Ashland Town Center is an enclosed

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refe ...

located in the city of Ashland, Kentucky, United States. One of two malls serving the city, it is located on

U.S. Highway 23 } U.S. Route 23 or U.S. Highway 23 (US 23) is a major north–south U.S. Highway between Jacksonville, Florida, and Mackinaw City, Michigan. It is an original 1926 route which originally reached only as far south as Portsmouth, Ohio, and has since ...

near downtown Ashland. The mall features more than seventy retailers and restaurants, as well as a

food court A food court (in Asia-Pacific also called food hall or hawker centre) is generally an indoor plaza or common area within a facility that is contiguous with the counters of multiple food vendors and provides a common area for self-serve dinner. I ...

. The mall's anchor stores are Belk Women and Kid's, TJ Maxx, Ulta Beauty,

JCPenney Penney OpCo LLC, doing business as JCPenney and often abbreviated JCP, is a midscale American department store chain operating 667 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Departments inside JCPenney stores include Mens, Womens, Boys, Gir ...

, Kay Jewelers, Belk Men and Home,

Jo-Ann Fabrics Jo-Ann Stores, LLC, more commonly known as Jo-Ann (stylized as JOANN), is an American specialty retailer of crafts and fabrics based in Hudson, Ohio. It operates the retail chains ''JOANN Fabrics and Crafts'' and ''Jo-Ann Etc''. The headquarter ...

, and

Aspen Dental Aspen Dental Management, Inc. (ADMI) is an American dental support organization (DSO), a dental practice management corporation that provides business support and administrative services in the US. Its headquarters is in Chicago, Illinois. Histo ...

. The mall is managed by Washington Prime Group.

History

Ashland Town Center was developed in 1988 as a joint venture of

Glimcher Realty Trust Glimcher Realty Trust was a real estate investment trust based in Columbus, Ohio that invested in shopping malls. In 2015, the company was acquired by Washington Prime Group. Investments As of December 31, 2013, the company owned interests in 2 ...

(the mall's owner), along with Edward J. Debartolo Corporation (now part of

Simon Property Group Simon Property Group, Inc. is an American real estate investment trust that invests in shopping malls, outlet centers, and community/lifestyle centers. It is the largest owner of shopping malls in the United States and is headquartered in Indian ...

) and

Crown American Crown American is a privately held American company that manages and develops commercial real estate. The corporate headquarters is in downtown Johnstown, Pennsylvania, in a building designed by architect Michael Graves. History The company wa ...

. The mall opened in 1989 with

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

, and

Hess's Hess's was a department store chain based in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The company started in 1897 with one store, originally known as Hess Brothers, and grew to nearly 80 stores by its peak in the late 1980s. The chain's stores were closed or sold ...

as its original anchor stores; Goody's was later added as a fourth anchor. Throughout the 1990s, Ashland Town Center went largely unchanged. In 1993, the Hess's chain sold several of its locations to Alcoa, Tennessee-based Proffitt's, which in turn sold its stores to Belk in 2006.

Mid-2000s renovations

In 2005, the Walmart anchor was vacated when Walmart relocated to a new Supercenter outside the mall itself. The former Walmart space was then demolished in early 2008 for a newer JCPenney store. Construction on this new store, one of three JCPenney prototype stores in the U.S., began soon afterward. Opened in August 2008, the store is twice the size of the former location. The existing JCPenney store was vacated, with half of it becoming a Belk Men and Home Store in 2009. This store replaced a Belk Men's Store in the Belk wing, which became a relocated Hibbett Sports in late 2009. In addition to the relocation of JCPenney, Ashland Town Center went through further renovations in 2008 and 2009. The food court was downsized to make room for new retail space, a family restroom was created and the Men's and Women's restrooms were both remodeled. Additional mall tenants were also relocated to create more space in the JCPenney corridor. A

Cheddar's Casual Café Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen, formerly known as Cheddar's Casual Cafe, is an American restaurant chain based in Irving, Texas. Founded in 1979, the company has more than 170 locations in 28 states as of 2018. History Cheddar's was founded in 1979 ...

was also constructed in the parking lot near JCPenney. In 2010, TJ Maxx replaced Goody's as an anchor store and

Rax The Rax is a mountain range in the Northern Limestone Alps on the border of the Austrian federal provinces of Lower Austria and Styria. Its highest peak is the ''Heukuppe'' (2,007 m). The Rax, together with the nearby Schneeberg, are a tradition ...

, Panera Bread and The Children's Place also opened new stores in the mall.

References

External links

Ashland Town Center
{{Ashland (Kentucky) Ashland, Kentucky Shopping malls established in 1989 Shopping malls in Kentucky Washington Prime Group Buildings and structures in Boyd County, Kentucky Tourist attractions in Boyd County, Kentucky 1989 establishments in Kentucky Commercial buildings completed in 1989