Upper Valley Mall facts for kids
| Location | Near Springfield, Ohio |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 39°56′56″N 83°51′15″W / 39.9488889°N 83.8541667°W |
| Address | 1475 Upper Valley Pike |
| Opening date | 1971 |
| Developer | Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation |
| Owner | Clark County Land Reutilization Corp. |
| No. of stores and services | 15 (55 at peak) |
| No. of anchor tenants | 4 (all vacant) |
| Total retail floor area | 267,466 sq ft (24,848.4 m2) |
| No. of floors | 1 |
The Upper Valley Mall is a large shopping center located near Springfield, Ohio. It is northeast of Dayton. This mall was built in 1971 by a company called Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation.
At its busiest, the mall had space for 55 different stores. Today, it has about 15 stores and four restaurants. The Upper Valley Mall is currently owned by the Clark County Land Reutilization Corporation.
Contents
Mall History: From Opening to Today
Early Days and Original Stores
The Upper Valley Mall first opened its doors in 1971. When it was new, it had several big department stores. These main stores were called anchor stores. The original anchors included J. C. Penney, Sears, Rike's, and Wren's. Rike's later became Macy's. Wren's eventually became Block's.
Another popular store when the mall opened was an F. W. Woolworth Company dime store. This store sold many different small items. It closed down in January 1992.
Changes Over the Years
After Woolworth's closed, a store called Elder-Beerman took its place. However, Elder-Beerman also closed in 2013. Around the same time, an Old Navy store in the mall also closed.
In 2013, a special museum opened inside the mall. It was a smaller version of the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery from Dayton. This museum was called Boonshoft Museum of Discovery Springfield. It first opened in a 4,000-square-foot space. Later, it moved to a much larger 20,000-square-foot area. This bigger space used to be the Elder-Beerman store. The museum closed its doors in the mall on April 30, 2016.
Mall Ownership Changes
In July 2014, the mall faced financial difficulties. It went into a process called receivership. This means a court-appointed person managed the mall's finances.
In spring 2015, two more major anchor stores closed. These were Macy's and J. C. Penney. The mall's movie theater, which had been there since the beginning, closed on February 20, 2017.
Later in 2017, the Clark County Land Reutilization Corporation bought the old Macy's building. This group helps reuse land in the county. In May 2018, they bought most of the rest of the mall. They paid over $3 million for it. The Sears store was not part of this purchase at first.
The Last Anchor Store Closes
On December 28, 2018, it was announced that Sears would close. Sears was the very last anchor store left at the mall. It closed on March 10, 2019. This meant the Upper Valley Mall no longer had any large anchor stores.
Future Plans for the Mall
In March 2019, there were reports about new plans for the mall. Home Plate Sports Academy, a business already in the mall, was planning to expand. The idea is to turn the mall into a new kind of complex. This new complex would be a mixed-use sports complex. It would include restaurants, other stores, a hotel, and even a movie theater. This project is planned to open in the future.
On December 16, 2020, the Clark County Commission made an important decision. They allowed the Clark County Combined Health District to use the former J. C. Penney store. This space was used for three months to help with COVID-19 vaccinations and testing.
