What's the deal or fait with Oak Hollow Mall? (Greensboro: fit in, sales)

[SunnyKayak]

Friday night, We was in the mood for something different to eat since it has been quite awhile since I have been in High Point we chose to go there.

It has been over 15 years since I have to HP back when High Point University was called High Point College.

I figure there must be a restaurant around High Point Mall.
My memory was this mall off Westchester it wasnt much of a mall in late 80's and 90's and I knew it was beside Westchester Commons as I use to have a friend that work in a TCBY that use to be there in late 80's.
I was puzzle by this mega church standing where this rink a dink mall useto be.

We decided to drive down 68 onto Eastchester and came across Oak Hollow Mall and there was only a handful of cars in the front at 7pm on a Friday night. I thought was weird maybe the place is closed.
I was hungry and wanted to eat before we check it out.

We ate at Liberty restaurant and this was a cool big restaurant with cool decor, the carpet could use some cleaning but the waitress was attentive and watching the other waiters and staff move looks like they take care of their customers.

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Im done rambling to the thread topic.
We went back to Oak Hollow mall this was my first time in there. nice flooring, cool elevator 2 floors and big but most of stores was vacant, even the food court only had 2 restaurants serving food and the rest rooms where clean.
It had a theater it was tempting to get tickets as I felt we would have theater to ourselves
We walk around look like a clothing store took over what may have been a Disney Store -I Could tell by the entrance way and star carpet.
We walk over by Spencer's gifts and it look small and bare amd had these final discounts on all merchandise and I over heard they was leaving in 60 days.

Walk by Dillards and the doors was shut and read the sign they closed at 7 on Fri night, peek in look like the clothes rack where arrange way stores do it for clearance.

We walk into Sears and I heard on news they was closing as it company wide so I wasnt to surprise to see there merchandise on clearance.
I did talk to an associate they will start having liquidation sales starting in February and in May liquidation sale on store fixtures.
Are the rest of the stores abandoning it too?

I got home and did research and find the mall I went to was Westchester Mall and it was not much of a mall and I was reading Oak Hollow has been struggling since it open in '96 but why?

I thought maybe because its not by a interstate but Hanes Mall was before the New I40 and it was doing ok. I seen that High Point university owns the property do they have plans

Once I got past my 20's, I rarely go to malls except to kill time and look around are malls disappearing or has High Point try to make itself something by having a mall when it was clear with Westchester mall the city can not support a mall.

[WFW&P]

Oak Hollow Mall was purchased by HPU last year and as you already stated the Sears closing is part of the nation wide store closings. More on this later.
Some blame logistics on the failure of OH because it wasn't located near an interstate and couldn't compete with Hanes or Four Seasons. I put the blame squarely on High Point and the bassakwards mentality of the people who live there not supporting their own. There was a lot of resistance to the mall being built and although it took 15 years, those who didn't want the mall finally got their wish. High Point is a pitiful city divided into cliques, long time residents like to babble on about how they know some of the money, where they eat, or where they shop. I've seen some very nice restaurants fail just because they didn't fit into their little clique while slop houses flourish just because the "money" dines there or has dined there in the past.
The way it breaks down; if your business is not a well known franchise or in with one of the cliques your chances of making it are slim to none.

Back to the mall; OH floundered about for about a decade when many of the long term lease tenants started leaving, since that time it has been a steady decline in leased space. Additionally many of the smaller tenants left in between. Some spaces in the mall have never been occupied. The GAP couldn't make it there!! Chick-Fil-A closed!! That never happens!! This became so comical my wife & I would go to the mall just to see what stores closed since our last visit.
As mentioned earlier Sears is part of the nation wide closings, Dillards did in fact become a clearance store about two years ago. If you went upstairs you would have seen the 2nd floor of Dillards not being used. JCPenny also closed last year as part of "downsizing". Disney, Kirklands, Sharon Luggage all closed several years ago due to downsizing.
Since that time mall management attempted to convert the mall into alternative spaces. In other words they were seeking any warm body who could pay some rent, hence the sports apparel store in the former Disney space. With only a couple of exceptions the tenant spaces are just as they were when the original tenants occupied them. Mall management would do nothing to help the small business owners which eventually gave the mall a flea marketesque look to it.
As for Liberty its a decent place that used to be a Red Robin; High Pointers weren't familar with Red Robin so it didn't suceed. I recommend avoiding Liberty during the furniture market as they change to an alternate menu with prices that far exceed their cooking ability.

Westchester Mall was a rinky dink mall and wanted to expand along the time CB&L pitched OH to the city council. For what ever reason the city declined zoning approval to Westchester and approved zoning for OH even though the land was a watershed for Oak Hollow Lake. Once the anchors at Weschester signed on to CB&L Westchester Mall didn't stand a chance. After several years of standing vacant a local mega-tax-avoiding church purchased the former mall and what you saw is the end result.

[SunnyKayak]

Wow, you need to enter next informative poster contest.

Thanks for the history of OH. and tip when not to visit Liberty.

[WFW&P]

Originally Posted by SunnyKayak

Wow, you need to enter next informative poster contest.

Thanks for the history of OH. and tip when not to visit Liberty.

I grew up in and around High Point so I have a reasonable knowledge of the city. Oddly enough the failure of OH mall was one of the deciding factors for us to move to Greensboro.
Don't get me started on the furniture market or downtown.

[emelvee]

We've only been in the Triad since last summer, but made our first visit to Oak Hollow Mall a couple of weeks ago. The movie we wanted to see at the Palladium was sold out, but was playing at OH. I figured it couldn't possibly sell out at OH, and I was right. It was odd walking through a nearly vacant mall. I experienced the same thing in Greenville NC before one of their two indoor malls was demolished - that mall had perhaps 10% occupancy near its end; don't know what OH is. I figure HPU will just let the current leases expire, then will tear down the mall. Maybe they'll use the property for student housing? I'm pretty sure they haven't divulged their plans for the property - perhaps they don't even know what they'll use it for. But as HPU is poised for significant growth, I can see them needing the space.

[WFW&P]

Originally Posted by emelvee

We've only been in the Triad since last summer, but made our first visit to Oak Hollow Mall a couple of weeks ago. The movie we wanted to see at the Palladium was sold out, but was playing at OH. I figured it couldn't possibly sell out at OH, and I was right. It was odd walking through a nearly vacant mall. I experienced the same thing in Greenville NC before one of their two indoor malls was demolished - that mall had perhaps 10% occupancy near its end; don't know what OH is. I figure HPU will just let the current leases expire, then will tear down the mall. Maybe they'll use the property for student housing? I'm pretty sure they haven't divulged their plans for the property - perhaps they don't even know what they'll use it for. But as HPU is poised for significant growth, I can see them needing the space.

As of yet HPU hasn't revealed plans for the mall, but I not sure the details of the sale either. When the mall went on the market there was a $45 million asking price, that price was ultimately reduced to $15 million but didn't include Sears or Dillards as they own their stores. I'm not sure about the out parcels either. Bottom line I don't know what HPU really bought.

[WFW&P]

Some details:
High Point Enterprise - HPU BUYS MALL Oak Hollow site goes for 9 million (http://www.hpe.com/view/full_story/11634181/article-HPU-BUYS-MALL--Oak-Hollow-site-goes-for--9-million - broken link)