N 76°13′38.8″W / 36.779333°N 76.227444°W |
| Address | 1401 Greenbrier Parkway South |
| Opening date | October 7, 1981 |
| Developer | Homart Development |
| Management | CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. |
| Owner | CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. |
| No. of stores and services | 114 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 4 (3 open, 1 vacant) |
| Total retail floor area | 898,416 square feet (83,465.6 m2) |
| No. of floors | 2 |
Greenbrier Mall is a large shopping center in Chesapeake, Virginia, United States. It's about 900,000 square feet, which is like 15 football fields! This mall is special because it's built on a hillside. This means you can enter on both the top and bottom floors. It serves many communities in Virginia and North Carolina.
The mall has 114 different stores where you can shop. It also has three main department stores called "anchors": Dillard's, JCPenney, and Macy's. There used to be a Sears store, but it's now empty.
If you get hungry, Greenbrier Mall has a food court with places like Chick-fil-A. There are also several restaurants such as Abuelo's, Olive Garden, Red Robin, and Black Pelican Seafood. You can even catch a movie and eat dinner at the Cinema Café dinner movie theater!
Contents
Mall's Story: How it Grew
The Early Days of Greenbrier Mall
Greenbrier Mall first opened its doors on October 7, 1981. When it started, the main stores were Miller & Rhoads, Sears, and Leggett. Leggett was a part of a bigger company called Belk. A few years later, in 1987, another store called Hess's joined the mall.
Changes to the Main Stores
Over the years, some of the original stores changed names or owners. In 1990, Miller & Rhoads was sold and became Hecht's. The Hess's store was bought by Proffitt's in 1993. Then, in 1996, Dillard's bought Proffitt's.
The Leggett store briefly became a Belk store. But in 1998, it also became a Dillard's. This Dillard's store then focused on men's and children's clothing.
A Big Makeover for the Mall
In 2003, Greenbrier Mall got a huge update! Dillard's combined its two stores into one big store. This new Dillard's was rebuilt and was 160,000 square feet. The mall also got a fresh new look with different colors and its current "G" logo.
The old Leggett/Belk/Dillard's building was changed into a JCPenney store. This was a big change for the mall!
New Owners and More Updates
In April 2004, while the mall was still being renovated, a company called CBL & Associates bought Greenbrier Mall. They paid $102.5 million for it.
A year later, the new JCPenney department store was finished and officially opened. In 2006, the Hecht's store changed its name to Macy's, which was happening at many Hecht's stores across the country.
Sears Store Closes
In 2015, the company that owned Sears decided to separate many of its properties, including the Sears store at Greenbrier Mall.
Then, on June 28, 2018, Sears announced that its store at Greenbrier Mall would be closing. It was part of a plan to close many Sears stores nationwide. The Greenbrier Mall Sears store officially closed in September 2018.
Future Plans for the Mall
In 2019, Gameworks, which used to be called Jillians, announced it would move to a different mall.
In 2020, there were plans to build a Rosie's Gaming Emporium, a bar, four restaurants, and a hotel where the old Sears store used to be. However, on September 15, the Chesapeake City Council decided not to approve this plan. They were worried about how much traffic it would create at nearby intersections.
There was also an announcement that a store called Lord & Taylor might replace Sears, but that plan was canceled because the company went out of business. Now, there are talks about an IKEA store possibly taking over the old Sears spot.
