North Point Mall facts for kids
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| Location | Alpharetta, Georgia, United States |
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| Coordinates | 34°02′53″N 84°17′41″W / 34.048012°N 84.294738°W |
| Opening date | October 20, 1993 |
| Developer | Homart Development Company |
| Management | Brookfield Properties Retail Group |
| Owner | Brookfield Properties Retail Group |
| No. of stores and services | 138 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 5 (4 open, 1 vacant) |
| Total retail floor area | 1,327,313 sq ft (123,000 m2). |
| No. of floors | 2 (3 in Dillard's) |
| Parking | 7,400 |
North Point Mall is a large shopping mall located in Alpharetta, Georgia. Alpharetta is a town near Atlanta. The mall first opened its doors on October 20, 1993. It was one of the biggest shopping malls in the country at that time. North Point Mall was one of the last big projects built by the Homart Development Company. Today, it remains one of Atlanta's most popular malls.
A shopping mall usually has several large stores called anchor stores. These are often department stores that attract many shoppers. North Point Mall's main anchor stores are Dillard's, JCPenney, Macy's, and Von Maur.
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History of North Point Mall
When North Point Mall first opened, it had space for six large anchor stores. Five of these spaces were filled right away. These original stores included Rich's, Lord & Taylor, Mervyn's, JCPenney, and Sears. The Rich's store was very special. It had a fancy design with historical details. This design honored its famous old store in downtown Atlanta. Even though it became a Macy's in 2005, you can still see the beautiful carvings on the outside.
In 1996, Dillard's opened its first Atlanta store at North Point Mall. It filled the sixth anchor spot. A parking garage was also added for Dillard's customers. The next year, Mervyn's closed. Its space was then taken by Parisian in 1997. Parisian was a more upscale store.
The mall got a fresh new look in 2003. The inside was updated with more places to sit. Another renovation happened in 2004. An escalator was moved to make it easier for shoppers. In 2019, many parts of the mall's inside were modernized again. They added new seating areas and updated the floors. A cool LED color-changing tree was also installed.
In June 2004, The Cheesecake Factory opened a restaurant near the mall. It was their first location outside of Atlanta. This restaurant is in the mall's parking lot. A special walking path, sometimes called the "yellow brick road," connects the restaurant to the mall's center.
Mall Changes Over Time
Over the years, some stores at North Point Mall have changed. In 2005, Lord & Taylor closed its large store. This left an empty space.
Parisian closed in September 2007. This happened after it was bought by another company called Belk. Belk then opened a store in the old Lord & Taylor spot. However, the Belk store also closed in September 2009.
In October 2010, Von Maur announced they would open a new store. Von Maur is a luxury store from the Midwest. They remodeled the old Belk store, making it even bigger. The new design included reddish brick and columns. This was to match the style of Georgia. The Von Maur store opened in November 2011.
The old Parisian store was changed into a big movie theater. This AMC Theatres opened in September 2012. It has 12 screens, comfy recliner seats, and special features like IMAX.
Recently, North Point Mall has faced more competition. People are shopping online more often. Also, new shopping areas have opened nearby. Places like Avalon offer high-end stores and restaurants. Some stores like Apple and Pottery Barn moved from North Point to Avalon. Other malls closer to Atlanta, like Phipps Plaza and Lenox Square, also got big upgrades. A new development called Halcyon opened in 2019. These new places mean more choices for shoppers.
Sears closed its store at North Point Mall in June 2018.
Exciting New Plans
In February 2019, the city of Alpharetta approved exciting plans for the mall area. They want to build a new development on 83 acres next to the mall. This new area will have apartments, restaurants, and new shops. It will also include small parks, walking trails, and fun activities. There are plans for a rock climbing wall, a play fountain, and even a lake. The old Sears store will be taken down to make space for this project. The playground inside the mall will also be made bigger. The mayor of Alpharetta, Jim Gilvin, said this project would be "special."
The city is looking at a special way to pay for this new development. It's called a tax-allocation district (TAD). This means that some of the property taxes collected from the area would go directly to building new roads and sewers. This helps make the project happen. Similar plans have helped build other big projects in Atlanta, like Atlantic Station and the BeltLine.
What Stores Are There?
Here are the main anchor stores at North Point Mall today:
- AMC Theatres (since 2012)
- Dillard's (since 1996)
- JCPenney (since October 20, 1993)
- Macy's (since March 6, 2005)
- Von Maur (since November 2011)
Former Anchor Stores
These are some of the large stores that used to be at North Point Mall:
- Belk (2007–2009)
- Lord & Taylor (1993–2005)
- Mervyn's (1993–1997)
- Parisian (1997–2007)
- Rich's (1993–2005)
- Sears (1993–2018)
Fun Facts About the Carousel
North Point Mall has a beautiful carousel! You can see it behind a huge window in the food court. This carousel was made in Brooklyn, New York. It was built by the Fabricon Carousel Company. The animals on the carousel are made of fiberglass and are hand-painted. They look like animals from an old-fashioned Victorian carousel on Coney Island.
The carousel was shipped to Atlanta in December 1992. It was first meant for another mall, Perimeter Mall. But it ended up sitting in a warehouse near Duluth for eight months. On August 1, 1993, it was brought to the unfinished North Point Mall. Workers put it together in the big room that is now the Food Court. The carousel was supposed to be the main attraction of the mall. However, a broken part delayed its opening. Shoppers finally saw it working a few weeks after the mall's grand opening.
