Gainesville Mall

Gainesville Mall was the first enclosed shopping mall in Gainesville, Florida. It stood at the northwest corner of NW 13th Street, also designated U.S. Route 441, and NW 23rd Avenue. The mall operated from the fall of 1968 until its permanent closure in 1993. The project was significant not only as a retail property but also as a force in the geographic reorganization of Gainesville commerce. Its opening helped establish the NW 13th Street corridor as a major shopping district. Over time, that corridor drew retail activity away from downtown Gainesville and became an important commercial center for the city and surrounding area. At opening, the mall had two principal department-store anchors. Sears occupied the south side of the complex, while Tampa-based Maas Brothers anchored the north side. These stores provided the mall with the large-format retail draw typical of regional shopping centers of the period, while smaller tenants served everyday apparel, merchandise, and service needs. No complete tenant list or detailed store-by-store operating record is identified in the available reference material. The mall's competitive position changed after The Oaks Mall, a larger enclosed shopping center, opened elsewhere in Gainesville in 1977 near Interstate 75. Sears moved from Gainesville Mall to The Oaks Mall in 1983, leaving Maas Brothers as the property's only anchor. That relocation weakened Gainesville Mall's position within the local retail market and contributed to a longer period of decline. A further change occurred in 1991, when Maas Brothers was combined with Burdines by their common parent company. Although Burdines already operated a store at The Oaks Mall, the company kept the Gainesville Mall location for several more years. The former Maas Brothers store was officially rebranded as Burdines on October 20, 1991. Gainesville Mall ultimately closed permanently in 1993. The property was initially replaced by a Kmart store. Kmart was later demolished in 2004, and a Lowe's store opened on the site in 2006. The Lowe's remained at the location according to the available reference material. Thus, the former mall site continued to serve a retail function even after the enclosed shopping center itself disappeared.

Gainesville Mall opened in the fall of 1968 as Gainesville, Florida's first enclosed shopping mall. Its location at the northwest corner of NW 13th Street, or U.S. Route 441, and NW 23rd Avenue placed it along a route that would become central to the city's commercial development. The mall opened with two department-store anchors: Sears on the south side and Maas Brothers, a Tampa-based department-store chain, on the north side. The center's importance extended beyond its tenant mix. By concentrating department stores and smaller retail businesses along NW 13th Street, Gainesville Mall helped create a new retail corridor. The growth of this corridor contributed to the gradual movement of commercial activity away from downtown Gainesville, changing the city's retail geography. The mall faced a major competitive development in 1977, when The Oaks Mall opened near Interstate 75. The Oaks was larger and eventually became the stronger regional shopping destination. Sears responded by relocating its Gainesville store from Gainesville Mall to The Oaks Mall in 1983. The move left Maas Brothers as Gainesville Mall's only remaining anchor department store and reduced the property's ability to compete as a full-scale regional mall. The remaining anchor also changed corporate identity. In 1991, Maas Brothers was merged with Burdines by the parent company that controlled both chains. Burdines already had a store at The Oaks Mall, but the company continued operating the Gainesville Mall location temporarily. On October 20, 1991, the Maas Brothers store was formally rebranded as Burdines. Despite retaining a department-store anchor for a period after the rebranding, Gainesville Mall continued to decline and closed permanently in 1993. The closure ended approximately twenty-five years of operation. The enclosed mall was initially replaced by a Kmart store. Kmart was demolished in 2004, and the site was redeveloped for a Lowe's store, which opened in 2006 and was still present according to the available source material. Gainesville Mall is therefore best understood as a defunct local shopping-center brand and an important stage in Gainesville's retail history. It introduced enclosed-mall retail to the city, helped establish the NW 13th Street commercial corridor, and later illustrates how competition from a larger interstate-adjacent mall could undermine an older center. The available sources do not identify the mall's developer, ownership history, detailed tenant roster, management executives, or financial performance.

• 2006

  Lowe's opens on the site

  [1]Gainesville Mallen.wikipedia.org

  A Lowe's store opens on the former Gainesville Mall site.

• 2004

  Kmart replacement is demolished

  [1]Gainesville Mallen.wikipedia.org

  The Kmart store that initially replaced the mall is demolished.

• 1993

  Mall closes permanently

  [1]Gainesville Mallen.wikipedia.org

  Gainesville Mall shuts permanently after years of decline.

• 1991

  Maas Brothers becomes Burdines

  [1]Gainesville Mallen.wikipedia.org

  Following the merger of Maas Brothers and Burdines under a common parent company, the Gainesville Mall department store is officially rebranded as Burdines on October 20.

• 1983

  Sears relocates

  [1]Gainesville Mallen.wikipedia.org

  Sears moves its Gainesville store from Gainesville Mall to The Oaks Mall, leaving Maas Brothers as the sole anchor at Gainesville Mall.

• 1977

  The Oaks Mall opens

  [1]Gainesville Mallen.wikipedia.org

  The larger Oaks Mall opens near Interstate 75, creating a significant new competitor in Gainesville's enclosed-shopping-center market.

• 1968

  Mall opens

  [1]Gainesville Mallen.wikipedia.org

  Gainesville Mall opens in the fall as Gainesville's first enclosed shopping mall, with Sears and Maas Brothers as its two anchor stores.

A pioneering local enclosed shopping center that helped shift Gainesville's retail activity from downtown toward the NW 13th Street corridor before losing market position to the larger Oaks Mall.

• Shopping mall · 1968

  Enclosed shopping-center retail

  Gainesville Mall's core offering was an enclosed retail environment combining department-store anchors with smaller shops and customer services. As Gainesville's first enclosed mall, it provided a concentrated destination for apparel, household merchandise, personal goods, and related shopping services.

• Department-store anchor · 1968

  Sears

  Sears served as the mall's south-side anchor from its opening in 1968. Its department-store format supplied a broad range of consumer merchandise and was a major traffic generator until the store relocated to The Oaks Mall in 1983.

• Department-store anchor · 1968

  Maas Brothers

  Tampa-based Maas Brothers occupied the north side of Gainesville Mall and was one of the property's two original anchors. It became the mall's only anchor after Sears departed in 1983 and remained under the Maas Brothers name until its 1991 conversion to Burdines.

• Department-store anchor · 1991

  Burdines

  The former Maas Brothers store was rebranded as Burdines on October 20, 1991, following the corporate merger of the two department-store chains. Burdines retained the location for a period before the mall closed in 1993.

• 1993

  Permanent closureOther

  Background

  Competition from the larger Oaks Mall and the loss of the Sears anchor contributed to years of decline.

  Action taken

  Gainesville Mall ceased operations permanently.

  Aftermath

  The site was initially redeveloped for a Kmart store and later converted to a Lowe's location after Kmart was demolished.

  Source

• 1991

  Maas Brothers store is rebranded as BurdinesStrategy

  Background

  Maas Brothers was merged with Burdines by their common parent company, while Burdines already operated another Gainesville store at The Oaks Mall.

  Action taken

  The Gainesville Mall Maas Brothers location was formally converted to the Burdines name on October 20, 1991.

  Aftermath

  The store continued operating for a limited period, but Gainesville Mall closed permanently in 1993 after a prolonged decline.

  Source

• 1983

  Sears relocates to The Oaks MallStrategy

  Background

  The opening of the larger Oaks Mall in 1977 changed Gainesville's competitive retail landscape and provided Sears with another location near Interstate 75.

  Action taken

  Sears moved its Gainesville department store from Gainesville Mall to The Oaks Mall.

  Aftermath

  Gainesville Mall lost one of its two original anchors and was left with Maas Brothers as its only anchor, intensifying the property's competitive difficulties.

  Source

1. 1Gainesville Mallen.wikipedia.org