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Gwinnett Place Mall

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Coordinates: 33°57′38″N 84°07′33″W / 33.960553°N 84.125953°W / 33.960553; -84.125953
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Gwinnett Place
Gwinnett Place Mall in July of 2016
Map
LocationDuluth, Georgia, United States
Coordinates33°57′38″N 84°07′34″W / 33.9606°N 84.126°W / 33.9606; -84.126 33.961216, -84.126236
Opening dateFebruary 1, 1984 (1984-02-01)
Closing dateMarch 15, 2020 (2020-03-15)
DeveloperCadillac Fairview[1] Simon Property Group
ManagementGwinnett County, Georgia
OwnerUrban Redevelopment Agency of Gwinnett County
No. of stores and services2
No. of anchor tenants2 (5 at peak)
Total retail floor area1,278,000 sq ft (118,700 m2)
No. of floors2
Public transit accessGwinnett Transit Center

Gwinnett Place Mall is a largely vacant shopping mall located in the Pleasant Hill Road corridor of Duluth, Georgia, in the United States. Once the leading mall in the region, the mall declined in the face of competition from newer malls nearby such as Mall of Georgia in Buford and Sugarloaf Mills in Lawrenceville. It was used as the Starcourt Mall filming location for the third season of Netflix's Stranger Things. It is currently owned by Gwinnett County, which has released plans to redevelop the property.

History

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Construction of Gwinnett Place Mall began on January 21, 1982, and it officially opened its doors on February 1, 1984, with anchor tenants Rich's, Davison's and Sears. Mervyn's joined the lineup in 1986, and Davison's transitioned to Macy's (after briefly operating as Davison’s-Macy’s in 1985). In 1993, Parisian became a new anchor, leading to the addition of a northwest wing. After Mervyn's closed all seven of its Atlanta locations, J. C. Penney took over its space in 1997. By 2003, Macy's and Rich's merged to create Rich's-Macy's, a name that remained until 2005 when it was rebranded as Macy's. This left the mall with two Macy's locations, prompting the closure of the former Davidson's store, which reopened in 2010 as the first Mega Mart (a Korean Supermarket) in the US.

In 2007, Parisian rebranded as Belk, which eventually closed in 2013, marking yet another shift in the mall's history as it faced challenges in maintaining its status as a shopping destination.[2]

The mall was challenged by the openings of the Mall of Georgia in 1999 and Sugarloaf Mills in 2001, and lost a large part of its customer base. The mall also failed to attract any new anchor stores for several years. The Gwinnett Place Cinemas just outside the mall closed in late September 2000 as General Cinema began winding down operations in Georgia ahead of its October bankruptcy.[citation needed] In 2008, Gwinnett Technical College opened an International Education Center in the mall, where students take foreign language classes. The downturn of the mall in throughout the early 2010s led to the mall’s owner, Simon Property Group, losing the mall to foreclosure in 2013, where it was acquired by Moonbeam Capital Investments LLC. JCPenney closed on April 4, 2015, and Beauty Master purchased the former JCPenney building in March 2016. Beauty Master opened on August 4, 2016.[3]

In December 2017, the body of a 19-year-old woman was found in a back room of the food court, which was identified to be an abandoned Subway, where it had gone unnoticed for weeks. In January 2018, two mall employees were robbed and assaulted in the Macy's parking lot, and in March 2018, a 32-year-old female was arrested for indecent exposure, solicitation of prostitution, and possession of heroin and cocaine in the Sears parking lot.[4] On May 31, 2018, it was announced Sears would shutter as part of an ongoing decision to eliminate its brick-and-mortar format.[5][6]

In late February 2019, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Gwinnett Daily Post reported that sports developer CricRealty intends to redevelop the Gwinnett Place Mall site to build a mixed-use development anchored by a 20,000-seat cricket stadium.[7][8]

On December 15, 2020, officials from Gwinnett County's Urban Redevelopment Agency agreed to purchase the 39-acre Gwinnett Place Mall site from Moonbeam Capital Investments LLC for $23 million.[9] At this point, several tenants, including Macy's, Mega Mart and Beauty Master, owned their own property. The sale closed in April 2021 but plans for the site were not disclosed.[10]

On February 28, 2023, the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners announced a revitalization strategy focusing on housing, mobility and greenspace in response to feedback from the public. The Gwinnett Place Mall Site Revitalization Strategy will take place over the next 20 years.[11][12]

On September 17, 2024, the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners purchased Macy’s and the outparcel Macy’s Furniture Store for $16.5 million.[13] This sale closed on December 2.[14] The stores were included on Macy’s list of 66 closing stores, which was released on January 9, 2025. Both stores closed on March 23, 2025.[15]

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The third season of Stranger Things was filmed in the mall. Authentic signage and storefronts were returned through a cosmetic restoration of a portion of the Gwinnett Place Mall, to represent many businesses that have since ceased to exist. The transformation took place during May 2018, with production of the series taking place in the mall during the subsequent summer months.[16][17][18] After filming concluded, the Starcourt Mall set was dismantled in the summer of 2019 to prevent fans from vandalizing the set to steal souvenirs.[19]

The 2024 movie Brothers has principal photography in and around the Atlanta metro area and includes exterior and interior shots of Gwinnett Place Mall.[citation needed]

References

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  1. ^ Kempner, Matt. "Kempner: Gwinnett Place's first manager staggered by mall's decline". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  2. ^ Green, Josh; Atlanta, Curbed. "Gwinnett Place: The Long, Slow Death of a Suburban Mall". Retrieved July 13, 2023.
  3. ^ Yeomans, Curt. "BeautyMaster opening new Gwinnett Place Mall location this week". Gwinnett Daily Post. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  4. ^ Matt Kempner, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "Kempner: Body unnoticed in Atlanta area mall for weeks? A mall fades". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  5. ^ Smith, Aaron (May 31, 2018). "Is your Sears or Kmart closing? Check the list". CNNMoney.
  6. ^ Coyne, Amanda C.; Becca J. G. Godwin, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "Sears closing 3 'non-profitable' metro Atlanta stores". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  7. ^ Estep, Tyler (February 26, 2019). "Gwinnett Place Mall might be sold — and become a cricket stadium?". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
  8. ^ Yeomans, Curt (February 26, 2019). "Media report: Gwinnett Place Mall may be sold, converted to cricket stadium". Gwinnett Daily Post. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
  9. ^ Kass, Arielle; Journal-Constitution, The Atlanta. "BREAKING: Gwinnett County to buy Gwinnett Place Mall". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  10. ^ Kass, Arielle. "County closes on $23 million Gwinnett Place mall purchase". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  11. ^ Nunez, Gabriella. "Gwinnett Place Mall to get a facelift". Retrieved July 13, 2023.
  12. ^ Green, Josh (January 8, 2024). "Report: Gwinnett Place Mall has lost nearly 88 percent of its value". Urbanize Atlanta. Archived from the original on January 8, 2024. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
  13. ^ Pharr, Alia. "County buys Macy's at Gwinnett Place Mall for $16.5M". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. ISSN 1539-7459. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  14. ^ Johnson, Matt (December 3, 2024). "'Endless opportunities:' Plan to revive Macy's at Gwinnett Place Mall hit another milestone". WSB-TV Channel 2 - Atlanta. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  15. ^ Tyko, Kelly (January 9, 2025). "Macy's closing 66 more stores in 2025. See the closure list". Axios. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
  16. ^ Coming Soon: The Starcourt Mall! Hawkins, Indiana (Stranger Things Season 3 Teaser | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXyju7zFwyE
  17. ^ Gwinnett Place Mall Transformed for 'Stranger Things' Season 3 | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hWG5tnCj2g
  18. ^ Ho, Rodney (May 11, 2018). "Gwinnett Place Mall goes back to the future for 'Stranger Things'". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  19. ^ Ho, Rodney (July 10, 2019). "'Stranger Things' dismantling what's left of Starcourt Mall at Gwinnett Place Mall". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
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33°57′38″N 84°07′33″W / 33.960553°N 84.125953°W / 33.960553; -84.125953

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