Chesterfield Towne Center - Busy but boring mall.

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Chesterfield Towne Center - Thriving but …
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APOLOGIES: Mall is presently owned by Brookfield Properties. In my newspaper research this information did not appear to me and on Wikipedia in their detailed history which I was using newspapers to backup or detail. I saw management Brookfield Properties later in their sidebar but jumped over they were also owner. Newspapers don't show an article in Richmond of this change. My apologies for not catching this when video was compiled for upload. Brookfield Properties website shows it as one of their properties. I will strive to do better.
Chesterfield Towne Center opened August 28, 1975 as Chesterfield Mall. The mall developer was Southeastern Associates, which had developed malls in Danville and South Boston. The only anchor store at opening was a 100,000 sf Miller & Rhodes Store and they were spending a ton of money advertising all this store would offer the Public from all the newspaper ads I came across researching. It did have after all 80 departments. Costing $10 Million, the owners were stressing the natural look in its architecture and high quality merchandising.
The Natural look meant brick pavement in the main corridors instead of standard Terrazzo floors for example.
In it's initial years, traffic was slugglish. This lead to the nickname "Chesterfield Morgue."
In 1987 the mall went through an extensive renovation and was renamed Chesterfield Towne Center. The grand opening featured balloons, clowns, high-tech lasers and "Modeling mannequins" who moved robotically to the beat of Herb Alpert's "Diamonds are a Girls' best friend." This was to play into the new name and their diamond and palm tree theme.
The mall was transformed to something open and airy with palm and ficus trees, pyramid-shaped skylights and pastel hues. The expansion was a departure from the earth-toned Chesterfield Mall and the owners hoped this 100 Million dollar renovation would attract upscale, fashion-conscious shoppers from the affluent Midlothian and Bon Air Areas. They also invisioned this as a transistion from a floundering shopping center to the region's largest mall when additional phases were completed.
June 23, 2020 - Fight broke out in the food court between two men. One pulled a gun and opended fire. The wounded man was sent to hospital and later died.
#mall #busy #boring

Опубликовано:

10 сен 2024

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Комментарии : 51

@DyingRetail Год назад

My apologies. Current mall owner is a Brookfield Properties. Didn’t see in my newspaper research. More info in description. Sorry about that.

@petervicheth4929 Год назад

I live like 5 minutes away from the mall haven't been there since I was a teenager now I'm a dad I can't believe how much it changed your awesome thanks for reviewing the mall brings back old memories

@DyingRetail Год назад

Hi Peter! Thanks for visiting the channel and it’s good to hear you were able to recall some good memories of this mall!!!

@petervicheth4929 Год назад

@@DyingRetail I also remember the old Clover leaf mall back in the day as well things have changed so much now miss the good old days

@DyingRetail Год назад

@petervicheth4929 I went there once in the 90’s.

@petervicheth4929 Год назад

@@DyingRetail I miss the 90's that's when everything during that time was more live than it is now to be honest

@DyingRetail Год назад

@petervicheth4929 The world didn’t seem as nuts as it is now

@MatthewLavan Год назад

This mall is like 15 minutes away from me 😆 I grew up going there and still occasionally go! Love how it’s still doing well, but I do prefer Short Pump. Fun fact, there used to be a fountain towards the Sears in that open space across At Home, and another one towards the Macy’s near H&M; wish they still have them! ⛲️ Red Robin used to be a Taco Bell, but the Taco Bell was just a regular food stand like the current Chick-fil-A and other current food tenants.

@DyingRetail Год назад

Would have been nice to seen fountains. It’s a busy mall. Just the architectural elements looked bland but that’s a lot of places anymore.

@DyingRetail Месяц назад

@fiatfan83 Got to be careful of that mystery meat :)

@melbrown6019 Год назад

I used to live by this mall 2008-2015 and I have many good memories. It was always thriving. My mom and sister still live in the area. There’s a mall by me now in North Charleston called The Northwoods Mall that is doing really well.

@DyingRetail Год назад

I was not expecting this mall to be as lively as it was. I thought for sure violence might have scared people away. Apparently, except for that fight/murder it’s mostly quiet crime wise.

@scottuncfan Год назад

My hometown mall Great mall

@DyingRetail Год назад

I’m glad to hear you enjoyed the video.

@HenhousetheRed 11 месяцев назад

When I was a kid in the 90s we'd go to this mall all the time. It was always packed. We'd get cinnamon rolls from the irresistible smell of Cinnabun right outside the food court. Spencer's was a staple when I was a teenager (used to be near the Sears). It's probably kept alive by its distance to Short Pump, the deaths of competitor malls, and the developments of the Midlothian area.

@DyingRetail 11 месяцев назад

Location definitely seems to be on this malls side. That’s for sure.

@bigalexg 10 месяцев назад

The entry area through the food court is the only exciting and welcoming part of this mall but I love it. Wide open, massive skylights for amazing natural light, the palm tree motif, it feels like you are outdoors . . the (now gone) movie multiplex, tons of seating from end to end, lot of good eateries. . this was a GREAT hangout zone. lived and worked nearby in early 90's and loved this place. Ate lunch there several times a week - sweet memories. This mall had some good computer software stores back in the day (Babbages, software etc.) , adding a cutting edge feel to it. Decades have passed and I still go here from time to time just for nostalgia.

@DyingRetail 10 месяцев назад

That’s the busiest food court that I’ve seen in a long time.

@DyingRetail Месяц назад

@fiatfan83 It’s like the owners only care about getting the rent check. Unfortunately a lot of malls just look for sanitized and sterile.

@bigalexg Месяц назад

@fiatfan83 Nice. No doubt we crossed paths many times. I used to hang at Software Etc. a bit. Still remember the poster for the Neo Geo I think it was. My kid was crazy for The Early Learning Center. Kids had to be dragged away literally kicking and screaming they loved that place so much.

@DyingRetail Месяц назад

@bigalexg never know :)

@bigalexg Месяц назад

@fiatfan83 I own a boxed copy of Legends! Good chance I bought it from you, LOL. What a game! My first trip down the Nordshleife I think. Like ice in those old cars.Those were the days . . .Sbarro pizza, movies, free refills at Taco Bell, those giant cookies, cinnabuns, do you remember when Sbarro had an attached dining room? That goes way back. I was at that mall when it opened, or re-opened (it was some other mall before) this must have been around 88\89 I guess, just guessing.

@Done832 11 месяцев назад

There are a lot of reasons these malls are failing. Crime of course is one reason. It's everywhere. People don't dress like they used to either. I mean how many pairs of sweatpants and jeans can one person own? Anything seems to go. Different shoes aren't needed. Most people wear tennis shoes. Even jewelry has simplified. Less is more. After all these malls fail and become places to exercise, that will play out too. They will do it at first and then people will figure out how many places can you go to exercise? That mall used to have a restaurant I liked in it called Spinnakers many years ago. I would go to the mall and enjoy taking a break to eat. I don't want to eat fast food everywhere I go. I think these malls are also very dull looking. Malls used to be bright and attractive with seasonal decorations. They actually worked hard on the decorations to get you in the mood to spend money. The music was studied to make you want to shop. None of that anymore. And as far as home decor, nobody wants that anymore either with the minimalist movement. I think they are all doomed. A new "place" will come to be and it will last until the next new place comes along. It's sad to me as a person who used to love to shop and have a day at the mall.

@DyingRetail 11 месяцев назад

All are valid points. Main issue is over building of malls in the 90’s. I think we will still see malls just not as many.

@DyingRetail Месяц назад

@fiatfan83 Lol! True. Mall life in the 80s/90s was awesome. I miss it.

@nole8923 Год назад

I don’t know the demographics of where the mall is, but it’s likely in a great spot close to where people actually live and is easy to get to with hassle free parking. These days it’s less about aesthetics and more about reducing stress. It can be boring and do well if it’s got what people want and is easy to get to. Malls that are failing are usually in traffic congested areas right off a busy interstate exit and overpass. Gwinnett Place mall in Georgia is a prime example of that. People don’t want to drive long distances or deal with bad traffic just to go to a mall that’s pretty. A nice simple mall like this if it’s close to where people live that’s easy to get to and has what people are interested in buying will succeed.

@DyingRetail Год назад

It appears demographics are very good. Usually I have observed when a mall has a violent incident, you see traffic suffer but not in this case.

@hattree Год назад

These people don't really have many place to go, and they can't really keep going down the road like they did in Henrico.

@DyingRetail Год назад

True. When I called it a boring mall it’s the design elements. Mall operators today don’t seem to want to do some fun things on the interior to make the malls interesting. That’s why I call it boring.

@yttrailerparknews Год назад

Why would we be disappointed that it’s not a dead mall. It’s actually a good sign and it makes me feel good. Please Not everything has to be gloom and doom. It’s nice to see something going well. That’s kind of sad that that’s a statement the channel owner felt you needed to say?

@DyingRetail Год назад

Some folks love to only see the abandoned and empty properties. Others such as yourself like it all :) I appreciate the kind words. It is nice to see properties that appear to be fighting the trend we are seeing. Hope you enjoyed the video.

@yttrailerparknews Год назад

@@DyingRetail I did. Thank you for doing it. But with everything going on in the world today, it really is nice to have something good like that. It’s good to see. There are still places that are doing all right.

@DyingRetail Год назад

I’m working on Military Circle malls final video next. Unfortunately, this will be sad. It’s being prepped for Demolition but… there will be other malls coming and I’m sure it’s going to be a mixture of struggling and those beating expectations.

@yttrailerparknews Год назад

@@DyingRetail yeah that is a sad when I remember hearing about that mall. I grew up in Elizabeth city North Carolina so I’m kind of familiar with it

@DyingRetail Год назад

It’s sad seeing this one go. Was the second mall in the area.

@eddstarr2185 Год назад

Mall developers are either playing a game or outright lying. Developers, financiers, local governments, and community representatives.; all are putting a "smiley face" on economic projections even when similar mall projects in neighboring cities have already failed under similar business projections. No one would ever describe me as, "Affluent & Upscale", and it makes me wonder if the people these malls are built for ever really shop in-person at a mall.

@DyingRetail Год назад

In the area of this mall they were going after shoppers of nearby affluent areas. A lot of things with this location is the location. It’s easy to get to, etc. the two new malls built in 2003 that was competing was more upscale, Nordstrom, Saks, etc. one of almost dead. A lot of their issue was location. It was out of the way.

@eddstarr2185 Год назад

@@DyingRetail Maybe what I'm missing is any understanding of retail statistics. How many people in a mall versus how many sales are the stores capturing? These huge retail complexes are throwbacks to an era as old as I am. Affluent people today have options that affect the whole economy.

@DyingRetail Год назад

True. Unfortunately sales numbers, etc. isn’t information that’s publicly available.

@tjsogmc Год назад

Modern stores are just bland. No color, no patterns, no decorations. Just milk toast bland corporate cookie cutter nightmares. I miss the days of color and fountains and general decor.

@DyingRetail Год назад

Agreed.