Hampton Towne Centre, formerly Hampton Square Mall, was an enclosed shopping mall in

Hampton Township, Michigan Hampton Charter Township is a charter township of Bay County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The township's population was 9,652 as of the 2010 Census and is included in the Bay City Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Hampton Township was or ...

, just outside the city of Essexville, Michigan, United States. Built in 1975, the property became a

dead mall A dead mall (also known as a ghost mall, zombie mall, or abandoned mall) is a shopping mall with a high vacancy rate or a low consumer traffic level, or that is deteriorating in some manner. Many malls in North America are considered "dead ...

following the closure of its anchor stores, and ultimately closed in 2010. The building, vacant except for a thrift store, an intermediate school district, and a Michigan Department of Human Services office, was owned by Art Dore who died November 2 of 2022.

History

The mall was developed by

Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust RPT Realty, formerly known as RAMCO Properties Trust and Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust, is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that owns and operates open-air shopping center A shopping center (American English) or shoppin ...

of Southfield, Michigan, with

Charles N. Agree Charles Nathanial Agree (April 18, 1897 – March 10, 1982) was an American architect in Detroit, Michigan. Biography Agree moved to Detroit in 1909 at the age of 12. He opened his firm in 1917 after graduating from the Detroit Y.M.C.A. Technical ...

as the architect. Original anchors were Kmart and William C. Wiechmann Company of Saginaw. Both anchors represented changes for their respective chains: the Kmart (opened in 1974, a year before the remainder of the center) was among its first mall-attached stores, and it was the first Wiechmann's location away from Saginaw. An A&P supermarket was also attached. The mall also included a Perry pharmacy and an MC Sports. In 1981, a customer was charged for murdering his wife while she was working at the

Lerner New York New York & Company, Inc. (NY&C) is an American workwear retailer for women. New York & Company apparel and accessories are sold through a nationwide network of retail stores, and through its e-commerce site. New York & Company was founded i ...

store in the mall. In October 1989, the mall expanded with the addition of a

J. C. Penney 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, Girl ...

store, which moved from downtown. The mall's main customer base was residents of The Thumb. The mall became increasingly vacant in the 1990s and early 2000s, particularly after the opening of

Bay City Mall Bay City Town Center (formerly Bay City Mall until 2017) is an enclosed shopping mall in Bangor Township, Bay County, Michigan, just outside the city of Bay City, Michigan, United States. Opened in 1991, the mall features Dunham's Sports, Marsh ...

in 1991 and the closure of all three anchor stores; J. C. Penney defected to the new mall in 1993, and Kmart closed in 2002. At this point, the mall complex was largely used for non-retail purposes, including a Michigan Department of Human Services office, the Bay-Arenac intermediate school district, and yearly use for the Bay County library's book sales. The mall ultimately closed in September 2010. One of the last remaining tenants, Mandarin House Chinese restaurant, moved to a new location. The Department of Human Services offices have remained after the closure, along with a thrift store called The Cat's Meow located inside the former A&P space. Local businessman Art Dore purchased the mall in August 2011 and announced plans to reopen it as a mixed-use property featuring offices and retail.

References

{{Shopping malls in Michigan 2010 disestablishments in Michigan Abandoned shopping malls in the United States Buildings and structures in Bay County, Michigan Shopping malls established in 1975 Shopping malls in Michigan Charles N. Agree buildings Shopping malls disestablished in 2010