Hamilton Place (shopping mall) facts for kids

Hamilton Place is a large, two-story shopping mall in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. It is located right off I-75. When it first opened in 1987, it was the biggest shopping mall in the state of Tennessee.

History of Hamilton Place Mall

The Hamilton Place mall first opened its doors to shoppers on August 5, 1987. The first big stores, called "anchor stores," were Belk, Parisian, Loveman's, Regal Cinemas 9, and Sears. Later, JCPenney and Hess's also opened stores here.

Over the years, some of the original stores changed. For example, Loveman's became Proffitt's in 1988. Then, Proffitt's also took over the Hess's store in 1992. In 1998, Belk left the Chattanooga area for a while, but it came back in 2005. Belk also bought Parisian in 2006, and that location later became a Dillard's store for men, children, and home goods.

In 1998, the mall's owner, CBL & Associates Properties, started a big update inside the mall. They made the food court much larger and made the mall easier for people using wheelchairs to get around. Today, Hamilton Place has more than 150 stores and restaurants.

The Regal Cinemas 9 movie theater closed in September 2007. A Barnes & Noble bookstore opened in its place on November 12, 2008. There is still a Regal Cinemas movie theater located outside the main mall building.

In May 2008, CBL announced plans for a large expansion. These plans included new parking garages and more shops. However, these big plans were later changed to a smaller update. Some nearby shopping areas, like The Shoppes at Hamilton Place, got new stores and restaurants.

A P.F. Chang's restaurant opened outside the mall in November 2006. This restaurant has a special water theme. This theme is inspired by the Tennessee River in Chattanooga. The CEO of P.F. Chang's, Richard Federico, went to the University of Tennessee and has family in Chattanooga.

On January 25, 2011, CBL announced another big renovation for the mall. This work started in March 2011 and finished in November 2011. Most of the construction happened at night when the mall was closed. Hamilton Place stayed open for shoppers during all the updates.

On November 5, 2017, a popular clothing store called H&M opened on the upper level of the mall.

On October 15, 2018, Sears announced it was closing many of its stores, including the one at Hamilton Place. The Sears store officially closed on January 6, 2019.

On November 12, 2018, it was announced that Dave and Busters would open in the old Sears building. In December 2018, Dick's Sporting Goods also announced it would move into the mall next to Dave and Busters. Both of these new stores opened in March 2020.

Current Main Stores

Hamilton Place has several large "anchor stores" that help bring shoppers to the mall. These stores are:

• Dillard's (Women's clothing) - This store was originally a Belk. It is 128,897 square feet (11,975 m²) in size.
• Dillard's (Men's, Home, & Children's items) - This store was originally a Parisian. It is 92,520 square feet (8,595 m²) in size.
• Belk (Women's & Children's clothing) - This store was originally Loveman's, then Proffitt's. It is 130,875 square feet (12,159 m²) in size.
• Belk (Men's & Home items) - This store was originally Hess's, then Proffitt's. It is 115,000 square feet (10,684 m²) in size.
• Forever 21 - This store is on the upper level. It was once part of Hess's and then Belk Home Store. It is 57,500 square feet (5,342 m²) in size.
• JCPenney - This was one of the original anchor stores. It is 157,799 square feet (14,660 m²) in size.
• Dave & Busters (upper level) and Dick's Sporting Goods (lower level) - These stores opened in March 2020 in the building that was originally Sears. This space is 151,577 square feet (14,082 m²) in size.