Columbia Colonnade (formerly Columbia Mall) was a

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 just outside Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. It was anchored by EFO Furniture,

Planet Fitness Planet Fitness (PFIP LLC) is an American franchisor and operator of fitness centers based in Hampton, New Hampshire. The company reports that it has 2,039 clubs, making it one of the largest fitness club franchises by number of members and loc ...

Dunham's Sports Dunham's Sports is an American sporting goods retail chain owned by Dunham's Athleisure Corporation, with stores located in the Midwestern to Southeastern United States. The chain specializes in athletic equipment, clothing, firearms, and other ...

, MVP Clubhouse, and a VA Clinic. The mall was next to Interstate 80 and PA 42. It also served the

Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania (Bloomsburg, BU or Bloom) is a campus of Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania and it is located in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE). The ...

, as well as several surrounding communities, such as Bloomsburg and

Buckhorn, Pennsylvania Buckhorn is a census-designated place (CDP) in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The population was 318 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Bloomsburg-Berwick micropolitan area. It uses the Bl ...

History

Columbia Colonnade's construction was estimated to cost more then $30 million. The mall opened in 1988 with anchors

Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began a ...

, J. C. Penney,

The Bon-Ton Bon-Ton Holdings Inc. is an American online retailer and former department store chain founded in 1898. After rapid expansion in the 1990s and early 2000s, the original company had financial troubles, ultimately filing for bankruptcy in 2018 ...

, and

Hills A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit. Terminology The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is universally considered to be not as ...

Department Stores.

and J. C. Penney moved from downtown Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania to become anchor stores when the mall opened. The mall was sold early in its existence for $36 million to Heitman Advisory Corp. In 1995, Columbia Mall was sold for $27.6 million. The only anchor change during this time was when Hills converted to

Ames Ames may refer to: Places United States * Ames, Arkansas, a place in Arkansas * Ames, Colorado * Ames, Illinois * Ames, Indiana * Ames, Iowa, the most populous city bearing this name * Ames, Kansas * Ames, Nebraska * Ames, New York * Ames, Ok ...

in 1999. After the closure of Ames in 2002, the vacant store was used occasionally for the Animal Resource Center Yard Sale, Eagle Arms Gun Show, and

WNEP WNEP-TV (channel 16) is a television station licensed to Scranton, Pennsylvania, United States, serving as the ABC affiliate for Northeastern Pennsylvania. Owned by Tegna Inc., the station maintains studios on Montage Mountain Road in Moosic. ...

Outdoor Expo. Cedar Shopping Centers (Cedar Bloomsburg LLC) bought the mall in 2005 for $14 million from Bay View Columbia Mall, with reconstruction plans existing in 2008. WP Realty joined as a 25% owner of the mall in 2008. Non-retail office space leases at the mall started in the early 2010s and included Geisinger Health Plan.

opened in 2011 occupying most of the empty Ames store. Cedar sold the mall in April 2013 for $2.8 million to Empire Columbia LP and management was replaced. Sears closed in January 2015. EFO Furniture opened in February 2017, occupying a portion of the former Sears.

opened in spring 2017, occupying half of the former Sears. J. C. Penney closed at the mall on July 31, 2017. Bon-Ton closed in 2018 due to the chain's liquidation. MVP Clubhouse opened in Summer 2018, occupying the remaining former Ames. Columbia Mall was renamed to Columbia Colonnade on November 1, 2018. Greenwood Farm Market, a farmers market, opened at the Colonnade in April 2019. Columbia Colonnade was sold by Empire Columbia LP (Empire Realty Investments) to Foust Holdings LLC for $7 million in July 2019. The mall lost several stores due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

in 2020. Partial reconstruction plans were announced in July 2020, with a

Veterans Affairs Veterans' affairs is an area of public policy concerned with relations between a government and its communities of military veterans. Some jurisdictions have a designated government agency or department, a Department of Veterans' Affairs, Minist ...

office opening planned for August. Three stores remained in the mall's interior during January 2021. Columbia Colonnade during 2021 suffered from drinking water issues, heating/cooling problems, lack of staff including security, and roof leaks. Communication with ownership was complicated, due to them not responding. The last inline tenant, Outback Roos, closed on March 31st, 2022 along with the mall's interior. The malls deteriorating condition was one of the causes of Outback Roos closure. Columbia Colonnade was originally scheduled to be auctioned in July 2022 with a starting bid of $3.4 million, but that was later delayed until August.

Kohan Retail Investment Group Kohan Retail Investment Group is a shopping mall investment company based in Great Neck, New York. They primarily purchase endangered/troubled shopping malls. History Kohan bought Northland Mall from Developers Diversified Realty for $1.8 mill ...

made an offer prior to the auction, but it was not accepted. Under Foust's ownership, the mall received $1.4 million in changes. Columbia Colonnade did not sell in August, as the auction failed to meet the reserve price of $20 million. File:Columbiamall-bloomsburg-subway-entrance.jpg, One of the entrances to the mall's concourse on May 8, 2021 File:Columbiamall-thanksforshopping-sign.jpg, A sign thanking visitors to the mall on May 8, 2021 File:Columbiamall-blmbsrg-concourse-may7.jpg, The mall's concourse at night on May 7, 2021, looking towards the JCPenney court and Furniture Outlet (Former Sears)

References

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External links

Columbia Mall at deadmalls.com
Buildings and structures in Columbia County, Pennsylvania Shopping malls established in 1988 Shopping malls disestablished in 2022 Defunct shopping malls in the United States Shopping malls in Pennsylvania 1988 establishments in Pennsylvania 2022 disestablishments in Pennsylvania