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Huntington Mall has remained mostly full by actually replacing many anchors with just as good if not better stores. The old Elder Beerman location was replaced by Home Goods and Tj Maxx. When Phar Mor closed in 2002 it was replaced by Dicks Sporting Goods. When the theatre closed they replaced it with another theatre Cinemark and Buffalo Wild Wings moved in taking the place of a cafeteria. When Border Books closed they replaced it with Books A Million. They have been very proactive unlike the Town Center mall and many other malls in America. They reinvented themselves and they also have a strong retail and restaurant presence on the outside of the mall making it a regional powerhouse. You have Walmart, Kohl's, Best Buy, Lowes, Hobby Lobby, and Michaels just to name some stores, and probably 15 restaurants to chose from. There are also probably 4 to 5 hotels located there. It is still and will remain the premier shopping area for 150 to 200 miles in any direction and it can probably hold its own with cities 10 times its size shopping choices. You also have just one exit away from Merritt Creek Farm shopping center with Target, Marshall's, Petco, and Home Depot, and the new Tanyard shopping center with Menards. Any real company could have kept the town center relevant it's just always been easier for companies to go in and make millions and then leave malls and shopping centers to rot and die. The city should have been more proactive in making sure it stayed relevant. Without the mall, the civic center and surrounding hotels and restaurants will eventually die also. Hopefully, this company can do something but I wouldn't hold my breath in a dying City that they can attract anything.
I see more people that I know from Charleston at the Huntington Mall then I do when I go to the CTC. It's been like that for about a decade.
CTC is likely doomed despite any efforts to revive. The loss of coal jobs and chemical jobs along with population loss just doesn't give Charleston the same base it had when the mall opened or even say 15 years ago. The jobs are not coming back. The people have died, moved out of state or to Putnam Co and they are not coming back.
Plus there's always been a segment of the population that just refuses to pay for parking which is silly in my opinion. Not so silly are the safety concerns though. I myself have witnessed multiple incidents at the CTC. We used to go there for dinner in the evenings once or so a week. Stopped that about 5 years ago.
So unless they have some kind of knock it out of the ballpark plan then it will just be a managed decline until ultimate closure.
I'm from rural, outlying Kanawha County and I really miss the opportunity to shop at good stores in Charleston. We really have no alternatives available, and it sucks to see the Mall decline so much.
Well, I looked at the Hull Group's portfolio of malls. For the most part, they are in worse shape then the CTC currently is. I feel like this company does not have what it takes to revive a stressed mall, let alone one in a shrinking city, in an urban environment, with a drug and homeless problem, and which doesn't even control its own parking situation. I'm not very optimistic based off of what I'm seeing.
On a positive note, Belk seems to be a mainstay in their malls. It would be a great compliment to JCP to get a Belk, but its ultimately wishful thinking at this point. I could see a Belk locate at Park Place in South Charleston before the CTC.
Well, I looked at the Hull Group's portfolio of malls. For the most part, they are in worse shape then the CTC currently is. I feel like this company does not have what it takes to revive a stressed mall, let alone one in a shrinking city, in an urban environment, with a drug and homeless problem, and which doesn't even control its own parking situation. I'm not very optimistic based off of what I'm seeing.
On a positive note, Belk seems to be a mainstay in their malls. It would be a great compliment to JCP to get a Belk, but its ultimately wishful thinking at this point. I could see a Belk locate at Park Place in South Charleston before the CTC.
Given Interstate Realty's disappointment with Tanyard Station, not to mention their Merritts Creek Shopping Plaza has been lackluster since it's opening, I wouldn't get too optimistic about Park Place just yet.
They are in charge of Westridge in Morgantown with delay after delay and payment issues to contractors. I know some people involved have already dropped out so who knows. They have at least started the buildings where Ross, Burlington, Petsmart, Home Goods, and Shoe Carnival will go. Unfortunately, there seems to be little other news coming out and I haven't heard of any more office jobs coming or any more additions. Bass and the previous stores mentioned should be open by the end of the year but I doubt anything else happens this year. This company seems to have issues and if Park Place does happen I would imagine it's at least two more years. Nothing at Westridge to correct the future traffic problems seems to be being addressed either. Charleston can only hope something good comes of the town center mall or the downtown area will only deteriorate at an even faster rate. The company that just bought the mall seems even worse than the ones in charge of Tanyard, Westridge, and Park Place. Has there been any headway on the four-lane road leading into Park Place or is it dead in the water also? Tanyard is ending up with more storage than anything which is sad.
There isn't any need to build a road to Park Place. The land sits on MacCorkle Avenue (which is US-60) across from Riverwalk Mall. The 4 lane road may need upgraded traffic lights, but the road needs will be inside the property.
I don't know what I think will happen with Town Center.
They are in charge of Westridge in Morgantown with delay after delay and payment issues to contractors. I know some people involved have already dropped out so who knows. They have at least started the buildings where Ross, Burlington, Petsmart, Home Goods, and Shoe Carnival will go. Unfortunately, there seems to be little other news coming out and I haven't heard of any more office jobs coming or any more additions. Bass and the previous stores mentioned should be open by the end of the year but I doubt anything else happens this year. This company seems to have issues and if Park Place does happen I would imagine it's at least two more years. Nothing at Westridge to correct the future traffic problems seems to be being addressed either. Charleston can only hope something good comes of the town center mall or the downtown area will only deteriorate at an even faster rate. The company that just bought the mall seems even worse than the ones in charge of Tanyard, Westridge, and Park Place. Has there been any headway on the four-lane road leading into Park Place or is it dead in the water also? Tanyard is ending up with more storage than anything which is sad.
Are you referring to the Jefferson Rd. project? It will expand the road from 2-5 lanes with a new bridge over the railroad tracks and a traffic circle interchange with Kanawha Turnpike. The dirt from that project is supposedly going to help with the infill at Park Place. Other then a few houses being demolished, there’s been no progress on that. However, Park Place has brought in dirt of there own and has already filled in a bunch of the land.
The thing with Park Place is, we won’t know anything for a while because they have no intention to start construction on anything for a couple years. If 3 years pass by and nothing has changed, then you can access that it was a bust.
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