McAlister Square is a repositioned

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 ...

Greenville, South Carolina Greenville (; locally ) is a city in and the seat of Greenville County, South Carolina, United States. With a population of 70,720 at the 2020 census, it is the sixth-largest city in the state. Greenville is located approximately halfway be ...

. It is notable for being the first enclosed shopping center in

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

, and the largest shopping center in the state at the time it was built. It is now a hybrid property, with the largest tenant being th
University Center of Greenville

History

The mall was first announced in December 1965. Construction of the mall began in June 1967, with what was termed "Phase One" of the mall, with anchors Meyers-Arnold (63,000 sq ft) and

Ivey's Ivey's (J.B. Ivey & Company), a former department store chain, was acquired by Dillard's, Inc. in 1990. Ivey's was based in Charlotte, North Carolina, and was founded in 1900 by Joseph Benjamin (J. B.) Ivey. History J. B. Ivey opened the first Iv ...

(60,000 sq ft) and 245,000 sq ft of interior space and an opening date of early 1968. "Phase Two", also announced at this time, was to include a third anchor, a "convenience center", and a theater, for a total of 600,000 sq ft of space by 1970. Meyers-Arnold and Ivey's opened on February 15, 1968, with completion of the mall anticipated for March 18th, for a March 25th opening. At this time, a majority of tenants had been announced, including junior anchors S. H. Kress & Co. and Walgreens Drug. The mall opened in 1968, featuring anchor stores

and Meyers-Arnold. A

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, ...

-Simpson department store was added in 1974, bringing the mall to approximately of leasable space. A Winn-Dixie grocery store, movie theater and bank branch were outparcels.

Decline

In 1990, the

store was converted into a

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 ...

, and the store closed in 1995, when Dillard's relocated to

Haywood Mall Haywood Mall is a shopping mall in Greenville, South Carolina, United States. The mall is the largest in the state, with of retail space. The super-regional mall opened in 1980 at the intersection of Haywood Road and Interstate 385, I-385/Golden ...

-Simpson would announce their closure in October 1998, and would close in January 1999. The Upton's anchor, which had replaced the Meyers-Arnold store, closed shortly thereafter.

Current use

The mall is owned by th
Greenville Tech Foundation
and houses a variety of non-profit and educational businesses, with the largest tenant being The University Center of Greenville. While no space in the main mall continues to be used as retail space, the mall is filled with a plethora of non-profit organizations and businesses. Some of the current tenants include: Thrive, Greenville, Greenville Literacy Association,Public Education Partners, and SC Works. Outparcels include a Publix grocery store, the Camelot movie theater, a Truist bank branch and other retailers. South Carolina's first freestanding Chick-fil-A, which opened in the 1990s when the mall also had a Chick-fil-A at center court, is still in business along Laurens Road. The mall has been repainted and re-landscaped since its transformation into a mixed-use center.

References

External links

{{Greenville, South Carolina Shopping malls in South Carolina Shopping malls established in 1968 Buildings and structures in Greenville, South Carolina Defunct shopping malls in the United States