Cortana Mall

Last updated
Cortana Mall
Cortana Mall logo.png
Uplanet 034.jpg
Cortana Mall
Location Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States
Coordinates 30°27′26″N91°05′35″W / 30.457236°N 91.093186°W / 30.457236; -91.093186
Address9401 Cortana Place
Opening dateAugust 4, 1976;48 years ago (1976-08-04)
Closing dateSeptember 18, 2019;4 years ago (2019-09-18)
DeveloperMall Properties
OwnerMoonbeam Equities
ArchitectMilton J. Womack
No. of stores and services0 (formerly 110)
No. of anchor tenants (0 by April 2021)
Total retail floor area 1,432,889 sq ft (133,119.7 m2)
No. of floors1 (2 in anchors)

Cortana Mall (formerly The Mall at Cortana) was an enclosed shopping mall in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and was at the intersection of Airline Highway and Florida Blvd (U.S. Route 190). It was last owned by Moonbeam Equities of Las Vegas, Nevada. It opened in 1976 and was demolished in 2021.

Contents

History

Cortana Mall opened in 1976 on the site of the old Cortana Plantation. [1] Goudchaux's/Maison Blanche was the first store to open, opening on February 16. [2] The rest of the mall, initially containing 100 inline tenants opened on August 4, with three additional anchors, JCPenney, Dillard's, and Sears, as well as a three-screen cinema operated by General Cinema Corporation, opening in the remaining months of 1976. [3] At the time of its opening, with 1.2 million square feet of space, Cortana Mall was the largest shopping mall in the south and 14th largest in the United States. [4] A fifth anchor, H. J. Wilson Co., opened October 17, 1977. [5] Mervyn's announced plans in late 1986 to join the mall as a sixth anchor, with the store opening July 17, 1987. At this time, ten extra inline tenants joined the mall. [6] With this addition, Cortana Mall had space for about 140 stores and 1.6 million square feet of space. The mall's movie theater closed in 1988 when its lease was not renewed.

In the 1990s, the mall underwent renovations, first in 1991 to update the interior and add security and then in 1997 to update its exterior signage and landscaping. It was in 1997 when Cortana Mall rebranded as the Mall at Cortana. [7] With the rebrand, the Mall at Cortana began to experience decline due to the Mall of Louisiana opening in South Baton Rouge in 1997. The issue was exacerbated when Towne Center at Cedar Lodge opened 3 miles away on Corporate Boulevard in 2005, causing many stores with duplicate Cortana locations to close or not renew their leases. It was also in the late 1990s that many of the anchors experienced name and location changes.

The current Dillard's store at the mall was originally Goudchaux's, which was the first anchor to open at Cortana Mall. After the Sternberg family acquired New Orleans–based Maison Blanche in 1982, Goudchaux rebranded as Maison Blanche/Goudchaux and then became Maison Blanche in 1988 to discern itself from the similarly named Godchaux's Department Store in New Orleans. Mercantile Stores purchased the Maison Blanche stores from the Sternberg family in 1992 and operated the store until selling it to Dillard's in 1998. As a result, Dillard's relocated from its existing store to the former Maison Blanche. In 2009, the store converted to a single-level clearance center, which was the last store to close in May 2021.

The original Dillard's was then sold to Saks Incorporated, who converted it to Parisian in 1998, then McRae's a year later. [8] When May Properties purchased the McRae's (in Cortana) and Parisian (in the Mall of Louisiana) in 2001, the two stores reopened as Foley's on March 28, 2001. [9] After Foley's was acquired by Macy's in September 2006, the Cortana and Mall of Louisiana stores both became Macy's.

In 1985, Service Merchandise acquired H. J. Wilson Co. and rebranded the Cortana Mall store as such. Service Merchandise closed in early 2002 when the chain went bankrupt, leaving the anchor slot vacant until Steve & Barry's opened in 2004. Steve and Barry's closed as a result of the recession in 2009, leaving the space vacant for one year until Virginia College opened its Baton Rouge campus in the former store.

The mall's last anchor, Mervyns, closed in 2006 when the store decided to focus its efforts on the Southwestern United States.

In 2009, several new inline tenants opened in the mall, and the mall's name reverted to Cortana Mall. In 2012, Mall Properties, the original owner of the mall, sold Cortana Mall back to its lenders and brought in Woodmont Company to manage the property. In 2013, Moonbeam Equities of Las Vegas, NV purchased the mall's inline tenants and the old Mervyn's for $6 million. [10]

During the late 2010s, Cortana Mall experienced retail freefall with numerous anchor and inline tenant closures. As of March 2016, the mall anchors were: Sears, Dillard's Clearance Center, JCPenney, Macy's, and Virginia College. In April 2016, Macy's announced it was leaving Cortana Mall.

JCPenney at The Mall at Cortana Uplanet 036.jpg
JCPenney at The Mall at Cortana

On January 4, 2017, it was announced the Sears store would be closing in the spring of that year. [11] During the same week, Footlocker announced they would be leaving the mall as well. On March 17, 2017, it was announced the JCPenney store will be closing on July 31 of that year. The closure of JCPenney left Dillard's Clearance Center as the only anchor left. [12] On March 27, 2017, in an article from theadvocate.com highlighted there were only 48 stores within the mall that still had a tenant leaving 62 spaces vacant. Other remaining tenants and managers had raised concerns about leaving the mall due to losing the two remaining major anchor stores. Moonbeam put the property up for sale for $4 million in August 2017 but took the listing off the market in October 2018 due to lack of interest.

In September 2018, Virginia College announced they would close the Cortana location in July 2019 as part of a nationwide downsizing. [13] The campus closed at the end of 2018 when the college folded.

By December 2017, the Dillard's outlet permanently closed the mall entrance. As of April 2018, the mall had about 40 occupied stores, which continued to dwindle. As of May 2019, the mall's inline tenets consisted of three jewelers, a hair salon, Bath & Body Works, a Philly cheesesteak grill, a church, a theatrical studio, and a small medical clinic among its inline tenants, with over 90% of the available properties and five anchors vacant.

By the end of July 2019, Bath and Body Works closed, and the remaining tenants were ordered to vacate the premises by September 15, 2019. [14] The last remaining tenants were a USPS branch, a distribution center by the local Junior League, and a nurse practitioner clinic, and the mall was closed to mall walkers after September 3. The Baton Rouge Business Report stated there is a possible deal that Amazon may move their distribution center operations to the mall. [15] It was later confirmed in November that Amazon planned to buy the mall, as well as the former Macy's and Virginia College buildings, and build a new distribution center. [16]

On January 11, 2021, it was announced that Dillard's Clearance Center would be closing in April 2021, which would leave the mall completely vacant. [17] Demolition of the mall began on March 22, 2021 and was completed in late summer of 2021. As of December 2021, the site is currently undergoing redevelopment into a distribution center for Amazon. [18] [19]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University Mall (Florida)</span> Shopping mall in Florida, United States

University Mall, previously University Square Mall, is a shopping mall located near the University of South Florida, just north of the city limits of Tampa on Fowler Avenue. The property is located just east of I-275. The Mall has decreased in popularity over the years as online shopping and gentrification of the surrounding area has started to take effect.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Volusia Mall</span> Shopping mall in Florida, United States

Volusia Mall is a super-regional shopping mall located in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the largest retail shopping center in the Volusia-Flagler market. Opened on October 15, 1974, the mall comprises more than 120 stores on one level, as well as a food court. Anchor stores are JCPenney and three Dillard's locations. The mall is owned and managed by CBL & Associates Properties.

Countryside Mall is a shopping mall in Clearwater, Florida. Situated near the coastline on the Gulf Coast, it serves over 9 million customers every year, and is home to five anchor stores, a 12-screen CMX Cinemas, numerous restaurants, and an ice skating rink.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mall of Louisiana</span> Shopping mall in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

The Mall of Louisiana is a mid-scale shopping mall in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, between I-10 and Bluebonnet Blvd. It is the largest mall in Louisiana and contains the third largest indoor carousel in the world. It is the only regional mall in Baton Rouge. The anchor stores are 2 Dillard's stores, Main Event Entertainment, JCPenney, and Macy's.

Inland Center is a regional shopping mall owned and operated by Macerich, located in San Bernardino, California along the southwest border adjacent to Interstate 215 and the city of Colton. The mall is within one mile of three bordering cities on the southern end of San Bernardino. Inland Center is a single-level mall anchored by, JCPenney, Forever 21 and Macy's, plus 110 specialty shops and services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coral Square</span> Shopping mall in Florida, United States

Coral Square, often referred to as Coral Square Mall, is a regional enclosed shopping mall located northwest of Fort Lauderdale in Coral Springs, Florida, on the northeast corner of Atlantic Boulevard and University Drive; it opened in 1984. The mall features 120 retailers, including JCPenney, Kohl's and 2 Macy's locations as its anchors.

West Oaks Mall is a regional shopping mall located in the Alief area of the west side of Houston, Texas, USA, that opened in 1984. With a trade area serving far western parts of Houston including a business clientele in the Energy Corridor and suburban neighborhoods west of George Bush Park in the Greater Katy and Fulshear areas, the mall is located at Texas State Highway 6 and Westheimer Road and can easily be accessed south on Highway 6 via Interstate 10.

Alexandria Mall is a shopping mall located in Alexandria, Louisiana, United States. It features Dillard's, JCPenney, Conn's, and Burlington Coat Factory, as anchor stores.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irving Mall</span> Shopping mall in Texas, United States

Irving Mall is an enclosed American shopping mall located in Irving, Texas, at the intersection of Texas State Highway 183 and Belt Line Road. It has over 80 stores, including four anchor tenants as of November 29, 2020, plus a food court with the only international restaurant being Subway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acadiana Mall</span> Shopping mall in Lafayette, Louisiana

Acadiana Mall is an enclosed regional shopping mall in the city of Lafayette, Louisiana, located at the intersection of Johnston Street and Ambassador Caffery Parkway. It opened in 1979 and was developed by Robert B. Aikens & Associates, but is now owned by Namdar Realty Group. Currently, Acadiana Mall houses three department store anchors. In 2015, Sears Holdings spun off 235 of its properties, including the Sears at Acadiana Mall, into Seritage Growth Properties. Sears closed in September 2017 leaving its site vacant. On June 4, 2020, it was announced that JCPenney would be closing as part of a plan to close 154 stores nationwide. However this store was removed from the closing list on July 13, 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orlando Fashion Square</span> Shopping mall in Florida, United States

Orlando Fashion Square is a split one-story, two-story indoor shopping mall located in Orlando, Florida. Opened in 1973, it features 79 stores in over one million square feet of shop space. The mall's anchor stores are Macy's, Floor & Decor, and Dillard's Clearance Center. Predating the mall's opening was a Sears department store opened in 1963; this store closed in 2016 and has been razed for redevelopment. JCPenney, another anchor store, closed in 2020. Other major tenants include Premiere Cinemas and Planet Fitness. The mall is managed by UP Development, Inc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Parks Mall at Arlington</span> Shopping mall in Arlington, Texas

The Parks Mall at Arlington is a shopping mall that opened in 1988 at 3811 South Cooper Street and Interstate 20 in South Arlington, Texas between Fort Worth and Dallas. It went through a renovation in 1996. It is one of the leading shopping destinations in the Metroplex. The Dallas Morning News calls it "An overcrowded entertainment destination". It is the third-largest mall in Tarrant County behind its competitor, North East Mall. Major anchor stores include Dick's Sporting Goods, Dillard's, J. C. Penney, Macy's, and Nordstrom Rack.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lakeland Square Mall</span> Shopping mall in Lakeland, Florida

Lakeland Square Mall is a shopping center situated on the northern side of Lakeland, Florida. Serving Polk County as one of only two enclosed malls, it holds the distinction of being the sole shopping destination off of I-4 between Tampa and Orlando. Presently, the mall is anchored by Dillard's, Resale America, J. C. Penney, Urban Air Adventure Park, and Cinemark Theatres.

Deerbrook Mall is a mall located in the northern Houston suburb of Humble. It is at the major intersection of I-69/US 59 and FM 1960, near George Bush Intercontinental Airport. Deerbrook Mall is classified as a super-regional mall and is the only mall in suburban Northeast Houston. The mall is in the middle of Humble's entertainment complex which includes restaurants, other shopping outlets, movie theaters, as well as communities, which creates heavy traffic and congestion during traffic rush hour and weekend rushes. Deerbrook is owned by Brookfield Properties of Chicago, Illinois. The anchor stores are Dick's Sporting Goods, AMC Theatres, JCPenney, Barnes & Noble, Dillard's, Forever 21, and Macy's. There are 2 vacant anchor store that were once Palais Royal and Sears.

Coastland Center is a shopping mall located in Naples, Florida. Opened in 1976, it features Macy's, JCPenney, and Dillard's as its anchors. It hosts a food court and many other specialty stores. The food court is the main attraction. The mall itself is situated on just one floor, but all of the anchor stores have two floors. In 2019 the former Sears got demolished and rebuilt to a new movie theater CMX CinéBistro and Uncle Julio’s opened in 2022 in the former Sears parking lot with Twin Peaks sport bar and restaurant in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regency Square Mall (Jacksonville)</span> Shopping mall in Florida, United States

Regency Square Mall is an enclosed shopping mall in the Arlington area of Jacksonville, Florida, United States. Opened in 1967 and once one of the most successful malls in the country, the mall now features around 20 stores, including one anchor store, Dillard's Clearance Center, Impact Church, and a food court. It is owned by Namdar Realty Group and Mason Asset Management.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seminole Towne Center</span> Shopping mall in Florida, United States

Seminole Towne Center is a super-regional enclosed mall located in Sanford, Florida, 20 mi (32 km) north of Orlando near the I-4/SR 417 interchange. It has 1,136,579 square feet (105,591.6 m2) of gross leasable space. Current anchors are JCPenney, Dillard's, Dick's Sporting Goods, & Elev8 Fun, with 2 vacant anchors which are the former Macy's & Burlington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westminster Mall (Colorado)</span> Shopping mall in Colorado, United States

Westminster Mall was an enclosed shopping mall in Westminster, Colorado, a suburb of Denver, Colorado, United States. Opened in 1977, the mall featured one anchor store (Joslins). Former anchors were Dillard's, Montgomery Ward, Mervyn's, Sears, and Macy's. The mall also included a food court and formerly included a movie theater. It was also a dead mall, having closed in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Altamonte Mall</span> Shopping mall in Altamonte Springs, Florida, United States

Altamonte Mall is a super-regional shopping mall located in Altamonte Springs, Florida, United States, a suburb of Orlando. The mall features the traditional retailers JCPenney, Dillard's, and Macy's, in addition to an 18-screen AMC Theatres. The mall features prominent specialty retailers such as Apple Store, Volcom, Cotton On, Sephora, and White House Black Market.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edison Mall</span> Shopping mall in Florida, United States

Edison Mall is an enclosed, super-regional shopping mall in Fort Myers, Florida. The mall opened in 1965, and has been expanded three times since. Edison Mall is owned by Washington Prime Group, which took over the mall in 2014. The mall is named for inventor Thomas Edison, who owned a winter residence and laboratory in Fort Myers. The mall's anchors are Dillard's, JCPenney, and two Macy's stores, and also includes 133 stores and a lifestyle center section. The mall itself is situated on just one floor, but all of the anchor stores have two floors.

References

  1. "Unitarian Church in Baton Rouge uncovers property once home to plantation, 44 slaves".
  2. "This Will Be the Start of Something Big," Sunday Advocate, Baton Rouge, February 15, 1976, pages 10-A and 11-A
  3. "Cortana Mall Formally Opens," Sunday Advocate, Baton Rouge, August 4, 1976, Page 20-A
  4. "Cortana Celebrates 25th," The Advocate, Baton Rouge, September 9, 2001, Page 2K
  5. "Wilson's Opens Second Store at Cortana Mall," State-Times, Baton Rouge, October 17, 1977, Page 10-C
  6. "Mervyn's to open store here July 17," The Advocate, Baton Rouge, July 9, 1987, Page 13-A
  7. "Cortana Celebrates 25th," The Advocate, Baton Rouge, September 9, 2001, Page 2K
  8. "Cortana Parisian to Change MaRae's to Take Spot at Mall". The Advocate. Baton Rouge. June 26, 1999.
  9. "Two BR department stores close for makeovers", The Advocate, Baton Rouge, March 16, 2001, Page 4 C
  10. Cortana Mall property sold *** Las Vegas firm plans to lease available space, The Advocate, Baton Rouge, March 28, 2013, Page 6B
  11. Hays, Robb (2017-01-05). "Gonzales Kmart, Cortana Sears to close". WAFB.
  12. Boone, Timothy (2017-03-26). "As anchor stores close, Cortana Mall tenant says he's seen it before, future looks bleak". The Advocate .
  13. "Virginia College shutting down Cortana campus". The Advocate. Baton Rouge. September 10, 2018.[ permanent dead link ]
  14. "Last of Cortana mall tenants told to move out in two weeks".
  15. "Is Amazon distribution center coming to Cortana?". Baton Rouge Business Report. 2019-08-27. Retrieved 2020-04-16.
  16. "Amazon plans moving forward at Cortana Mall, deal not yet done". Baton Rouge Business Report. 2019-11-18. Retrieved 2020-04-16.
  17. "Dillard's at Cortana Mall closing in April".
  18. "Amazon center in Baton Rouge: Cortana Mall demolition begins; see photos".
  19. "A look at Amazon's timetable for demolishing Cortana Mall and building its distribution center".