The University Mall, often referred to as the U-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 ...

South Burlington, Vermont South Burlington is a city in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. Along with neighboring Burlington, it is a principal city of the Burlington metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 20,292. It is home to the head ...

. The name refers to its proximity to the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is amon ...

. At , it is the largest shopping mall in

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

and is one of two enclosed malls in the Burlington metropolitan area.

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 ...

Kohl's Kohl's (stylized in all caps) is an American department store retail chain, operated by Kohl's Corporation. it is the largest department store chain in the United States, with 1,165 locations, operating stores in every U.S. state except Hawai ...

, and

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 ...

are the anchor stores. It also features an H&M. The mall encompasses 77 shops, including two sit-down restaurants, and a

food court A food court (in Asia-Pacific also called food hall or hawker centre) is generally an indoor plaza or common area within a facility that is contiguous with the counters of multiple food vendors and provides a common area for self-serve dinner. I ...

. KeyPoint Partners, LLC of

Burlington, Massachusetts Burlington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 26,377 at the 2020 census. History It is believed that Burlington takes its name from the English town of Bridlington, Yorkshire, but this has never b ...

is the mall's management company.

History

Construction of the University Mall was completed in 1979. Original anchors were Almy's and

Zayre Zayre () was a chain of discount stores that operated in the eastern half of the United States from 1956 to 1990. The company's headquarters was in Framingham, Massachusetts. In October 1988, Zayre's parent company, Zayre Corp., sold the stores ...

. Zayre relocated to a freestanding store in the mall in 1987 and an expansion took over the old Zayre in 1989 connecting the new Zayre. Zayre was rebranded as

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, Oklah ...

the same year. Almy's closed in 1987 and became Steinbach in 1992. The mall got a second expansion in 1992 with

becoming the third anchor. The mall got a third expansion in 1998 with a 2-story

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 ...

becoming the fourth anchor, plus a 4-story parking garage. Steinbach closed in 1999 and became

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 ...

the same year. Ames closed in 2002 following their

Chapter 7 bankruptcy Chapter 7 of Title 11 of the United States Code (Bankruptcy Code) governs the process of liquidation under the bankruptcy laws of the United States, in contrast to Chapters 11 and 13, which govern the process of ''reorganization'' of a debtor. ...

and became

in April 2004. The mall was renovated in 2005. On October 18, 2017, it was announced that regional division The Bon-Ton would be closing in January 2018. On October 19, 2017,

announced that they will be opening a small-format store and their first store in Vermont in the former Bon-Ton on October 19, 2018. On November 7, 2019, it was announced Sears would be closing.

Operations

The rental per square foot is proprietary information. Average pro-rata tax payment for a non-anchor store is about $2 per . As of January 2015, mall management reported that the mall was fully tenanted with the exception of two food court spaces.

Tenants

The University Mall has an array of stores and areas to eat. Various national retailers have their only Burlington, Vermont area store within the mall, including the four current anchor stores. In 2009, Vermont's first International House of Pancakes opened here, becoming the mall's second sit-down restaurant. There is also a food court in the center of the mall.

References

External links

University Mall website
{{Coord, 44.465825, -73.183794, , display=title Buildings and structures in South Burlington, Vermont Shopping malls in Vermont Shopping malls established in 1979 Tourist attractions in Chittenden County, Vermont 1979 establishments in Vermont