Hamilton Place is an enclosed, two-story

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 ...

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...

, United States, just off

I-75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from St ...

. It was the largest shopping mall in the state of

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

from 1987 to 1998.

History

The mall opened to the public on August 5, 1987. The original anchors were

Belk Belk, Inc. is an American department store chain founded in 1888 by William Henry Belk in Monroe, North Carolina, with nearly 300 locations in 16 states. Belk stores and Belk.com offer apparel, shoes, accessories, cosmetics, home furnishings, ...

, Parisian, Loveman's, Regal Cinemas 9, and

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

stores were added later, vacating their former locations at Eastgate Mall.

Proffitt's Proffitt's was a department store chain based in Alcoa, Tennessee. On March 8, 2006, the Proffitt's and McRae's stores were converted into Belk stores. Belk acquired the two chains in July 2005 from Saks, Inc. History Beginnings Jeweler Dav ...

acquired Loveman's in 1988. Proffitt's then acquired Hess's in 1992 creating the dual store location. In 1998, Belk "swapped" several mall locations throughout the southeast with

Dillard's Dillard's, Inc. is an upscale American department store chain with approximately 282 stores in 29 states and headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas. Currently, the largest number of stores are located in Texas with 57 and Florida with 42. The ...

, thus exiting the Chattanooga market only to return in 2005 after its purchase of Proffitt's from

Saks Incorporated Saks, Inc. (originally Proffitt's, Inc.) was an American holding company founded in 1919. Before acquisition by the Canadian-founded Hudson's Bay Company in 2013, it held ownership of department store chains including New York City-based Saks Fi ...

. In 2006 Belk purchased Parisian, also from Saks Inc., and closed this location which would later become a Dillard's Men's, Children & Home store. In 1998, its owner,

CBL & Associates Properties CBL Properties (previously CBL & Associates, Inc., then CBL & Associates Properties, Inc.) is an American real estate investment trust that invests in shopping centers, primarily in the Southeastern and Midwestern United States. The company is or ...

, began a major interior renovation of the mall, expanding the food court by , and making the mall wheelchair accessible. Currently, Hamilton Place comprises more than 150 stores and restaurants. Current anchor stores include

, as well as two locations each for

and

. Regal Cinemas 9 closed in September 2007 and was replaced with a

Barnes & Noble Barnes & Noble Booksellers is an American bookseller. It is a Fortune 1000 company and the bookseller with the largest number of retail outlets in the United States. As of July 7, 2020, the company operates 614 retail stores across all 50 U. ...

which opened on November 12, 2008, although there is still a

Regal Cinemas Regal Cinemas (also Regal Entertainment Group) is an American movie theater chain headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee. A division of Cineworld, Regal operates the second-largest theater circuit in the United States, with over 7,200 screens i ...

on an outparcel of the mall. In May 2008, CBL announced a $100 million expansion which would have included two parking garages, a lifestyle center, and other renovations inside and outside the existing mall. In order to pay for the expansion, CBL proposed an additional half-percent to 1 percent fee added to any purchase made at the mall or at five other CBL centers within a one-mile radius of Hamilton Place. The other locations were Gunbarrel Pointe, Hamilton Corner, Hamilton Crossing, The Shoppes at Hamilton Place, and The Terrace. However, CBL eventually dropped its ambitious plans; in turn, replacing the original plans with a smaller expansion. The Shoppes at Hamilton Place received a expansion, adding stores such as a local restaurant chain, Sweet Peppers Deli, and bath products chain Bath Junkie. A P.F. Chang's restaurant that is located outside Hamilton Place has had a unique theme in the 200+ unit chain since the restaurant opened in November 2006: a water theme, based on the fundamental role the

Tennessee River The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other names, ...

plays in Chattanooga and the fact that the

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of P.F. Chang's since 2000, Richard Federico, is a 1976 alumnus of the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...

and has family members in Chattanooga. On January 25, 2011, CBL announced a multimillion-dollar renovation to the mall. Construction on the Hamilton Place renovations began in March and lasted 11 months, finishing in November 2011. The construction was done in phases and most of the work occurred during off-hours and at night while the mall was closed. Hamilton Place remained open throughout the duration of the renovations. On November 5, 2017, H&M opened a store on the upper level of the mall. On October 15, 2018,

announced that it was filing for

Chapter 11 Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, wheth ...

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

protection. As part of that announcement, they announced the closure of 142 stores, including the one at Hamilton Place, with liquidation sales to begin immediately. Its final day of business was January 6, 2019. It was announced on November 12, 2018 that

Dave and Busters Dave & Buster's is an American restaurant and entertainment business headquartered in Dallas. Each Dave & Buster's has a full-service restaurant and a video arcade. As of October 2022, the company has 151 locations in the United States and two i ...

would be locating in the old Sears building. In December 2018,

Dick's Sporting Goods Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc. (stylized as "DICK'S Sporting Goods") is an American sporting goods retail company, based in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania. The company was established by Richard "Dick" Stack in 1948, and has approximately 854 stores an ...

announced they would move from their current location on Gunbarrel Road, a few hundred yards away from the mall, to inside the mall next to Dave and Busters.

Current anchor stores

(Women) (Originally Belk) *

(Men, Home, & Children) (Originally Parisian) *

(Women & Children) (Originally Loveman's, then Proffitt's, and finally Proffitt's for Her) *

(Men & Home) (Originally Hess's and then Proffitt's Men's, Kids & Home) *

(Original Anchor) *

Dave & Buster's Dave & Buster's is an American restaurant and entertainment business headquartered in Dallas. Each Dave & Buster's has a full-service restaurant and a video arcade. As of October 2022, the company has 151 locations in the United States and two i ...

(upper level) and

(lower level, both opened in March 2020) (Originally

)

References

External links

Official site
{{Chattanooga area malls and shopping centers Shopping malls in Tennessee Shopping malls established in 1987 CBL Properties Buildings and structures in Chattanooga, Tennessee Tourist attractions in Chattanooga, Tennessee 1987 establishments in Tennessee