Midtown Square Mall

Midtown Square Mall was a shopping center in Charlotte, North Carolina, originally opened as Charlottetown Mall on October 28, 1959. Developed by The Rouse Company on approximately 10 acres at the southeastern edge of Charlotte’s center-city area, it became one of the earliest enclosed shopping malls in the American Southeast. The center is commonly described as the first enclosed shopping mall in the region, although Atlanta’s Lenox Square had opened two months earlier as an open-air complex before later enclosure. The original mall contained about 234,000 square feet of retail space and was designed primarily as a one-story center, with a distinctive two-level central section. This central mall included an auditorium, an S&W Cafeteria, a fountain, bird cages, and tropical plantings, giving the complex a more theatrical and social interior than a purely utilitarian retail corridor. Its principal department-store anchor was Bon Marché, an Asheville-based North Carolina retailer unrelated to the Seattle department-store company of the same name. Other notable tenants included Colonial Stores, Rose’s, Eckerd Drug, and Milton’s, an upscale clothing store with an Ivy League-oriented merchandising identity. The mall also developed a recognizable visual identity. Its crown emblem appeared on public trash containers and on door handles throughout the entrances and exits. Charlotte advertising executive Dorr M. Depew created the logo and provided graphic and promotional support for the opening. Depew also wrote and produced radio advertising that used Edwin Franko Goldman’s march “On The Mall” as background music, linking the center’s marketing directly to the idea of the shopping mall as a civic and recreational destination. The property began to lose competitive strength as newer and larger Charlotte shopping centers opened. Bon Marché closed by 1964 and was replaced by Ivey’s. SouthPark Mall, which opened in 1970, and Eastland Mall, which opened in 1975, attracted shoppers and tenants away from the older, smaller center. The original department-store space was subsequently converted to an Ivey’s outlet and later occupied by Burlington Coat Factory. Colonial Stores was later rebranded as Big Star Markets and then became a Harris Teeter location before closing in 1988. In the 1980s, the property underwent a major repositioning and was converted into an outlet center under the name Outlet Square, although some conventional retail stores remained. A second renovation in 1989 produced another rebranding, this time as Midtown Square, and added two parking garages. These interventions did not reverse the center’s decline. The mall and its cinemas eventually closed, becoming an example of a substantially underperforming or “dead” mall. The former mall and cinema buildings were demolished in 2006. Their sites were redeveloped as part of a mixed-use project containing retail, condominiums, offices, and restaurants. The retail component included approximately 198,000 square feet of additional space, a two-story anchor building with a Home Depot Design Center on the first floor and Target on the second floor, and other commercial uses. The redevelopment was undertaken through a joint venture involving Charlotte-based Pappas Properties and Collette Associates and Birmingham-based Colonial Properties Trust. It opened in early 2008. Consequently, Midtown Square Mall survives primarily as a historical predecessor to a later urban mixed-use development rather than as an operating shopping center.

Midtown Square Mall began as Charlottetown Mall, a retail development created by The Rouse Company in Charlotte, North Carolina. It opened on October 28, 1959, on a roughly 10-acre parcel southeast of the city’s central area. The project formed part of the early generation of enclosed American shopping centers and is regarded as the first enclosed shopping mall in the Southeast. Lenox Square in Atlanta had opened earlier in 1959, but it was initially an open-air center, making the Charlotte project an important milestone in the region’s transition toward fully enclosed retail environments. The center provided approximately 234,000 square feet of retail space. Most of the building was one story, but its central mall area rose to a second level and contained an auditorium and an S&W Cafeteria. Interior landscaping and attractions, including a fountain, bird cages, and tropical foliage, made the common area an experience-oriented destination rather than simply a passage between stores. The principal anchor was Bon Marché, an Asheville-based North Carolina department store with no corporate connection to the Seattle retailer of the same name. The tenant mix also included Colonial Stores, Rose’s, Eckerd Drug, and Milton’s. Charlottetown Mall had a carefully developed identity for its period. Dorr M. Depew, who operated the Charlotte advertising firm Depew Advertising, designed a crown logo used on trash containers and entrance and exit door handles. He also produced radio commercials for the center, using Edwin Franko Goldman’s well-known march “On The Mall” as musical accompaniment. These details reflected the mall’s original positioning as a civic shopping destination with a memorable physical and promotional character. The property’s competitive position weakened after Bon Marché closed by 1964 and was replaced by Ivey’s. Larger and newer Charlotte-area malls subsequently changed the local retail map. SouthPark Mall opened in 1970, followed by Eastland Mall in 1975, and both drew shoppers and tenants from the older center. The supermarket space also changed operators: Colonial Stores became Big Star Markets and later Harris Teeter, which closed its location in 1988. Ivey’s eventually converted its store to an outlet before leaving the property; the former department-store premises were later occupied by Burlington Coat Factory. During the 1980s, the owners attempted to adapt the property to changing retail conditions by renovating it as an outlet center. The new name, Outlet Square, signaled a shift away from the traditional department-store mall model, though several conventional retailers remained. In 1989, another renovation and rebranding created Midtown Square. Two parking garages were added as part of that work. Neither transformation generated a durable recovery, and the center continued to deteriorate as a retail destination. The mall and its associated cinemas ultimately closed permanently. Demolition took place in 2006. The former mall and cinema parcels were then incorporated into a mixed-use redevelopment rather than rebuilt as another enclosed shopping mall. The replacement project included condominiums, offices, restaurants, and a retail component with approximately 198,000 square feet of additional space. A two-story anchor building placed a Home Depot Design Center on the first floor and Target on the second. The project was developed through a joint venture involving Pappas Properties and Collette Associates of Charlotte and Colonial Properties Trust of Birmingham, and opened in early 2008. Midtown Square Mall is therefore historically significant both as an early enclosed shopping center and as an example of a declining mall site being converted to mixed-use urban development.

1. 2008Mixed-use redevelopment opens

   The former mall site reopens as part of a project combining retail, residential, office, and restaurant uses.

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2. 2006Mall and cinemas are demolished

   The closed mall and cinema buildings are bulldozed to make way for redevelopment.

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3. 1989Midtown Square renovation and rebranding

   The property is renovated again, renamed Midtown Square, and supplemented with two parking garages.

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4. 1988Harris Teeter location closes

   The supermarket space, previously associated with Colonial Stores and Big Star Markets, closes under the Harris Teeter name.

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5. 1980The property is converted to Outlet Square

   A renovation repositions Charlottetown Mall as an outlet center while preserving some traditional retail uses.

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6. 1975Eastland Mall opens

   A second newer Charlotte mall further increases competition for shoppers and tenants.

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7. 1970SouthPark Mall opens

   The opening of SouthPark adds a major competing Charlotte shopping center and contributes to the older mall’s long-term competitive pressure.

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8. 1964Bon Marché closes and Ivey’s takes over

   The original department-store anchor leaves and is replaced by Ivey’s.

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9. 1959Charlottetown Mall opens

   The Rouse Company opens the approximately 234,000-square-foot enclosed shopping center on October 28 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

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A centrally located, community-oriented enclosed shopping mall that initially combined department-store retail, grocery, pharmacy, apparel, dining, and interior recreational features. In later years it was repositioned as an outlet center and then as a smaller mixed retail property, but could not maintain competitiveness against newer Charlotte malls.

• Department-store retailRetail format1959

  The mall’s department-store offer was anchored first by Bon Marché and later by Ivey’s. These stores supplied broad general merchandise and apparel and provided the center with its principal destination retail function. Ivey’s later experimented with an outlet format before closing, illustrating the property’s shift from conventional department-store shopping toward discount-oriented repositioning.

• Supermarket retailGrocery1959

  Colonial Stores operated as the mall’s supermarket tenant and was later converted to Big Star Markets and then Harris Teeter. The grocery component gave the center a practical, recurring-shopping role in addition to its department-store and specialty-retail functions, but the Harris Teeter operation had closed by 1988.

• Specialty and discount retailSpecialty retail1959

  Rose’s, Eckerd Drug, Milton’s, and later Burlington Coat Factory represented the mall’s mix of five-and-dime, pharmacy, upscale apparel, and discount/outlet merchandise. Together these tenants broadened the property beyond its anchor stores and reflected the center’s changing retail profile over several decades.

• S&W CafeteriaFood service1959

  S&W Cafeteria occupied part of the central mall’s second-level area. Its presence complemented the auditorium, fountain, bird cages, and tropical foliage, reinforcing the original center’s emphasis on dining and social experience as part of a shopping visit.

• 1959Charlottetown Mall opening campaign

  Charlotte, North Carolina

  Opening promotion used a crown logo created by Dorr M. Depew and radio advertisements produced by his Charlotte advertising firm. The radio spots used Edwin Franko Goldman’s march “On The Mall” as their musical background.

  Outcome. The campaign established a distinctive identity for the new shopping center, although no quantitative performance outcome is reported in the available source.

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• 2006Demolition and conversion to mixed-use developmentStrategy

  After years of low activity and the closure of the mall and cinemas, continued operation as an enclosed shopping center was no longer viable.

  What changed. The buildings were demolished and the site was assembled into a mixed-use redevelopment containing retail, condominiums, offices, and restaurants.

  Aftermath. The replacement project opened in early 2008 with a retail component including a Home Depot Design Center and Target.

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• 1989Renovation and rebranding as Midtown SquareStrategy

  The Outlet Square format had not reversed the property’s decline.

  What changed. A second renovation changed the name to Midtown Square and added two parking garages.

  Aftermath. The improvements did not resuscitate the rapidly declining mall, which ultimately closed and was demolished.

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• 1980Repositioning as an outlet centerStrategy

  The older mall faced increasing competition from newer Charlotte shopping centers and declining conventional department-store traffic.

  What changed. The property was renovated and renamed Outlet Square, while retaining several traditional retailers.

  Aftermath. The outlet strategy did not restore the center’s long-term vitality, and the property was later rebranded again as Midtown Square.

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• 2008Mixed-use replacement project opens

  A redevelopment combining retail, residential, office, and restaurant uses opened on the former mall and cinema sites.

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• 2006Former mall site is demolished for mixed-use redevelopment

  The mall and its cinemas were demolished after years of decline, clearing the site for a later mixed-use project.

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• 1989Outlet Square becomes Midtown Square

  A second renovation introduced the Midtown Square name and added two parking garages, but did not restore the center’s long-term competitiveness.

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• 1980Charlottetown Mall is repositioned as Outlet Square

  The property was renovated and converted into an outlet center, while retaining some conventional retail tenants.

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• 1964Bon Marché is replaced by Ivey’s

  Bon Marché closed its mall location and was replaced by Ivey’s, changing the center’s principal department-store tenancy.

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• 1959Charlottetown Mall opens in Charlotte

  The Rouse Company’s new enclosed shopping center opened on October 28, 1959, introducing a major suburban-style retail format to Charlotte’s center-city edge.

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1. Midtown Square Mall (North Carolina)