For other malls with this name, see Southpark Mall.

SouthPark Mall

Location	Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
Opening date	February 12, 1970
Developer	Belk, Ivey's
Management	Simon Property Group
Owner	Simon Property Group
Architect	Suratt
No. of stores and services	177
No. of anchor tenants	6
Total retail floor area	1,750,000 square feet (162,580 m2)[citation needed] (GLA)
No. of floors	1 (Belk and Dillards have 4 floors; Dick's, Macy's, Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom have 2)
Parking	7,600 spaces
Website	SouthPark.com

SouthPark Mall, located in Charlotte, opened on February 12, 1970 with three department stores and about one million square feet. As of 2007, it is the largest shopping mall in the Carolinas. with over 1.7 million square feet.^{[citation needed]} Located about five miles (8 km) south of Uptown, in its namesake neighborhood at the corner of Sharon and Fairview Roads.

History

The area was considered the outskirts of Charlotte at the time it opened; people were skeptical about a big shopping mall in the middle of pastureland. The mall was developed by the Belk and Ivey families, owners of the eponymous department stores, who jointly owned and operated the mall. The design of the shopping mall was starkly modernist, with an underground parking deck. The inspiration for the mall's original architecture reportedly was Dallas' NorthPark Center. After the flagship Belk and Ivey's stores, Sears was the third anchor store to join the mall. A strip mall opened behind Sears in June of 1970 with a Colonial Stores grocery store (later a Big Star food market, then acquired by Harris Teeter in the 1980s) and the SouthPark Cinemas I & II.

Eventually, the mall faced competition with the two-story Eastland Mall built about 6 miles (10 km) 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 Thalhimer's 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 available anchor tenant spot, along with another wing of stores & boutiques. Neiman Marcus opened in late 2006. Also, three new parking decks have been added. The expansion began in 2000 and was completed in the summer of 2007. In December 2007, a section of one of the new parking decks collapsed, killing one person.

SouthPark Mall today

Within the last couple years, SouthPark has undergone extensive renovation. The mall has a new Dick's Sporting Goods at the former location of Sears, which closed in 2003 due to underperformance,^[1] and an outparcel Crate & Barrel. On the grounds of the mall, where a former strip mall was located, an outdoor stage called Symphony Park has been built. Here, during the summer months, the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra stages its annual "Pops in the Park" free concert series.

2007 parking deck collapse

On 6 December, 2007 at approximately 12:15 PM EST a portion of the Nordstrom/Neiman Marcus parking deck collapsed, killing one person. ^[2] It has been reported the collapse was caused by a car colliding with a retaining wall on the deck's third and highest level. Eyewitness accounts state the elderly woman, who passed away, may have suffered a heart attack which triggered the accident. Two cars were destroyed by the collapsed section of concrete, no one was in either of the cars.

This is the second American parking structure to collapse in a fortnight leading people to question the structural integrity of the buildings. ^[3]

Anchors

These are the mall's anchors:^[4]

• Belk (345,000 sq ft (32,052 m²))
• Dick's Sporting Goods (79,000 sq ft (7,300 m²))
• Dillard's (250,000 sq ft (23,226 m²))
• Macy's (188,000 sq ft (17,500 m²)., formerly Thalhimer's, later Hecht's)
• Neiman Marcus (80,000 sq ft (7,000 m²))
• Nordstrom (144,000 sq ft (13,400 m²))

Luxury Stores

• Billy Reid
• Burberry
• Cole Haan
• Hermès
• Louis Vuitton
• Perry's at Southpark
• Ralph Lauren
• St. John
• Tiffany & Co.

Midscale Stores

• Ann Taylor
• Anthropologie
• Apple
• Bag 'N' Baggage
• Bebe
• BCBG Max Azria
• Brooks Brothers
• Coach
• Design Within Reach
• J. Crew
• Juicy Couture
• Kate Spade
• Kenneth Cole
• Lacoste
• Sephora
• Tumi

Restaurants

• Bronte Bistro
• California Pizza Kitchen
• The Cheesecake Factory
• The Counter Grape & Wine Bar
• M5 Restaurant
• Maggiano's Little Italy
• McCormick & Schmick's
• Morton's Steakhouse

References

External links

• SouthPark Mall