Genesee Valley Center

Genesee Valley Center is an enclosed shopping mall located in Flint Township, Michigan, outside the city of Flint, Michigan, United States. Opened in 1970, the mall is 1,272,397 square feet (118,209.5 m2) of leasable area. The mall has three anchor tenants: JCPenney, Macy's, and Play Big. It comprises more than 120 tenants, including a food court, and an external concourse called the Outdoor Village which also features a Barnes & Noble bookstore. The mall is located on Miller Road and Linden Road, near the junction of Interstate 69 (I-69) and I-75.

Genesee Valley Center
Center court of Genesee Valley Center.
LocationFlint Township, Michigan, United States
Coordinates42.9808°N 83.7689°W / 42.9808; -83.7689
Opening date1970
DeveloperShopping Centers, Inc.
ManagementNamdar Realty Group
OwnerNamdar Realty Group
No. of stores and servicesapprox. 60+[1]
No. of anchor tenants4 (3 open, 1 vacant)
Total retail floor area1,272,397 square feet (118,209.5 m2)[2]
No. of floors1 plus mezzanine (2 in anchors)
Public transit accessBus interchange MTA
Websitegeneseemall.com

History
Outdoor section

Genesee Valley Center was developed in 1970 by Shopping Centers, Inc. of Southfield, Michigan,[3] a retail division of Detroit, Michigan-based Hudson's department stores.[4] It was built as a one-level, enclosed shopping mall, consisting of a straight-line concourse with an anchor store at either end. Sears, the northern anchor, was the first store to open, doing so in May 1970. Hudson's followed two months later, with this location being the chain's largest store outside of Detroit.[5] These two stores served as the northern and southern anchor stores to the mall, respectively. On August 8, 1970, Genesee Valley Center opened to the public.[5] At the time, it comprised fifty-six tenants, including a Hamady Brothers supermarket and Cunningham Drug.[5] By September, a Woolworth dime store had opened next to Sears.[5]

In 1979, an eastern wing anchored by JCPenney was added to the mall. A mezzanine level with a food court was added in 1987. The Cunningham Drug Store was demolished for a wing featuring a Mervyns in 1993, Montgomery Ward was also added. These additions brought the mall to 1,300,000 square feet (120,000 m2) of gross leasable area, making it the largest mall in Michigan to be located north of Detroit.[6] Woolworth was briefly downsized to a cosmetics-oriented prototype called Woolworth Express before closing entirely.[7] In 2001, Montgomery Ward had closed the last of its store nationwide. The same year, Hudson's was renamed Marshall Field's, which itself became Macy's when the parent company of Marshall Field's was acquired.

Mid-2000s onward

The former Montgomery Ward location was demolished in 2005 for a new section called the Outdoor Village.[8] Opened in early 2006, this addition features additional mall tenants in an outdoor setting.[9] Anchoring the Outdoor Village is a Barnes & Noble bookstore, the opening of which resulted in the closure of a B. Dalton bookstore within the mall itself.[10]

Mervyns also closed its Michigan operations in early 2006. A year later, their space at the mall was replaced with Burlington Coat Factory (now known as Burlington), which relocated from an existing store nearby.[11] Steve & Barry's was added in the former Woolworth space. It closed in early 2009 when the chain declared bankruptcy, and became a clothing store called Wear District in October.[12] Wear District later closed and became Shoe Dept. Encore. In 2012, the mall was sold to by Jones Lang LaSalle to Spinoso Group.[13]

Since 2002, the mall has had a branch of Genesee District Library in it. The branch was first opened as an experiment. It was first slated for closure in October 2013, but the library board instead decided to keep it open until at least 2014.[14] Also in 2013, several storefronts were remodeled throughout the mall, including Bath & Body Works, Kay Jewelers, Justice, and Victoria's Secret.[15] Lane Bryant, an original tenant, moved to a new space in the mall in 2014 which had been vacated by a Ruby Tuesday.[16] A Planet Fitness opened in the Burlington Coat Factory wing in early 2015. A H&M opened in the JCPenney wing in November 2017.

Burlington relocated to a nearby strip mall on May 11, 2018.[17] Sears closed on September 2, 2018, which leaves JCPenney and Macy's as the only anchors left.[18] On December 15, 2018, Play Big, an indoor playground consisting of mostly inflatable bounce houses and arcade games, opened in the former Burlington store.[19]

In 2019, Forever 21 moved from its existing location near JCPenney to a larger location near Macy's, but it closed later that year.[20]

In December 2019 The mall was sold to Namdar Realty Group, which in turn made drastic cuts to the malls operational staff. Allied Universal’s mall security contract was terminated effective December 31, 2019, and Namdar Group opted to use In House Security personnel as well as in house housekeeping.

References
  1. "Directory". Genesee Valley Center. Archived from the original on 2 August 2019. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  2. "Genesee Valley Center fact sheet". Genesee Valley Center. Archived from the original on 2013-10-29. Retrieved 2008-06-10.
  3. "Flint". CSA Super Markets. Lebhar-Friedman. 44: 68. 1968.
  4. "shopping+centers+inc"+"genesee+valley" "Shopping Centers Inc". Chain Store Age. 1971. p. E3. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  5. Sanders, Rhonda. "Journal of the 20th Century: Trip through just-opened Genesee Valley reveals a brand-new world of shopping". The Flint Journal. Archived from the original on 2012-03-21. Retrieved 2007-12-17.
  6. "MOODY'S ASSIGNS INITIAL A2 RATING TO G.O.L.T. BONDS OF CHARTER TOWNSHIP OF FLINT BUILDING AUTHORITY". Moody's. 2002-08-05. Retrieved 2009-10-16.
  7. "Woolworth to expand formats: Express and Rx Place". Chain Drug Review. 1989-07-17. Archived from the original on 2012-11-05. Retrieved 2008-10-22.
  8. Joe, Lawlor (2005-02-23). "Barnes & Noble expected to anchor Genesee Valley addition". The Flint Journal.
  9. Fishman, Susan H. (October 2006). "Bigger, Better Shopping: Genesee Valley Center remains dominant in the marketplace with a multimillion-dollar renovation and expansion". Shopping Center Business. Archived from the original on 2008-12-04. Retrieved 2007-12-17.
  10. "Barnes & Noble Signs Lease for Flint, Michigan, Store; Store Will Open in March 2006". Business Wire. 2005-03-09. Retrieved 2007-12-17.
  11. Jones, Dawn (2007-08-13). "Burlington Coat Factory opens new location". ABC 12 News. Archived from the original on 2011-05-21. Retrieved 2007-12-17.
  12. Burden, Melissa (2009-10-02). "New Genesee Valley shopping center retailer Wear District hosting hiring sessions". The Flint Journal. Retrieved 2009-10-16.
  13. Byron, Shaun (8 November 2012). "Genesee Valley Center gets new owners, property management firm". Mlive.com. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  14. DeFever, Dana (21 October 2013). "Genesee District Library to keep Genesee Valley Center branch open for another year". Mlive.com. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  15. Fonger, Ron (1 September 2013). "Five Genesee Valley storefronts get new looks after remodeling". Mlive.com. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  16. "Genesee Valley Center celebrates opening of new Lane Bryant location". ABC 12. 25 April 2014. Archived from the original on 26 August 2014. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
  17. "Grand opening set for new Burlington store in Flint Township". 27 April 2018.
  18. "Four Sears in Michigan included in company's latest round of closures". June 2018.
  19. "Grand Opening at Play Big in the Genesee Valley Mall". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  20. Team, ABC12 News. "Dressbarn, Forever 21 stores closing in Mid-Michigan". www.abc12.com. Retrieved 2020-02-11.
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