Gwinnett Place Mall facts for kids
Gwinnett Place Mall in July of 2016
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| Location | Duluth, Georgia, United States |
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| Coordinates | Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 614: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). 33.961216, -84.126236 |
| Opening date | February 1, 1984 |
| Closing date | March 15, 2020 |
| Developer | Cadillac Fairview Simon Property Group |
| Management | Gwinnett County, Georgia |
| Owner | Urban Redevelopment Agency of Gwinnett County |
| No. of stores and services | 2 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 2 (5 at peak) |
| Total retail floor area | 1,278,000 sq ft (118,700 m2) |
| No. of floors | 2 |
| Public transit access | Gwinnett Transit Center |
Gwinnett Place Mall is a large shopping mall located in Duluth, Georgia, in the United States. It was once a very popular place to shop. However, over time, other new malls like Mall of Georgia and Sugarloaf Mills opened nearby. This meant fewer people visited Gwinnett Place.
A cool fact about the mall is that it was used as the Starcourt Mall in the third season of the Netflix show Stranger Things. Today, Gwinnett County owns the mall. They have plans to give the area a fresh new look.
Contents
Mall History and Changes
Early Days and Growth
Building Gwinnett Place Mall started on January 21, 1982. The mall officially opened its doors on February 1, 1984. When it first opened, it had big department stores like Rich's, Davison's, and Sears.
In 1986, another store called Mervyn's joined the mall. Davison's later changed its name to Macy's. In 1993, a new store called Parisian opened. This led to a new part of the mall being built.
When Mervyn's closed its stores in Atlanta, J. C. Penney took over its spot in 1997. By 2003, Rich's and Macy's stores joined together. They became Rich's-Macy's, and then just Macy's in 2005. This meant the mall had two Macy's stores. One of them, the old Davison's store, closed. It later reopened in 2010 as the first Mega Mart in the US, which is a Korean supermarket.
In 2007, Parisian changed its name to Belk. However, Belk closed in 2013. This showed how the mall was changing and facing challenges.
Facing New Challenges
The mall started to lose many customers when the Mall of Georgia opened in 1999. Then, Sugarloaf Mills opened in 2001. Gwinnett Place Mall also struggled to get new big stores.
In 2008, Gwinnett Technical College opened a special center inside the mall. Students could go there to learn different foreign languages. The mall's owner, Simon Property Group, lost the mall in 2013. A company called Moonbeam Capital Investments LLC then bought it.
JCPenney closed its store on April 4, 2015. A store called Beauty Master bought the old JCPenney building in March 2016. Beauty Master opened its doors on August 4, 2016.
Future Plans for the Mall
On December 15, 2020, Gwinnett County decided to buy the main part of Gwinnett Place Mall. They paid $23 million for the 39-acre site. At that time, some stores like Macy's, Mega Mart, and Beauty Master owned their own buildings. The sale was completed in April 2021.
On February 28, 2023, Gwinnett County shared its plans for the mall area. They want to add new homes, improve transportation, and create green spaces. This big plan for Gwinnett Place Mall will happen over the next 20 years.
On September 17, 2024, Gwinnett County bought the Macy's store and the Macy's Furniture Store. They paid $16.5 million for these buildings. The sale was finalized on December 2. Both Macy's stores closed on March 23, 2025.
