Standing in the children's apparel section, Dillard’s employee Angela Whaly reminisces about the changes she’s seen at Wilmington’s Independence Mall.
While it’s not as busy as it once was, she said, it’s still the spot to be. The mall is more than a shopping destination. It’s a place of history and community, said Whaly, who also worked at Belk for more than 30 years.
“We should never underestimate the mall,” Whaly said. “I think we always need to have a mall, a place where you can go inside and see the shops and I don’t think they should ever do away with it.”
The future of Independence Mall seemed uncertain in 2018 when one of the anchor stores – Sears – closed. Reports of traditional malls dying surfaced across the country. Today, however, as Independence Mall nears its 45th anniversary, an influx of new stores and restaurants has breathed new life into the shopping center.
“If you like history and you like change, you’re going to find it at the mall,” Whaly said.
Timeline:Notable events in the life of Wilmington's Independence Mall
The beginning
The mall opened on Aug. 1, 1979, across the street from competitor Hanover Center, a shopping center located on Oleander Drive. The shopping center ran an ad in the Wilmington Morning Star congratulating the mall on its opening, but the shopping center wanted to make sure the mall didn’t steal all the attention.
On the same day, Hanover Center opened a Roses department store and hosted celebrity guest Stella Parton, the sister of Dolly Parton.
When it opened, the mall had three major department stores: JCPenney, Belk and Sears. Belk and JCPenney remain in their original locations.
A local department store, Fleishman’s, was one of the original stores in the mall. The clothier outfitted Wilmington residents for decades. The store, which also had locations in downtown Wilmington and Hanover Center, was started by Milton Fleishman. His son Neal Fleishman went on to run the Independence Mall location from the time it opened to 2016 when it closed.
MyReporter.com answers:What is the history of Independence Mall?
New ownership brings redevelopment
In 2017, Rouse Properties, which is now part of Brookfield Properties, purchased Independence Mall for $45 million and started redevelopment into a more modern open-air shopping center.
This redevelopment included the addition of multiple new restaurants that are attached to the mall’s parking lot. These restaurants include Aye! Toro, First Watch, Jersey Mike’s, Masa Sushi and Eastern Kitchen, Dave’s Hot Chicken, Lush Nails, Wells Fargo and Walk On’s, which recently closed after nearly three years of business.
Brookfield Properties manages and develops real estate globally with over 900 properties and over 340 million square feet managed globally.
In North Carolina, Brookfield Properties Retail owns Greenville Mall in Greenville, Carolina Place Mall in Pineville, and the AvidXchange Music Factory in Charlotte. Independence Mall was previously owned by the Westfield Group.
The loss of Sears
As the redevelopment was taking shape, however, Sears closed in 2018. The space had many different uses before it became what it is now. The wing was home to Life Community Church for a bit.
And in the wake of Hurricane Florence, the space became a base camp for first responders after the storm. Gov. Roy Cooper also came to speak at Independence Mall to thank first responders during a visit after the hurricane.
Now, the former Sears wing has made way for Dick’s Sporting Goods, Lidl, Spectrum, F45 Training, Lenscrafters and Five Below. Whaly said this has been the most notable change she’s seen in her years working at the mall.
While other malls throughout the state and the country have been let go and have been described as “dinosaurs,” Whaly said the mall does a good job trying to keep visitors engaged with community events.
Some of those include blood drives and an emphasis on holidays such as Santa coming for Christmas, which has been a long-standing tradition. Whaly said that this year Dillard’s also had a Father’s Day celebration with a DJ.
A place for life and work
For Whaly, who remembers coming to the mall with her parents and now sees her children bringing their children, one thing remains constant – the sense of community she feels with her co-workers.
Victoria Adamkus, who works at Dillard’s as a Christian Dior representative and licensed esthetician, agreed, saying that her favorite things about working at the mall are the people she meets and how each day is different.
“Each customer for us is just like a very, very important person,” Adamkus said, noting that making sure customers have an unforgettable experience is important to her and her coworkers.
She also said she enjoys her work environment and working with management at Dillard’s.
One important aspect of the mall, according to Whaly, is how easy it is to gather there. During the pandemic, a lot of people were stuck indoors at either their first place, which is someone’s home or their second place, work.
Third places, a term introduced by an American sociologist Ray Oldenburg, include malls, coffee shops, beer gardens, churches, libraries and other places where people can gather to build community and increase their quality of life.
Whaly said the mall feels inviting and has plenty of room.
“Those people that maybe don’t have homes that are big enough or yards that are big enough, bring ‘em all to the mall and celebrate,” Whaly said.
Shopping trends
It’s no secret that it has become easier to shop for what you want with a few taps on a screen or clicks of a button, but recent data has shown that people are choosing indoor malls over outlet malls and going head-to-head with open-air shopping centers like Wilmington’s Mayfaire Town Center.
According to Placer.ai Mall Index’s foot traffic report for 2023, open-air shopping centers finished with a 3% overall year-over-year increase in visits compared to 2.9% or indoor malls. Outlet mall foot traffic has dipped down into the negatives.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Retail Sales as a Percent of Total Sales, the percent of E-Commerce retail sales peaked in 2020 with a percentage of 16.4. The percentage has since dipped down to 14.2% in 2022 and is back up to 15.9% for the first quarter of 2024.
What's coming?
As of the end of June, Brookfield Properties listed three short-term spaces available for rent on the company’s website. Those spaces are as small as 418 square feet to as large as 4,729 square feet and anywhere from $1,200 a month to $3,000 a month.
Most Popular
Comments / 0