JCPenney will close 7 stores in Michigan (138 nationwide)

[DCPatriot]

The anchor stores can serve as walk-in health care clinics and doctor and medical services/practices.

The stores can become drug stores, vitamin stores, wheel chairs, crutches, health spas, condominiums for seniors.....

[bigheadfred]

The anchor stores can serve as walk-in health care clinics and doctor and medical services/practices.

The stores can become drug stores, vitamin stores, wheel chairs, crutches, health spas, condominiums for seniors.....

I thought they called those "hospitals"?

[Silver Pines]

There's still a JC Penny at Westwood mall in Jackson but I haven't been in there in at least 20 years. Montgomery Ward was the other Anchor store there but they've been replaced by WalMart. The mall itself has faded considerably.

On the other end of town what was a strip mall called Paka Plaza has grown into Jackson Crossing mall and is huge. Its got Target, Kohl's, Sears, Best buy, Toys R Us, Bed Bath & Beyond etc. Lots of other stuff there as well. The army recruiting office is right next to my Dentist.

@Cripplecreek

We had a Montgomery Ward at the same mall I mentioned, but it's long gone now.  It's funny, but the situation here is similar to the one in your town.  The mall is dying, but we have a big shopping center called Wards Crossing that has Target, Kohl's, Bed Bath and Beyond, Best Buy, Michael's, etc.  It's next door to Walmart and Sam's Club.  All of those places are at the bottom of Liberty Mountain, where LU is located, and they're always crowded. 

[Silver Pines]

@CatherineofAragon

I used to buy in the store/or order, curtains and all linens from them.  When I received their catalog made up of homo men couples, and the next one of homo women couples, I called them and said never send me another catalog, and I cancelled my card.  That was several years ago and I've not bought from them since.  I also noticed their prices have gone through the roof since then.  It is no longer the store they used to be.

@Victoria33

I remember that catalog!  That was the beginning of their decline, IMO. 

They always had a good home department.  I used to find some pretty nice pieces of clothing there, but I haven't been to the store in a long time. 

When Kohl's opened here, I loved the place...you could find pieces that were different from stuff sold everywhere else.  But their quality has gone downhill to the point a cotton shirt can develop holes after being washed a few times.  I think I'm going to  start doing most of my apparel shopping online.  I found a site called Evine that looks promising.

[Silver Pines]

It'll be interesting to see what uses these dead malls finally get put to.  Perhaps there will be a new round of creative housing developed out of these.  And no, I'm not talking about "diversity" housing; I'm talking about taking malls and turning them into self-contained communities that would naturally contain mixed use residential & retail in one facility.  A little like taking the traditional urban streetscape and turning it inside out, so that the "street" and the street level shopping and dining is now on the inside at the core instead of on the outside.

@Oceander

That's an interesting idea.  Here in my town, Liberty University buys up everything that closes and uses the buildings for storage or for its online university. 

[EC]

They converted a closed Walmart in McAllen, TX into the biggest single storey library in the country.

[rodamala]

Last week I stopped at my local Sears-at-Home store because I was having problems checking store inventory online and to check prices for freezers.  They were remodeling the store and had all the shelves pulled away from the wall.  It was unsettling.  At first glance it looked like they were going to shutter the store.

I try to give that little store business... very convenient... but the whole remodelling effort seemed like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

I refuse to participate in online retail therapy.  When I need something I want to go to the store where I know it is and buy it.

[rodamala]

Here is the list of the 138 stores to be closed.

Auburn Mall, Auburn AL
Tannehill Promenade, Bessemer, AL
Gadsden Mall, Gadsden, AL
Jasper Mall, Jasper, AL
Military Plaza, Benton, AR
Chickasaw Plaza, Blytheville, AR
Riverview Mall, Bullhead City, AZ
Downtown Bishop, Bishop, CA
Sunwest Plaza, Lodi, CA
The Village at Orange, Orange, CA
Hilltop Mall, Richmond, CA
Fort Morgan Main St., Fort Morgan, CO
Glenwood Springs Mall, Glenwood Springs, CO
St. Vrain Centre, Longmont, CO
Broadway Plaza, Sterling, CO
Connecticut Post Mall, Milford, CT
Jacksonville Regional Shopping Center, Jacksonville, FL
Palatka Mall, Palatka, FL
Dublin Mall, Dublin, GA
Macon Mall, Macon, GA
Milledgeville Mall, Milledgeville, GA
Gateway Plaza, Thomasville, GA
Tifton Mall, Tifton, GA
Downtown Decorah, Decorah, IA
Crossroads Mall, Fort Dodge, IA
Penn Central Mall, Oskaloosa, IA
Quincy Place, Ottumwa, IA
Snake River Plaza, Burley, ID
Eastland Mall, Bloomington, IL
Fulton Square Canton, IL
Village Square Mall, Effingham, IL
Freestanding, Macomb, IL
Peru Mall, Peru, IL
Northland Mall, Sterling, IL
Centerpointe of Woodridge, Woodridge, IL
FairOaks Mall, Columbus, IN
Connersville Plaza, Connersville, IN
Huntington Plaza, Huntington, IN
Jasper Manor Center, Jasper, IN
Logansport Mall, Logansport, IN
Chanute Square, Chanute, KS
Downtown Great Bend, Great Bend, KS
Hutchinson Mall, Hutchinson, KS
Freestanding, Lawrence, KS
Winfield Plaza, Winfield, KS
Cortana Mall, Baton Rouge, LA
Park Terrace, DeRidder, LA
North Shore Square, Slidell, LA
Berkshire Mall, Lanesborough, MA
Easton Marketplace, Easton, MD
Rockland Plaza, Rockland, ME
Lakeview Square Mall, Battle Creek, MI
Delta Plaza, Escanaba, MI
Westshore Mall, Holland, MI
Copper Country Mall, Houghton, MI
Birchwood Mall, Kingsford, MI
Midland Mall, Midland, MI
Cascade Crossings, Sault Ste. Marie, MI
Central Lakes Crossing, Baxter, MN
Five Lakes Centre, Fairmont, MN
Faribo West Mall, Faribault, MN
Irongate Plaza, Hibbing, MN
Hutchinson Mall, Hutchinson, MN
Red Wing Mall, Red Wing, MN
Downtown Thief River Falls, Thief River Falls, MN
Freestanding, Winona, MN
Maryville Center, Maryville, MO
Leigh Mall, Columbus, MS
Southgate Plaza, Corinth, MS
Greenville Mall, Greenville, MS
Bonita Lakes Mall, Meridian, MS
Oxford Mall, Oxford, MS
Capital Hill Mall, Helena, MT
Sidney Main Street, Sidney, MT
Albemarle Crossing, Albemarle, NC
Boone Mall, Boone, NC
Eastridge Mall, Gastonia, NC
Blue Ridge Mall, Hendersonville, NC
Monroe Crossing, Monroe, NC
Becker Village Mall, Roanoke Rapids, NC
Prairie Hills Mall, Dickinson, ND
Buffalo Mall, Jamestown, ND
Downtown Wahpeton, Wahpeton, ND
Fremont Mall, Fremont, NE
Downtown McCook, McCook, NE
Platte River Mall, North Platte, NE
Rio Grande Plaza, Rio Grande, NJ
The Boulevard, Las Vegas, NV
Dunkirk-Fredonia Plaza, Dunkirk, NY
Westfield Sunrise, Massapequa, NY
Palisades Center, West Nyack, NY
Findlay Village Mall, Findlay, OH
New Towne Mall, New Philadelphia, OH
Richmond Town Square, Richmond Heights, OH
St. Mary's Square, St. Mary’s, OH
Altus Plaza, Altus, OK
Ne-Mar Shopping Center, Claremore, OK
Ponca Plaza, Ponca City, OK
Pioneer Square Shopping Center, Stillwater, OK
Astoria Downtown, Astoria, OR
Grants Pass Shopping Center, Grants Pass, OR
La Grande Downtown, La Grande, OR
Downtown Pendleton, Pendleton, OR
The Dalles Main Street, The Dalles, OR
Columbia Mall, Bloomsburg, PA
Clearfield Mall, Clearfield, PA
King of Prussia Mall, King of Prussia, PA
Philadelphia Mills, Philadelphia, PA
Bradford Towne Centre, Towanda, PA
Lycoming Mall, Pennsdale, PA
Willow Grove Park, Willow Grove, PA
Citadel Mall, Charleston, SC
Town 'N Country, Easley, SC
Palace Mall, Mitchell, SD
Northridge Plaza, Pierre, SD
Watertown Mall, Watertown, SD
Yankton Mall, Yankton, SD
Greeneville Commons, Greeneville, TN
Knoxville Center, Knoxville, TN
County Market Place, Union City, TN
Athens Village Shopping Center, Athens, TX
Borger Shopping Plaza, Borger, TX
Heartland Mall, Early, TX
El Paso Downtown, El Paso, TX
Marshall Mall, Marshall, TX
McAllen Downtown, McAllen, TX
University Mall, Nacogdoches, TX
King Plaza Shopping Center, Seguin, TX
Bosque River Center, Stephenville, TX
New River Valley Mall, Christiansburg, VA
Tanglewood Mall, Roanoke, VA
Pilchuck Landing, Snohomish, WA
Pine Tree Mall, Marinette, WI
Marshfield Mall, Marshfield, WI
Richland Square Shopping Center, Richland Center, WI
Rapids Mall, Wisconsin Rapids, WI
Foxcroft Towne Center, Martinsburg, WV
Downtown Sheridan, Sheridan, WY

[NavyCanDo]

It's more than online shopping.  Malls have become unsafe.  Between having your car broken into to being carjacking to being shot, people no longer feel safe in an enclosed mall.  Some malls have gone upscale.  Fine for some people, but for many who are barely making ends meet, these upscale malls are out of their price range. 

Another problem is rent.  Malls charge a very high rent.  Gets to the point where retailers just can't afford to stay.  I believe that some retailers might be able to afford the high rent, but the tenants aren't getting anything from the owners for the money they spend.  Big thing is security.  Mall owners will not spend the money on increased security. Hard to turn a profit when half of your merchandise is being stolen or trashed, or your customers are being assaulted.  So stores are either closing down or moving to where the rent is lsss

Much of the problem with Penneys goes back to some very bad business decisions. Catering to the sodomites for ome.  No more sales is another.  The idea behind the no sales policy was that prices would be so low, Penneys wouldn't need to run sales.  Well, customers didn't go for that idea.  They are bargain hunters and a sale gives them at least the illusion of a bargain.   So Penney lost their customers, and even though the sales eventually returned, the customers did not.

I still get my hair cut at Penneys.  The stylist does a good job of taming the mop on top of my head.  But I don't shop there.  Every department -- including the hair salon -- has a feeling of desperation.  This store missed the cut this time around, but I think the employees at that store know closure is coming.

All excellent points. In the Mall closest to us just south of Seattle, gangs frequently hang out. And it's a no-guns Mall in a place you need one the most. Though they only have it posted on some mall rules sign posted in some obscured place  - so I doubt any permit holders leave their gun in the car.

[Applewood]

The "Non mall" set up is one of the reasons I think I prefer Jackson Crossing to Westwood mall. Westwood is the typical mall set up with the stores around the outside and most must be entered from the central open space of the building.

Jackson Crossing got its start as a typical strip mall in the 1960s. The basic several stores connected by an open sidewalk. As it grew it kept the strip mall flavor while enclosing the sidewalk behind glass. You can park right outside the store you're going to and walk in off the street for the most part. My dentist's office is across from Target so I walk in the door and make an immediate right turn and don't need to walk through the whole place.

I'm seeing more of these "open air malls" springing up in my neck of the woods as the traditional malls are dying out.  Seems they are doing a booming business.   Most are a mix of upscale and dollar stores, plus some Mom and Pop operations. Some of the stores which used to occupy a closed in mall near me moved to the open air mall about a mile away.  Rent is cheaper, plus, because there is no public transit to bring in the hoodlums, little to no crime. 

The big selling points of the closed in malls were free parking (if you shopped downtown, you had to pay to park) and that you were outside in the elements.  Well, the open air malls have free parking, and I guess a lot of people nowadays would rather be uncomfortable from bad weather than worrying about getting shot.   

[Cripplecreek]

I'm seeing more of these "open air malls" springing up in my neck of the woods as the traditional malls are dying out.  Seems they are doing a booming business.   Most are a mix of upscale and dollar stores, plus some Mom and Pop operations. Some of the stores which used to occupy a closed in mall near me moved to the open air mall about a mile away.  Rent is cheaper, plus, because there is no public transit to bring in the hoodlums, little to no crime. 

The big selling points of the closed in malls were free parking (if you shopped downtown, you had to pay to park) and that you were outside in the elements.  Well, the open air malls have free parking, and I guess a lot of people nowadays would rather be uncomfortable from bad weather than worrying about getting shot.   

It opened in 1961 before I was born

Peek Through Time: Paka Plaza introduced Jackson residents to mall shopping in 1961

http://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/index.ssf/2014/11/peek_through_time_paka_plaza_i.html

[Oceander]

It opened in 1961 before I was born

Peek Through Time: Paka Plaza introduced Jackson residents to mall shopping in 1961

http://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/index.ssf/2014/11/peek_through_time_paka_plaza_i.html

Forget the mall!  I want those cars!

[mountaineer]

Forget the mall!  I want those cars!

Ditto.  Is that a '54 Chevy I see?

[Cripplecreek]

Then and now.





Funny thing is that I never realized how new the interstate (I-94) was when I was born in 64.