Mall History
Built by Buddy Tudor's family-owned construction company from Pineville, Alexandria Mall opened in 1973 with J.C. Penney, Sears, Beall-Ladymon (a chain based in Shreveport, Louisiana), and local department stores Weiss & Goldring, Green's and Wellan's. At the time, the mall also featured a two screened Cinema called Cinema I & II and was run by General Cinema Corporation.
An expansion, completed in 1986, added the department stores Dillard's and Mervyn's, and several additional stores and a food court. Clothing store Stein Mart and Sam Goody later opened in the Wellan's space. In honor of the mall's expansion, local pizza chefs cooked a 650-pound pizza.
Beall-Ladymon was acquired and renamed by Stage Stores in 1994. In 2004, the mall was sold to J. Herzog Properties of Denver, Colorado, then to General Growth Properties. As part of GGP's bankruptcy proceedings, the mall was sold to Jones Lang Lasalle.
Stein Mart closed on April 30, 2006, followed soon by the closure of Mervyn's. In March 2007, Burlington Coat Factory opened in the former Mervyn's location, while Weiss & Goldring relocated outside the mall. Bed Bath & Beyond opened in 2008 in the previous location of Weiss & Goldring. The previous Stein Mart location now houses a children's play place called Slinky's.
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