Euclid Square Mall - History

History

Euclid Square Mall was developed by Jacobs, Visconi & Jacobs; it opened in March 1977 on the site of a former Chase Brass & Copper Co. tubing mill. Originally, the mall comprised more than ninety-two inline tenants, with May Co. and Higbee's as its anchor stores. Higbee's was acquired by Dillard's in 1992, and May Co. was consolidated into another division of the parent company, Kaufmann's, a year later.

In 1997, expansion plans were announced for a new Kaufmann's to open at Richmond Town Square, another nearby mall. These plans caused rumors that the Kaufmann's at Euclid Square would close, and by 1998, the Kaufmann's at Euclid Square was closed. By late 1997, Zamias Enterprises of Pennsylvania acquired Euclid Square Mall from its then-owners, Metropolitan Life Insurance.

Under Zamias' ownership, several redevelopment plans were considered for the mall, including the possibility of converting it to a power centre. Occupancy at the mall began to drop before the mall was sold by Zamias. The Dillard's store was converted to a Dillard's Outlet; by 2002, the store's upper level was closed off.

In early 2004, a collection of outlet vendors known as Outlets USA moved into the former Kaufmann's space. Outlets USA was shuttered in 2006, as the mall's owner thought that the outlet vendors were not "a good blend of merchants and tenants".

A proposal was made in late 2006 to include the largely vacant mall property as part of a reconstruction of an abandoned industrial park located nearby. Dillard's Outlet is one of the only tenants left as of 2011. The fate of Euclid Square Mall is an iconic example of what happens when a region over-saturates its retail components.

As of 2011 the building houses 16 churches.

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