North Shore Square

North Shore Square was an enclosed shopping mall in Slidell, Louisiana, United States. Located on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain, it was described as the largest mall in that part of the lake region, the fifth-largest mall in the New Orleans metropolitan area, and the eleventh-largest in Louisiana. The property contained approximately 621,192 square feet of retail space and was organized around three principal anchor locations, supported by a conventional enclosed mall interior, a food court, and an arcade. The center's anchor history reflected the changing structure of American department-store retail. Its two Dillard's locations originated from earlier department-store operations: one had previously been a D. H. Holmes store, while the other had originally been a Maison Blanche location that opened in 1990. The mall also had Mervyn's as an anchor, but that retailer left Louisiana shortly after Hurricane Katrina. The vacant space was subsequently occupied by Burlington Coat Factory, then by Conn's after Burlington closed as part of corporate downsizing. Sears operated another major store at the property until June 2014, when its space was later taken by At Home. JCPenney remained an anchor until closing on July 31, 2017. North Shore Square avoided flooding and did not suffer serious physical damage during Hurricane Katrina, but the storm period did not prevent longer-term commercial deterioration. The mall faced pressure from the growth of internet-based shopping and competition from an open-air shopping center elsewhere in Slidell. The competing center attracted some retailers away from North Shore Square, contributing to vacancies and weakening the enclosed mall's tenant mix. Its food court, which at its peak included as many as ten food outlets, ultimately lost all of those listed operators, including Chick-fil-A, Dante's Pizza, Mandarin Express, Mrs. Fields Cookies, Arby's, Subway, Auntie Anne's, Corn Dog 7, a NOLA wings franchise, and a Fiesta Mexican café. The property also contained the Pocket Change arcade. Ownership changed in November 2006 when Toronto-based Revenue Properties Company Limited, a division of Morguard Corporation, acquired Sizeler Property Investors, the New Orleans-based owner of the mall. Under Morguard's ownership, the property continued to operate as a conventional enclosed mall for several years, but anchor departures and tenant losses reduced its viability. In early April 2019, Morguard announced that the mall's interior would close and that the property was intended for conversion into an open-air shopping center. The interior closure took place by July 2019. At that point, At Home, Conn's, and a Dillard's location operating as a clearance center were identified as the remaining open stores on the property. Extra Space Storage later occupied one of the former Dillard's spaces. The site also gained a later role in popular culture. In 2022, the former mall was used for a car-chase sequence in Peacock's live-action post-apocalyptic comedy series Twisted Metal, based on the video-game franchise. For the production, the mall was renamed RidgePointe Centre, matching a fictional mall associated with the Suburbs map in Twisted Metal: Black. Conn's HomePlus subsequently closed its location in 2024 in connection with the bankruptcy of Conn's, removing another major occupant from the property. North Shore Square is therefore best understood as a former enclosed regional mall whose retail identity declined through anchor closures, tenant migration, e-commerce competition, and redevelopment-oriented repositioning.

North Shore Square was a regional enclosed shopping mall in Slidell, Louisiana, on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain. With about 621,192 square feet of space, it was characterized as the largest mall on the lake's north shore, the fifth-largest in the New Orleans area, and the eleventh-largest in Louisiana. Its tenant structure was typical of a traditional American mall, combining department-store anchors with smaller interior retailers, a food court, and an arcade. The property had three principal anchor locations associated with Dillard's, At Home, and Conn's during its later period. The Dillard's stores represented earlier generations of department-store retail: one had previously operated as D. H. Holmes, and another had originally opened as Maison Blanche in 1990. Mervyn's was also formerly an anchor, but withdrew from Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina. Its former space was occupied by Burlington Coat Factory and later by Conn's after Burlington closed during corporate downsizing. Sears closed its North Shore Square store in June 2014, with At Home eventually taking over the location. JCPenney, another major anchor, closed on July 31, 2017. Hurricane Katrina did not flood the mall and did not cause serious damage to the structure, but the center nevertheless experienced sustained commercial pressure. Internet shopping reduced demand for traditional mall retail, while a competing open-air shopping center on the opposite side of Slidell attracted some of North Shore Square's tenants. The decline was visible in the interior's food-and-entertainment offerings. The food court had once accommodated as many as ten outlets, including national chains, regional concepts, and local-style food operators. The Pocket Change arcade was another former attraction. These uses eventually disappeared as the mall's tenant base contracted. Ownership changed in November 2006 when Revenue Properties Company Limited, based in Toronto and operating as a division of Morguard Corporation, acquired Sizeler Property Investors, North Shore Square's New Orleans-based owner. The ownership transition placed the mall within Morguard's broader property portfolio. Continued anchor departures and tenant losses, however, made the enclosed format increasingly difficult to sustain. In early April 2019, Morguard announced plans to close the mall's interior and convert the property into an open-air shopping center. The interior had closed by July of that year. At the time, At Home, Conn's, and a Dillard's clearance center were identified as the remaining open retail operations. Extra Space Storage later occupied one former Dillard's location, illustrating the property's shift from a conventional regional mall toward a more mixed commercial configuration. The former mall received renewed attention in 2022 when it served as a filming location for Peacock's live-action comedy series Twisted Metal. In the production it was renamed RidgePointe Centre, a fictional shopping mall connected to the Suburbs setting in Twisted Metal: Black. Conn's HomePlus later closed its store at the property in 2024 after the retailer entered bankruptcy. The available record does not establish a new unified operating identity for the entire site after these changes, so North Shore Square is treated as a defunct enclosed-mall brand rather than an active conventional shopping center.

• 2024

  Conn's HomePlus closes

  [1]North Shore Squareen.wikipedia.org

  The Conn's HomePlus store closed in 2024 following Conn's bankruptcy.

• 2022

  Property appears in Twisted Metal

  [1]North Shore Squareen.wikipedia.org

  The former mall was used as a filming location and renamed RidgePointe Centre for a car-chase sequence in Twisted Metal.

• 2019

  Enclosed mall interior closes

  [1]North Shore Squareen.wikipedia.org

  The interior closed by July 2019 after Morguard announced plans to convert the property into an open-air shopping center.

• 2017

  JCPenney closes

  [1]North Shore Squareen.wikipedia.org

  JCPenney ended its operation at the mall on July 31, 2017.

• 2014

  Sears closes

  [1]North Shore Squareen.wikipedia.org

  The Sears anchor location closed in June 2014 and was later replaced by At Home.

• 2006

  Ownership changes to Morguard-related ownership

  [1]North Shore Squareen.wikipedia.org

  Revenue Properties Company Limited, a Morguard division, acquired Sizeler Property Investors in November 2006, bringing the mall under Morguard-related ownership.

• 1990

  Maison Blanche anchor opens

  [1]North Shore Squareen.wikipedia.org

  One of the mall's later Dillard's anchor locations originally opened as a Maison Blanche store.

A regional enclosed shopping mall serving Slidell and communities on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain; later repositioned as a partially open-air commercial property after the enclosed mall interior closed.

• Shopping center

  Enclosed regional shopping mall

  North Shore Square's principal offering was a traditional enclosed shopping-mall environment serving Slidell and the wider north shore of Lake Pontchartrain. It combined department-store anchors with smaller interior tenants, customer circulation areas, dining, and entertainment. The format later became commercially weaker as shoppers moved toward online purchasing and open-air retail centers.

• Food service

  Food court

  The mall formerly operated a food court that reached approximately ten outlets at its peak. Listed operators included Chick-fil-A, Dante's Pizza, Mandarin Express, Mrs. Fields Cookies, Arby's, Subway, Auntie Anne's, Corn Dog 7, a NOLA wings franchise, and a Fiesta Mexican café. These food-court businesses had closed by the mall's later decline.

• Arcade entertainment

  Pocket Change

  Pocket Change was an arcade located inside North Shore Square. It represented the entertainment component that traditionally complemented the mall's retail and food offerings, but it was no longer operating during the property's later period.

• 2022Twisted Metal filming

  United States

  The former mall was used as a location for Peacock's live-action Twisted Metal series. Production renamed the property RidgePointe Centre and used it for a car-chase sequence.

  Outcome. The filming gave the former mall a prominent fictional and pop-culture identity after its enclosed retail operations had ended.

  Source

• 2019

  Convert the enclosed mall into an open-air centerStrategy

  Background

  The property had lost anchors and interior tenants amid online-shopping growth and competition from an open-air shopping center elsewhere in Slidell.

  Action taken

  Morguard announced the closure of the mall interior and a plan to reposition the property as an open-air shopping center. The interior had closed by July 2019.

  Aftermath

  At Home, Conn's, and a Dillard's clearance center remained among the identified open stores, while later uses included Extra Space Storage in a former anchor location.

  Source

1. 1North Shore Squareen.wikipedia.org