Volusia Mall facts for kids
Entrance sign from Highway 92
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| Location | Daytona Beach, Florida, United States |
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| Coordinates | 29°11′49″N 81°03′49″W / 29.197014°N 81.063737°W |
| Opening date | October 14, 1974 |
| Developer | Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation |
| Management | CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. |
| Owner | CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. |
| No. of stores and services | 120 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 7 (5 open, 2 vacant by April 2021) |
| Total retail floor area | 844,193 sq ft (78,428 m2) |
| No. of floors | 1 (2 in all Dillard's locations, Macy's, and former Sears) |
| Public transit access |  Votran bus: 10, 11, 18, 19 |
| Information from CBL Properties and The Daytona Beach News-Journal | |
Volusia Mall is a large shopping mall located in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the biggest shopping center in the Volusia and Flagler areas. The mall first opened its doors on October 15, 1974.
Inside, you'll find more than 120 stores, all on one level. There's also a food court where you can grab a bite to eat. The main, large stores, called "anchor stores," include JCPenney, Books-A-Million, and three different Dillard's stores. Macy's was also an anchor store but closed in April 2021. There is also one empty space that used to be a Sears store. The company that owns and manages the mall is called CBL & Associates Properties.
Contents
History of Volusia Mall
Volusia Mall first opened in 1974. It was built on a large piece of land, about 93 acres, near major roads like U.S. Highway 92, I-95, and U.S. 1.
When it first opened, the mall had several big anchor stores. These included Ivey's, May-Cohens, Sears, and JCPenney. Ivey's opened in October 1974, followed by May-Cohens in December. Sears opened in February 1975, and JCPenney opened in August 1975. Most of these large stores, except for JCPenney, had two floors.
Mall Expansions and New Stores
The mall grew bigger in March 1982. At that time, two more large stores were added: Burdines and Belk-Lindsey. Both of these new stores also had two floors.
Over the years, some of the original anchor stores changed their names or were bought by other companies.
- May-Cohens became May Florida in 1987, then Maison Blanche, and later Gayfers in 1992.
- Dillard's bought Ivey's in 1990.
- Dillard's also bought Belk-Lindsey in 1996.
- Then, in 1998, Dillard's bought Gayfers.
Because of these changes, Volusia Mall became the only mall in the entire country to have three separate Dillard's stores! Burdines later became Burdines-Macy's in 2003, and then simply Macy's in 2005.
Changes Inside the Mall
Some of the first businesses inside Volusia Mall included a Walgreens pharmacy and a movie theater with three screens. After Walgreens moved outside the mall, its space was turned into another entrance for shoppers. The movie theater later became a church.
In the center of the mall, there used to be a very large fountain and wishing well. It had many water spouts and was even used for special events. This big fountain was made smaller in 1997. Volusia Mall is known as the biggest mall in the Daytona Beach area.
Recent Store Closures
On December 28, 2018, it was announced that the Sears store at the mall would be closing. It officially closed on March 10, 2019. The building was later sold, but what will happen to the old Sears space is still unknown.
More recently, on January 6, 2021, Macy's announced it would also be closing its store at Volusia Mall. The Macy's store closed in April 2021.
Getting to Volusia Mall
You can get to Volusia Mall using Votran buses. Routes 10, 11, 18, and 19 serve the mall from Monday to Saturday during the day. Votran Night Service Route 10 also serves the mall at night from Monday to Saturday, and has a limited schedule on Sundays and holidays.
