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Hanes Mall & Friendly Center ownership files for bankruptcy

BillBrasky said:
They'd have to give the county a sweetheart deal but why couldn't it be converted into a massive educational complex? Not sure there is demand in W-S right now but if you need to build a small college campus or massive secondary school I think it would work well.

Basically just relocate Forsyth Tech and morph into a mega trade school. 0% chance of that happening but I think it could work. Hell you could even use some of the space for student housing if you wanted to.
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This. Community colleges fit pretty snugly into vacant mall spaces. Kitchens for culinary programs and dining areas. Wide open spaces for labs, libraries, and lounges. Large classrooms with plenty of space and power for technology. Plenty of parking. Spaces can be converted to housing. Room for adjoining office spaces. Room for child care facilities.
 
inspectah said:
Hate to hear that Hanes Mall may not be long for the world. Lot of fun memories from there when I was a kid and then later at WFU. Although it was never the same for me after they took out the little bridge that used to cross over a water feature in front of Belk.

I stopped in there on a trip through Winston maybe four or five years ago and all seemed well. . . . guess things have gone downhill since.
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Lots of brick and mortar places not doing well. Malls in bankruptcy following the bankruptcies of the big anchor store chains. Without the anchor department stores, the smaller specialty stores didn't do well.
 
what happens when JC Penney's goes out of business? guess you can't cut through any more.
 
I had to pop in the Deacon store last week and the mall seemed just fine considering the state of our country. Plenty of maskless MAGA folks chowing down on food court fare.
 
HailToTheDeacons said:
It’s not hard to imagine Hanes Mall quickly falling into disrepair and becoming a creepy, abandoned space.
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That's what happened to Eastland in Charlotte. I still remember the last of the many times I stepped foot in that place, Thanksgiving weekend circa 2002 or 2003. I thought I'd been transported to the 70s South Bronx.
 
The mall in High Point slowly dwindled to a few stores and then was eventually purchased by High Point University. I think the only retail place still open is Dillard's, which converted into a Dillard's Clearance Center. I know they've turned the space that used to be Sears (I think - one of the big chains) into a community space that can be used to host charity events and such. Not sure what they're doing with the rest of the space. They also bought an out parcel adjacent that used to be Circuit City and turned it into their center for PA studies. I've heard that the real value might be the vast parking lot, since it's difficult to get that type of thing approved these days with the modern water shed/drainage rules and regulations.

Edited to Add: That was actually the *second* mall in High Point to die. The first one now contains a megachurch in the former anchor space and various commercial office spaces throughout the rest.
 
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inspectah said:
That's what happened to Eastland in Charlotte. I still remember the last of the many times I stepped foot in that place, Thanksgiving weekend circa 2002 or 2003. I thought I'd been transported to the 70s South Bronx.
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Was that the one that had the skating rink? I remember when it was the big mall and Southpark was the little mall. I guess Eastland mall's problem was that it was in a semi-dumpy area that was just going to get worse.

Edit to add - the one difference with Hanes Mall and Eastland is that Hanes Mall is in a decent part of town and tons of other retail grew around it, so that has become the big retail part of the city. So even if people aren't going specifically to the mall, they will still be going to Costco, big box stores, restaurants, etc. It's been over 20 years since I've probably been in the Eastland area, but I would guess that there is not a whole lot of nice retail in that area. That it is mostly aging apartments and shopping centers. Once Southpark got bigger and nicer and some other malls popped up around the suburbs, people weren't going to drive from other parts of the city to go to Eastland.
 
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Malls were never the same as Mr. Dunderbach's started having issues. Great memories of bonding with my dad over beers there while my mom and sister were exploring the retail stores.
 
Hanes Mall & Friendly Center ownership files for bankruptcy

The local Dunderbak’s moved out of the mall over a dozen years ago to a large strip mall location and it’s one of the best spots in the area.
 
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Bubble Boy said:
Was that the one that had the skating rink? I remember when it was the big mall and Southpark was the little mall. I guess Eastland mall's problem was that it was in a semi-dumpy area that was just going to get worse.

Edit to add - the one difference with Hanes Mall and Eastland is that Hanes Mall is in a decent part of town and tons of other retail grew around it, so that has become the big retail part of the city. So even if people aren't going specifically to the mall, they will still be going to Costco, big box stores, restaurants, etc. It's been over 20 years since I've probably been in the Eastland area, but I would guess that there is not a whole lot of nice retail in that area. That it is mostly aging apartments and shopping centers. Once Southpark got bigger and nicer and some other malls popped up around the suburbs, people weren't going to drive from other parts of the city to go to Eastland.
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yes on the skating rink. By 1996 when i moved here, the east side had really become economically depressed, so I think i stepped in that mall once (because I needed a sears product.) It sucked.

To be fair, all malls suck.
 
PhDeac said:
The local Dunderbak’s moved out of the mall over a dozen years ago to a large strip mall and it’s awesome.
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The one in Tampa? Yep - good beer selection and German food, and pretty cool atmosphere, especially when the live German music is going. The only problem I recall was the parking could be a real pain during popular hours. The family that owned the one in the mall in Jacksonville changed the name (European Street Cafe) and moved it out of the mall. Now there are 4 E Streets around the city that are pretty popular. Same concept - beers, German inspired grub, and a little market to buy sweets and/or beers. I guess the best thing those places did was get out of crappy malls.
 
Bubble Boy said:
Was that the one that had the skating rink? I remember when it was the big mall and Southpark was the little mall. I guess Eastland mall's problem was that it was in a semi-dumpy area that was just going to get worse.

Edit to add - the one difference with Hanes Mall and Eastland is that Hanes Mall is in a decent part of town and tons of other retail grew around it, so that has become the big retail part of the city. So even if people aren't going specifically to the mall, they will still be going to Costco, big box stores, restaurants, etc. It's been over 20 years since I've probably been in the Eastland area, but I would guess that there is not a whole lot of nice retail in that area. That it is mostly aging apartments and shopping centers. Once Southpark got bigger and nicer and some other malls popped up around the suburbs, people weren't going to drive from other parts of the city to go to Eastland.
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Yes to the skating rink. I grew up going to that mall all the time but never once stepped foot in the skating rink. Also yes, the area around Eastland went into a long decline starting in the mid-90s or so as the demographics of East Charlotte changed sharply. Location does indeed matter as the example of Southpark shows - Southpark is now one of the most profitable malls in the country.
 
Deaconblue said:
Shooting doesn't help mall.
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This. Last time I went to Hanes mall, the store I was visiting was closed. At 4 pm. Found out later, some guy shot a gun not long before and several stores closed up for the day.
 
Hanes Mall hasn't been the same since Structure closed.

I don't mind malls. Maybe it's 90% nostalgia, but I kind of enjoy going once in a while.
 
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