Independence Mall (North Carolina) facts for kids
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| Location | Wilmington, North Carolina, U.S. |
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| Coordinates | 34°12′48″N 77°54′22″W / 34.21334°N 77.9061°W |
| Address | 3500 Oleander Drive Wilmington, North Carolina 28403 |
| Opening date | 1979 |
| Developer | Strouse, Greenberg & Co. The Oleander Co. |
| Management | Brookfield Properties |
| Owner | Brookfield Properties |
| No. of stores and services | 144 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 5 (1 opening) |
| Total retail floor area | 997,525 square feet (92,673.1 m2)(GLA) |
| No. of floors | 1 (2 in former Sears) |
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Independence Mall is the only enclosed shopping mall in Wilmington, North Carolina. It first opened its doors in 1979. Back then, its main stores were Belk-Beery (which is now just Belk), JCPenney, and Sears. Later, the mall grew bigger, adding a new section and a Dillard's store after a company called Westfield Group bought it. You can find the mall on Oleander Drive (U.S. 76) and Independence Boulevard, just east of downtown Wilmington. The mall has a place to eat called a food court, but it no longer has a carousel.
Contents
Mall History
Independence Mall was built by two companies working together: Strouse, Greenberg & Co. from Philadelphia and The Oleander Co. from Wilmington. When it opened in 1979, it had three main department stores: Belk-Beery, JCPenney, and Sears. A cool thing about the mall was its beautiful mosaic murals. These artworks showed famous places and scenes from Wilmington and were created by an artist named Samuel D. Bissette.
New Owners and Big Changes
In 1997, the mall was sold to Westfield America, Inc. This company, which later became Westfield Group, made some big changes. They added a fourth section to the mall, which included a new Dillard's store and a large food court with 400 seats. In 1998, the mall's name was changed to Westfield Shoppingtown Independence. Even though the "Shoppingtown" part was officially dropped in 2005, some signs still kept the old name.
Before the new Dillard's section was built, there was a movie theater called Independence Mall Cinemas. It had three screens and had been open since 1979. This theater was taken down in 2000 to make room for the new Dillard's store, which opened on March 16, 2001. The new mall section opened a few days later, on March 21, 2001.
On May 9, 2006, Westfield sold the mall to another company called Centro Properties Group. This company managed the mall, and its name went back to Independence Mall. In 2012, the mall announced that its carousel, which had been there for eight years, would be removed.
Mall Updates and Future Plans
In 2017, a company called Rouse Properties (now part of Brookfield Properties) bought the mall for $45 million. They announced plans to update the mall, turning it into a more open-air shopping area. They even thought about changing its name to The Collection at Independence, but decided to keep the original name.
In April 2018, it was announced that the Sears store would close as part of a plan to close many stores across the country. The Sears store at Independence Mall closed in June 2018.
In August 2019, the city of Wilmington approved the final plans for the mall's big update. After this, the stores that were near the old Sears section moved to other parts of the mall. The Sears area was then blocked off to get ready for demolition and new construction.
On October 2, 2020, a store called Five Below opened in part of the old Sears space. A few weeks later, on October 14, 2020, Dick's Sporting Goods announced they would also open a new store in the former Sears area on October 17, 2020. This Dick's Sporting Goods store moved from its old location nearby.
Main Stores
These are the large main stores, also called "anchors," at Independence Mall:
- Belk (about 175,512 square feet)
- Dillard's (about 159,000 square feet)
- JCPenney (about 112,200 square feet)
- Five Below (opened October 2, 2020)
- Dick's Sporting Goods (opened October 17, 2020)
Former Main Stores
- Sears (about 187,027 square feet) (closed June 2018)
