Century Mall

Century Mall

Location	Merrillville, Indiana, United States
Coordinates	41°28′12″N 87°20′05″W / 41.4699929°N 87.3347962°W / 41.4699929; -87.3347962Coordinates: 41°28′12″N 87°20′05″W / 41.4699929°N 87.3347962°W / 41.4699929; -87.3347962
Address	8275 Broadway
Opening date	1979
Closing date	2001
Owner	Tri-Land Properties
No. of anchor tenants	2 (1979-1982, 1995-2001)[1] 3 (1982-1995)
Total retail floor area	415,138 square feet (38,567.6 m2)
No. of floors	1

Century Mall was an indoor shopping mall located on the southeast corner of Broadway (Indiana 53) and US 30 in Merrillville, Indiana. The mall opened in 1979 with anchor stores Goldblatt's and Montgomery Ward.^[1] Competitive and economic factors sent the mall into steady decline and national retail chains left throughout the 1990s until the mall was ultimately sold for redevelopment in 2001 then closed and largely demolished in 2002. The mall's interior stores also suffered following Montomery Ward's remodeling. Montgomery Ward removed their mall entrance and told customers that no stores remained, when in reality close to a dozen stores were still open. A strip mall development named Century Plaza now occupies the land and some of the former anchor store buildings.

History

Montgomery Ward

An original anchor tenant, this Montgomery Ward location on the north end of the mall was 145,000 square feet (13,470.9 m²).^[2] As the main mall began to decline in the late 1990s with national retailers replaced by local stores, Montgomery Ward used a 1999 renovation to permanently close its entrance to the mall. The Montgomery Ward anchor store closed in March 2001 when the entire chain filed for bankruptcy.^[1]

Goldblatt's

Goldblatt's was a Chicago-based chain of discount stores that operated in Chicago and Northwest Indiana. An original anchor tenant, this Goldblatt's location occupied the larger store on the south end of Century Mall. In 1981, facing stiff regional competition, Goldblatt's filed for bankruptcy.^[3] While six Goldblatt's locations survived bankruptcy proceedings, the Century Mall location was closed in 1982. The space was filled with Service Merchandise, Burlington Coat Factory, and several small shops. In 1995, the Service Merchandise relocated to a new store roughly half a mile away at the Crossings at Hobart shopping center.^[4]

Mall interior

A small food court was located near the south side of the mall, located near the long corridor leading to Service Merchandise and Burlington Coat Factory. The food court contained many small local restaurants, but also included a Schoop's Hamburgers and a Subway. The mall at one time housed R-Way, a drug store located on the north side, just outside of Montgomery Ward. Outlot buildings include (or included at one time) White Castle, Shakey's Pizza, Checkers Drive-in and a Shell gas station.

In 1990, in cooperation with the Northwest Indiana Walkers, Century Mall opened the interior of the mall to accommodate mall walkers.^[5]

Ownership

Simon Property Group purchased the mall in 1982.^[6] After a mid-1990s renovation, the mall was renamed Century Consumer Mall but the new name did not gain consumer acceptance and the mall continued its economic decline.^[6] Century Mall and the surrounding land were purchased by Tri-Land Properties in February 2001 with the intent to convert the space to a power center.^[2]

Century Plaza

Under mall's new ownership, all of the then-current tenants relocated with the exception of Burlington Coat Factory.^[2] The central enclosed portion of the mall was demolished leaving only the Burlington Coat Factory and former Montgomery Wards stores standing.^[1] In June 2002, the shopping center was renamed Century Plaza to reflect the new configuration of the retail space.^[1] Developed as a strip mall with a series of big box retailers, Century Plaza now includes a variety of national chain shops and eateries, with Old Time Pottery in the former Montgomery Ward. In March 2008, a 20,400 square feet (1,895.2 m²) Staples office supply store opened.^[7]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} Laverty, Deborah (2002-06-13). "Merrillville, Ind., Mall Renamed to Set Tone for Future Development". The Times of Northwest Indiana. http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-8835894_ITM. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} Laverty, Deborah (2006-05-04). "New plans for Century Plaza". The Times of Northwest Indiana. http://www.nwitimes.com/articles/2006/05/04/news/lake_county/24bef81664522723862571640012359a.txt. 
3. ^ "JG Industries Inc. Company History". Funding Universe. http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/JG-Industries-Inc-Company-History.html. Retrieved 2008-08-14. 
4. ^ "Service Merchandise Planning to Open Store in Hobart, Indiana". Tribune Business News. 1994-05-17. http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-5515370_ITM. 
5. ^ Glover, Penny (1990-03-18). "Walkers take steps in the right direction". The Times of Northwest Indiana. http://nwitimes.com/articles/1990/03/18/export50852.txt. 
6. ^ ^{a b} "Properties". Simon Property Group Annual Report. 1997-03-31. http://sec.edgar-online.com/1997/03/31/00/0000950142-97-000235/Section4.asp. 
7. ^ Erler, Susan (2008-02-14). "Staples to open Saturday in Merrillville". The Times of Northwest Indiana. http://www.nwi.com/articles/2008/02/14/business/business/docc503625f2131644c862573ee006428bc.txt.