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Map
This Mall
Carolina
Place Mall is located in Pineville, North Carolina, a suburb of Charlotte.
The 2-story mall encompasses 1.1 million square feet (102,000 m²). This
mall was planned over 30 years before it opened, as the original location
of SouthPark Mall. The Belk and Ivey's families bought the land, but decided
it was too far away from town. Ivey's eventually sold all the land to Belk
after SouthPark was built, and in the mid 1980s the planning of Carolina Place,
as it is known today, began.
The mall opened in 1991 with four anchor stores, Belk, Dillard's (Ivey's had just been bought out by Dillard's), J.C. Penney and Sears. At the time, Belk closed their 75+ year-old store in uptown Charlotte and JC Penney closed their 35-year-old store at Park Road Shopping Center. There were two more anchor pads available, one for Rich's and the other for Miller & Rhoads. However, neither of these stores joined the mall. In 1993, Hecht's (now Macy's) opened its doors as the 5th anchor store to the mall, making Carolina Place Mall the only mall in the region with 5 department store anchors.
Today it is a super-regional center. Its proximity to South Carolina draws many shoppers from that state. The mall is managed by General Growth Properties. Barnes & Noble, REI, and Harper's Restaurant are expected to join the mall on its sixth anchor pad in an outdoor portion slated to open in August 2006. In 2006, Hecht's was replaced by Macy's.
It is North Carolina's largest tourist attraction, attracting over 15 million visitors a year. The mall is located about a mile from Lowe's Motor Speedway.
Currently anchoring the mall are original stores Belk, Dillard's (which took over Ivey's in 1991), Sears, Burlington Coat Factory (which fills the top floor of the former JC Penney store), plus Fred's and Prime Time (which take the lower level of the old JC Penney). It has been rumored that Belk and Dillard's will close their stores at Eastland Mall when the Bridges at Mint Hill mall opens in 2007. Currently, Dillard's has downgraded its store to a clearance outlet, and has closed off its lower level. If Eastland closes, it is unlikely that the Charlotte-Eastland Sears will reopen in a new location. It is more likely that Sears will sell the land for real estate profit.
The mall is currently in the midst of an east Charlotte revitalization project, however the Belk department store is slated to close by mid-February, 2007 and Dillard's is expected to follow suit.
Eastland also houses a movie theater which shows 'G' and 'PG' rated films, and some films in Spanish as well. There was originally a larger General Cinemas there, which showed current new release movies. That theater closed in 1996. However, one day after the announcement of Belk's departure, Eastland Mall officials announced the original movie theater showing first-run films will reopen.
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In early 2006, Borders Books and Music joined the mall, and the second Z Gallerie in North Carolina opened at the mall on June 1, 2006. LiveWell! Carolinas, run by Carolinas Medical Center-University opened recently as well.
Eventually, the mall faced competition with the two-story Eastland Mall built about 6 miles northeast. Eastland contained Sears, Belk and Ivey's stores-- however it also included a 4th department store, JC Penney, and an ice skating rink. Over the years SouthPark became more upscale as the mall's interior and department stores were renovated, however they were more 'upgrades' than massive renovations.
In 1986, a major expansion was announced. The plans called for bringing department stores Thalhimer's and May Company's Lord & Taylor to the mall, in addition to a new food court. The food court and Thalhimers department store joined the mall in a new wing; however the addition of Lord & Taylor never materialized, although it was rumored for years that they'd take the Sears space. The new wing opened in 1988. In 1990, Dillard's bought out, and subsequently renamed, Ivey's department stores, and in 1992 Thalhimers was converted to Hecht's as a result of May Company's buyout. After this, Belk, Dillard's, Hecht's and Sears were the mall's 'anchor' stores.
In the 1990s, SouthPark standbys such as Woolworth's and Morrison's Cafeteria left, and many changes resulted from the new competition of Carolina Place Mall, located several miles to the south, in Pineville. The strip mall's Cinemas 3 closed after the new Phillips Place Cinemas opened, and the Harris Teeter moved to Morrocroft Shopping Center across Sharon Road. It was then announced that Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom would join the mall in its biggest expansion yet. Soon after, the Belk and Ivey families sold their interests in the property to Rodamco, who then sold the mall to Simon Property Group. Saks pulled out of the project, but Nordstrom opened their doors in 2004. In late 2005, Simon Property Group announced that Neiman Marcus would be the tenant in the final availible anchor tenant spot, along with another wing of boutiques. The ultra-luxury department store opened in late 2006. Two new parking decks have been added, and a third is slated for opening in 2006. The expansion began in 2000 and is scheduled to finish at the end of 2006.
