The Orchards Mall

Meyer C. Weiner Company first proposed a mall called Pipestone Mall in Benton Harbor in 1974. By March 1976, Hudson's had been rumored as a potential anchor store.[4] Westcor acquired the land in August of the same year.[5] The mall was part of a development along Pipestone Road near Interstate 94 which also comprised a strip mall anchored by a Kmart. By 1977, Sears and J. C. Penney had been confirmed as anchors, with negotiations underway for Carson Pirie Scott as the third anchor.[6]

Orchards Mall was built in 1979 by Westcor. Opening for business in 1979, it featured J. C. Penney and Sears. Major tenants included Walgreens and York Steak House.[7] Elder-Beerman was added in 1992 as the mall's third anchor store.[8] Walgreens moved out of the Orchards in the mid-1990s, with its store space remaining vacant until Jo-Ann Fabrics replaced it in the late-mid 2000s.[9][10]

Meijer opened outside the mall on June 24, 1980.[11] In November 1994, Lowe's Home Improvement opened in the area.[12]

General Growth Properties became the mall's management in 1999. A year later, several new stores were added, including Bath & Body Works, while the Casual Corner and Finish Line, Inc. stores were remodeled. Benton Township approved a $111,000 tax cut to help attract new businesses.[13] General Growth sold the Orchards to Sequoia Investments in 2002, at which point four more businesses opened, including a Subway and a Chinese eatery in the food court.[14] KB Toys, an original tenant, closed in 2004.[15] Ponderosa, which closed in 1997, became an Italian eatery in 2007.[16] The same year, the Subway became a local restaurant.[17]

Sears closed its store at the Orchards on September 18, 2009 and remained vacant since.[18] Overflow Church purchased the building in 2012 and intended to move into it. [19] Elder-Beerman was converted to a Carson's in 2011.[20] Sears returned to the mall in 2012 with its Sears Hometown format, a smaller-scale Sears store which sells major appliances and household hardware, in a spot vacated by an FYE music store. At the same time, the former Sears Auto Center on a mall outparcel was reopened as a local auto repair shop.[21]

In 2014 the Orchards was put up for sale;[22] Kohan Retail Investment Group purchased it on December 9.[23]

Sears Hometown closed in July 2017. On January 31, 2018, The Bon-Ton announced that Carson's would be part of a plan to close 42 stores nationwide. The store was closed in April 2018.[24] In June 2018, the water supply to the Orchards was cut off. The owner, Kohan Retail Investment Group had outstanding water bills. The mall was closed for a day because the occupancy to the mall had been revoked, although JCPenney remained open. The Orchards reopened the following day.[25] It was sold to Durga LLC, on November 30, 2018 and management was taken over by Bedi & Associates LLC in June 2020.[1][26]

On March 4, 2019, it was announced that JCPenney would also be closing as part of its planned closure of 27 stores nationwide. The JCPenney closed on July 5, 2019.[27] In this same period, Rainbow Shops, one of the last three national tenants in the Orchards closed too. In August of 2020, Bath & Body Works moved out of the mall. They never reopened in the mall space since COVID-19, and instead relocated to The Fairplain Plaza.[28] In November 2021, Jo-Ann Fabrics announced it would be closing and relocating to the space next to the nearby Ollie's Bargain Outlet that once held Ridge & Kramer Auto Parts and Big Lots. The store opened in late July 2022.[29]

As of December 2022, three businesses remaining at the mall, two of which are the last remaining stores, are a mattress store, Doctor ZZZZ'Z; a discount furniture store, Open Box Outlet, which occupies the former Jo-Ann Fabrics space; and a US Postal Service branch. Many storefronts in the mall have been vacant for 10+ years as of December 2022. [30][31]

In late December 2022, a burst water main caused significant damage in the mall. The mall reopened a week later. [30][31]

As tenants have vacated the mall, gulls have become a nuisance.[32][33] In spite of this and other deterioration, as of 2023 there are no plans to demolish the building;[34] an April 2023 meeting between the owner and local officials indicated redevelopment plans.[35]

• The Orchards Mall