Park Road Shopping Center

Last updated
Park Road Shopping Center
Park Road Shopping Center Sign.jpg
The original 1956 Park Road Shopping Center billboard has an Art Deco feel and stands at the southeast end of the mall
Park Road Shopping Center
Location Charlotte, North Carolina, United States
Coordinates 35°10′26″N80°50′56″W / 35.173980°N 80.848834°W / 35.173980; -80.848834
Address4201 Park Rd.
Opening dateNovember 15, 1956
DeveloperA.V. Blankenship
OwnerEdens
No. of stores and services65
Total retail floor area 425,408 sq ft (39,521.7 m2)
No. of floors1
Website parkroadshoppingcenter.com

Park Road Shopping Center is an open air strip mall located in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is located northeast of the intersection of Woodlawn Rd. and Park Rd. in the south central part of Charlotte. Park Road Shopping Center has a nostalgic ambience, which is sustained by the pipe shop, soda shop, shoe repair shop, and many other stores that date back to the Post-World War II baby boom era.

Contents

History

Park Road Shopping Center opened up on November 15, 1956 and was Charlotte's very first open area-type shopping mall. Developed by A.V. Blankenship, it is typical of Mid-Century modern architecture and the original billboard sign remains today. When the mall was first envisioned, it was considered to be a shift in area business development. At this time period most of the shopping areas were still located in and around downtown Charlotte. Meanwhile, more and more people continued to move to the suburbs and outlying areas of the city. [1] This has been the catalyst that has kept the shopping center successful to this day. Park Road Shopping Center is a very bustling mall and serves many of the surrounding Charlotte neighborhoods such as Myers Park, Barclay Downs, Parkdale, Colonial Village, Madison Park, Sedgefield, Ashbrook, and Starmount. In 1967 a local attorney named Porter Byrum bought Park Road Shopping Center. On June 16, 2011 Mr. Byrum announced that Park Road Shopping Center would be donated to 3 local colleges (Queens University of Charlotte, Wingate University, and Wake Forest University). [2] Mr. Byrum had held ownership of the shopping center for nearly 44 years. Just one month later these 3 colleges sold the shopping center for $82 million to EDENS, a shopping center operator and developer. [3] Despite these sudden changes in ownership, it is expected that the shopping center will continue on as is. It is easy to walk or bike to the Park Road Shopping Center since it lies on the Little Sugar Creek Greenway. In 2014 the center underwent a renovation. It was painted white, given wooden features, outdoor seating was added and the covered walkways got new lighting and floor treatment.

Park Road Shopping Center, Charlotte, NC Park Road Shopping Center.jpg
Park Road Shopping Center, Charlotte, NC

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belmont, North Carolina</span> City in North Carolina, United States

Belmont is a small suburban city in Gaston County, North Carolina, United States, located about 13 miles (21 km) west of uptown Charlotte and 9 miles (14 km) east of Gastonia. The population was 10,076 at the 2010 census. Once known as Garibaldi Station, it was named for the New York banker August Belmont. Belmont is home to Belmont Abbey College.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xujiahui</span> Locality in Shanghai

Xujiahui is a locality in Shanghai. It is a historic area of commerce and culture administratively within Xuhui District, which is named after the locality. The area is a well-known precinct for shopping and entertainment in Shanghai. It is served by the Xujiahui Station of the Shanghai Metro.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SouthPark Mall (North Carolina)</span> Shopping mall in North Carolina, U.S.

SouthPark is an upscale shopping mall in the affluent SouthPark neighborhood in Charlotte, North Carolina. The mall is located approximately five miles (8 km) south of Uptown Charlotte, at the corner of Sharon and Fairview Roads. With 1,688,480 square feet (160,000 m2), It is one of the most profitable malls in the country with sales at over $700 per square foot. It is the 10th largest on the East Coast and is the 28th largest in the United States. SouthPark is the most congested shopping area in the United States during Black Friday weekend. The mall is visited by more than 12 million visitors a year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastland Mall (Charlotte, North Carolina)</span> Shopping mall in North Carolina, United States

Eastland Mall was a shopping mall in Charlotte, North Carolina. The center opened on July 30, 1975, as the then-largest mall in North Carolina with three anchor department stores, Belk, J.C. Penney, and Ivey's. A Sears, Roebuck and Company store joined four years later. The mall was owned by Glimcher Realty Trust and the City of Charlotte. Glimcher requested the mall be put into receivership due to heavy debt, and there were reports of the mall entering foreclosure. LNR sold the interior space in the mall to Boxer Properties of Houston for $2 million. It ceased operations on June 30, 2010, and was purchased by the city of Charlotte from Boxer Properties, and the owners of the vacant anchors in hopes of selling it to a developer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carolina Place Mall</span> Shopping mall in Pineville, North Carolina

Carolina Place is a shopping mall located in Pineville, North Carolina, a suburb of Charlotte. The 1,200,000-square-foot (110,000 m2) GLA mall, in the shape of a curve, is anchored by Belk, a Dick's Sporting Goods and Golf Galaxy combo store, Dillard's, and JCPenney.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belk</span> American retail chain

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, and a wedding registry.

Central Piedmont Community College is a public community college in Charlotte, North Carolina. With an enrollment of more than 40,000 students annually, Central Piedmont is the second-largest community college in the North Carolina Community College System and the largest in the Charlotte metropolitan area. The college has six campuses and three centers and offers nearly 300 degree, diploma and certificate programs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richway</span> American discount department store chain

Richway was the discount department store division of Atlanta-based Rich's. It was originally part of Rich's, and was later bought by Federated Department Stores when they purchased the Rich's chain. It was originally known as Richway, a Rich's Company with a more bluish logo than the later orange and black theme under Federated ownership. The sunrise logo means "Everything Under The Sun", the slogan used in advertisements from that period. The official name of the chain was later Richway Department Stores. A long tagline on commercials was "We don't look like a discount store, but our price tags give us away."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Towson Town Center</span> Shopping mall in Maryland, United States

Towson Town Center is a large indoor shopping mall located in Towson, Maryland. It was the largest indoor shopping mall in Maryland prior to the completion of Arundel Mills in late 2000 in Hanover and the 2007 expansion of Westfield Annapolis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SouthPark, Charlotte</span> Edge city / Neighborhood in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, United States

SouthPark is an area edge city in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. Its name is derived from the upscale SouthPark Mall, which opened on February 12, 1970. At nearly 1.8 million square feet, SouthPark Mall is the largest shopping mall in Charlotte and all of the Carolinas. The area is geographically centered at the intersection of Fairview Road and Sharon Road in the south central sector of the city, about six miles south of Uptown Charlotte. In addition to being home to the mall, SouthPark is also a residential area and one of the larger business districts in Charlotte. SouthPark is typical of the mixed-use developments found in many larger cities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greenspoint, Houston</span> Neighborhood and business district in Harris County, Texas, United States

Greater Greenspoint, also referred to as the North Houston District, is a 7-square-mile (18 km2) business district and a suburban neighborhood in northern Harris County, Texas, United States, located mostly within the city limits of Houston. Centered around the junction of Interstate 45 and Texas State Highway Beltway 8 near George Bush Intercontinental Airport, the area is a classic example of a planned edge city. The initial 2,000-acre (8.1 km2) retail and office development centered around Greenspoint Mall was a project of the Friendswood Development Company during the 1970s and early 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastland (Charlotte neighborhood)</span> Neighborhood in Mecklenburg, North Carolina, United States

Eastland is a neighborhood in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. The area is named after the former eponymous mall, that was demolished in the 2014. Eastland is almost seven and a half miles from Uptown, Charlotte.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paramus Park</span> Shopping mall in Paramus, New Jersey

Paramus Park is a shopping mall located in Paramus, New Jersey, United States. It opened in 1974, is owned by Brookfield Properties, and has a gross leasable area (GLA) of 770,941 sq ft (71,622.8 m2).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlotte Transportation Center</span>

The Charlotte Transportation Center (CTC), also known as Arena or CTC/Arena, is an intermodal transit station in Center City Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. It serves as the central hub for the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) buses and connects with the LYNX Blue Line and CityLYNX Gold Line. It is located on East Trade Street, Fourth Street and Brevard Street. Notable places nearby include the Bank of America Corporate Center, Belk Theater, EpiCentre, Overstreet Mall and the Spectrum Center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastridge Mall (Gastonia)</span> Shopping mall in North Carolina, United States

Eastridge Mall is a regional shopping mall located in Gastonia, North Carolina, and is 19 miles (31 km) west of uptown Charlotte, North Carolina. Opened in 1976, it is located off Interstate 85 at exit 20, N. New Hope Road, and the mall houses around 70 stores.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cotswold (Charlotte neighborhood)</span> Neighborhood in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, United States

The Cotswold neighborhood of Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, most likely taking its name from the large shopping center, Cotswold Village Shops, is located at the intersection of Randolph and Sharon Amity Roads. Originally known as Cotswold Mall, it was one of Charlotte's first suburban malls. Cotswold is emerging as one of the more desirable areas for living and shopping with close proximity to Uptown. Many 1950s and 1960s homes are being remodeled and sold.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Memorial City, Houston</span> District in Texas, United States

Memorial City is a commercial district in the Memorial area of Houston, Texas, United States. Located along Interstate 10 between Beltway 8 and Bunker Hill Road, the district is anchored by Memorial City Mall, the nation's 38th-largest shopping mall; Memorial Hermann Memorial City Medical Center; CityCentre, a high-density mixed-use development; and Town & Country Village, a shopping center. Large portions of Memorial City are owned by development firm MetroNational, which has developed 265 acres in the area, including the entirety of the mall.

Midtown is a mixed-use development district under development in Dallas, Texas (USA). The area is located in North Dallas, bordered by Interstate 635 on the south, Dallas North Tollway on the west, Spring Valley Road on the north, and Preston Road on the east. The development is next to Galleria Dallas, an upscale shopping mall, and is located at the southern end of the Platinum Corridor.

Porter Brown Byrum was an American attorney, businessman and philanthropist. The welcome center at his alma mater Wake Forest University is now named for him, as is the Wingate University School of Business.

References