Grand Central Mall

Grand Central Mall is a 908,238-square-foot (84,378.1 m2) regional shopping mall in Vienna, West Virginia, near the larger city of Parkersburg. The mall opened in 1972 and is the only enclosed mall within thirty-five miles of its region. It features more than ninety tenants, including a food court, and eight anchor stores: Belk Outlet, JCPenney, Dunham's Sports, PetSmart, TJ Maxx, HomeGoods, Ross Dress For Less, and a Regal movie theater, with one vacant anchor previously occupied by Elder-Beerman. The mall is owned by Washington Prime Group.

Grand Central Mall
Grand Central Mall entrance, July 2013
LocationVienna, West Virginia, United States
Coordinates39°18′4″N 81°33′9″W
Opening date1972 (1972)
DeveloperEugene Lebowitz[1]
OwnerWashington Prime Group
No. of stores and services90
No. of anchor tenants9 (8 open, 1 vacant)
Total retail floor area908,238 square feet (84,378.1 m2)
No. of floors1
Websitegrandcentralmall.com

History

Grand Central Mall opened in 1972 as the only enclosed mall within the Mid-Ohio Valley region.[2] At the time, the mall included The Diamond (a branch of the Associated Dry Goods chain), JCPenney, Sears, and a G.C. Murphy dime store among its anchors. The Diamond closed in 1983 and was later converted to Stone & Thomas, which in turn became Elder-Beerman after the Stone & Thomas chain was acquired in 1998. Phar-Mor, a discount pharmacy chain, was later added to the mall.

Glimcher Realty Trust acquired the mall in 1993.[2] Three years later, the company invested in an $8 million expansion, which brought a food court and a new movie theater.[2] Phase 2 of the expansion comprised a Proffitt's (now Belk) anchor store, which was also added to Glimcher's Morgantown Mall in Morgantown, West Virginia the same year. These two stores were the first Proffitt's stores in West Virginia.[3] Phar-Mor closed in 2002 and eventually became Steve & Barry's.

Steve & Barry's, a former anchor store, closed in September 2008.[4] The space is now occupied by Dunham's Sports.

In November 2002, Toys R Us, Olive Garden, Long John Silver’s and Outback Steakhouse opened outside the mall. In 2016, Long John Silver’s was replaced with Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen. In 2019, Toys R Us was replaced with Big Lots. On March 1, 2022, Ruby Tuesday was replaced with Longhorn Steakhouse.

On November 28, 2017, it was announced that Elder-Beerman would be closing on January 31, 2018.[5] A 20,000 square foot portion of the store will be converted to the first H&M store in West Virginia.[6]

On September 18, 2018, Sears announced that its store would be closing as part of a plan to close 12 stores nationwide. The store closed in December 2018.[7]

On March 11, 2021, two of the four new tenants to be built on the former Sears property, TJ Maxx and HomeGoods, opened their doors.[8] The third tenant, PetSmart, opened on March 27, 2021. The final new tenant, Ross Dress for Less, opened on July 16, 2021.

On June 17, 2023, Belk downgraded its full-line store into an outlet store.[9]

References
  1. Gehrke, Donna (1995-06-11). "Eugene Lebowitz, Turnberry Isle Developer". The Miami Herald. Retrieved 2008-10-06.
  2. "Major expansion and renovation planned for Glimcher's Grand Central Mall, Parkersburg/Vienna, West Virginia; $8 million to be invested in Phase 1". Business Wire. 1995-05-03. Retrieved 2008-10-06.
  3. "Proffitt's to anchor Glimcher Realty Trust's West Virginia malls; new anchor stores are continuation of redevelopment projects that total $25 million". Business Wire. 1996-01-12. Retrieved 2008-10-06.
  4. "Steve & Barry's at Huntington Mall starts liquidation sale today". The Herald-Dispatch. 2008-09-19. Retrieved 2008-10-06.
  5. "Elder-Beerman store in Vienna closing in January".
  6. "H&M moving in at Grand Central Mall location".
  7. "Sears closing Grand Central Mall store".
  8. "Mall event celebrating spring is March 20".
  9. "Belk at Grand Central Mall rebrands as Belk Outlet". News and Sentinel. June 17, 2023. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
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