The Mall of Monroe, formerly known as Frenchtown Square Mall, 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 ...

in Frenchtown Charter Township in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. It is located just north of the city of Monroe along North Monroe Street ( M-125). Opened in 1988, the mall features more than thirty tenants and a church. The mall is managed by

Cafaro Company The Cafaro Company is an American property management and real estate development company which owns several retail shopping centers throughout the United States. Based in Niles, Ohio, it is the largest privately owned shopping center developme ...

Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County, Ohio, Mahoning County. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of ...

. The mall's anchor stores are

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 loca ...

, Phoenix Theatres, and Domka Outdoors. There are 4 vacant anchor stores that were once

Target Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...

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 ...

, and Pat Catan's.

History

Frenchtown Square Mall opened in 1988 on M-125 (Monroe Street) north of Monroe, in Frenchtown Charter Township. Its original anchor stores included the first

Phar-Mor Phar-Mor (stylized as PHA℞-MOR) was a United States chain of discount drug stores, based in Youngstown, Ohio, and founded by Michael "Mickey" Monus and David Shapira in 1982. Some of its stores used the names Pharmhouse and Rx Place (purchas ...

discount pharmacy in Michigan, as well as

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 ...

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 ...

, and

Elder-Beerman The Elder-Beerman Stores Corp., commonly known as Elder-Beerman, was an American chain of department stores founded in 1883 and whose last stores closed in 2018. The chain, based primarily in the Midwestern United States, was composed of 31 stor ...

. Hills closed in 1993 and was replaced with

, while the closure of Phar-Mor in 1995 made way for an Elder-Beerman home store, as well as an

OfficeMax OfficeMax is an American office supplies retailer founded in 1988. It is now a subsidiary of The ODP Corporation, which is headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida. As of December 2012, OfficeMax operated 941 stores in 47 states, Puerto Rico, the U.S ...

which did not open out into the mall.

Old Navy Old Navy is an American clothing and accessories retailing company owned by multinational corporation Gap Inc. It has corporate operations in the Mission Bay neighborhood of San Francisco, California. The largest of the Old Navy stores are its ...

was eventually added as well. OfficeMax closed in the early 2000s. JCPenney closed in 2004 and was replaced two years later by

Steve & Barry's Steve & Barry's was an American retail clothing chain, featuring casual clothing, footwear and accessories. By mid-2008, the chain operated 276 stores in 39 states. The company was headquartered in Port Washington, New York. The company liquidate ...

. The mall's

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 ...

movie theater complex was closed in August 2007, but re-opened three months later under the management of Phoenix Theatres. Steve & Barry's closed in late 2008, as did Old Navy. Sears announced the closure of the Mall of Monroe store in late 2011. Cafaro announced $2 million renovation plans for the mall in 2009. Among the renovation plans, the former Old Navy was replaced with a clothing store called Wear District, and the mall was renamed The Mall of Monroe. Also, both Elder-Beerman stores were re-branded as

Carson's Carson Pirie Scott & Co. (also known as Carson's) is an American department store that was founded in 1854, which grew to over 50 locations, primarily in the Midwestern United States. Sold to the holding company of Bon-Ton in 2006, but still ope ...

. An expo center opened in 2013, replacing the former JCPenney/Steve & Barry's.

replaced the vacant OfficeMax in 2014. The expo center was closed in 2014 and replaced with a Pat Catan's craft store, which moved from an existing location in Monroe. Target announced in late 2014 that it would close the Mall of Monroe store in early 2015. In late 2015, Family & Friends Funland opened in the former Old Navy. In 2016, Phoenix Theatres added 4 screens, eliminating the food court. In 2018, both Carson's stores closed as part of a chainwide liquidation. In 2019, Monroe City Church opened in the former Carson's Home Store. In addition, Pat Catan's closed in September 2019 with no plans to reopen as a Michael's. In 2019, River Raisin Crossfit opened in a space near the former Target previously occupied by Dunham's Sports and rue21, and in 2020, Leviathan, a local marketing company, will occupy the spaces between the former Target and Pat Catan's. In 2021 the former Target location was sold to Richmond Main LLC which will use the building for an auto parts business.

Frenchtown Square Partnership v. Lemstone, Inc.

In 2003, the mall partnership sued Lemstone Books, a Christian bookstore chain, which had closed its store at the mall six months before the termination of its lease. In those six months, the chain did not pay rent. Lemstone had also claimed that another gift store in the mall had caused declining sales at the Frenchtown Square store.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mall Of Monroe Buildings and structures in Monroe County, Michigan Shopping malls in Michigan Shopping malls established in 1988 Cafaro Company Tourist attractions in Monroe County, Michigan 1988 establishments in Michigan