The Mall in Columbia

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The Mall in Columbia
Logo of The Mall in Columbia.png
The Mall in Columbia
Location10300 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia, Maryland, U.S.
Coordinates 39°12′54″N76°51′40″W / 39.215°N 76.861°W / 39.215; -76.861
Opening date1971
Developer The Rouse Company
Management Brookfield Properties
Owner Brookfield Properties
No. of stores and services202
No. of anchor tenants 6
Total retail floor area 1,400,000 sq ft (130,000 m2)
No. of floors2 (3 in Macy's)
Parking7,200 spaces, including 3 parking garages
Public transit accessAiga bus trans.svg RTA Central Maryland bus: 401, 404, 405, 406, 407, 408, 501, 503
Website themallincolumbia.com
The Mall in Columbia in 2015 The Mall In Columbia 2015.jpg
The Mall in Columbia in 2015
The Mall in Columbia, interior view, original section, first floor, c. 1979 Le10-004.jpg
The Mall in Columbia, interior view, original section, first floor, c. 1979

The Mall in Columbia, also known as the Columbia Mall, is the central shopping mall for the planned community of Columbia, Maryland, United States. It has over 200 specialty stores and the anchor stores are AMC Theatres, Lidl, Main Event Entertainment, Barnes & Noble, JCPenney, Macy's, and Nordstrom. Restaurants include PF Chang's, Maggiano's Little Italy and The Cheesecake Factory. It is located in the Town Center area of the city and attracts shoppers from surrounding counties in Maryland.

Contents

History

The Mall in Columbia, interior view, original section, second floor, c. 2004 Mall of Columbia-interiorclock.png
The Mall in Columbia, interior view, original section, second floor, c. 2004

Architect Frank Gehry designed The Rouse Company Columbia exhibit building, and was initially selected to design the neighboring mall centerpiece. Gehry was later rejected by Rouse for lack of experience, and the firm of Cope, Linder, & Walmsley was contracted for the project. [1]

The Mall opened in 1971 with two major anchor stores: Hochschild Kohn's (which was replaced by Hecht's in the mid-1970s) and Woodward & Lothrop (a.k.a. Woodies, which closed in late 1995 and was replaced by JCPenney in July 1996 [2] ), as well as a McCrory's and Lerner's, which were minor anchors.[ citation needed ] Howard Research and Development was probed shortly after opening for purchasing bulk energy contracts on electricity while charging market rates to tenants. [3]

Of the original 102 stores, the only one still in operation at the mall as of July 2024 is GNC. [4] [5] [6]

The Mall has undergone several major expansions since its opening, with the Sears wing opening in 1981, along with an expansion of approximately 370,000 square feet (34,000 m2) and about 55 specialty stores. [7]

In 1997, the Hecht's store (now Macy's) added a third level. The Lord & Taylor wing opened in November 1998 (along with two new parking garages); the Nordstrom wing opened in September 1999. Also at this time, 20 to 30 stores opened in a new 60,000-square-foot (5,600 m2) wing near Hecht's. The interior was renovated by replacing the floors, lighting, skylights and air conditioning units by the end of 1998. [8]

The Mall was sold to General Growth Properties by The Rouse Company in 2004. [9]

A Cheesecake Factory restaurant opened on The Mall property near the movie theater in late 2005. The Mall's Hecht's store became Macy's on September 9, 2006. [10]

Poinsettia Tree c. 1979 Le10-005.jpg
Poinsettia Tree c. 1979

A December 2007 decision by local General Growth Properties managers to abandon The Mall's traditional "Poinsettia Tree" Christmas display sparked a grassroots movement by several hundred Columbia residents for the return of the display which had come to be viewed as a local tradition. The story was picked up by The Washington Post , [9] and the publicity led mall managers to reverse their decision and return the popular display in 2008. [11] Part of what makes the "tree" unique is its watering system and plant specifications. [12] In 2017, the large water fountain within which the "tree" had been installed each year, was replaced with at-grade flooring. [13]

In early 2013, construction began on an addition to the outdoor "Plaza at The Mall in Columbia" to replace the L.L. Bean store (which closed in May 2013) with additional stores and restaurants. [14] [15] The first phase of the outdoor expansion opened in November 2013. On April 28, 2015, Howard County Police announced an increased presence at village centers and malls following the protests and riots in Baltimore. [16]

In May 2018, a 50,000-square-foot (4,600 m2) Main Event Entertainment facility opened on the south side of the mall, featuring 22 bowling lanes and over a hundred virtual reality video games. [17]

In October 2018, it was also announced the Sears store would shutter as part of an ongoing decision to phase out of their traditional brick-and-mortar format and would become German supermarket chain Lidl. [18] [19]

In August 2020, it was announced that Lord & Taylor would shutter its traditional brick and mortar format as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic. [20] Several potential replacement tenants are reportedly in the midst of early on discussions.[ citation needed ]

By 2023, The Mall in Columbia announced several additions, among them were Warby Parker, Under Armour, and Showcase. [21] [22]

Key dates

Current anchors

Former anchors

Incidents

2014 shooting

On January 25, 2014, at around 11:15 a.m., 19-year-old Darion Marcus Aguilar entered the Zumiez store on the second floor of the mall, armed with a Mossberg 500 12-gauge shotgun with a pistol grip, and fired six to nine shots, killing two employees—21-year-old Brianna Benlolo and 25-year-old Tyler Johnson—and shot another person before committing suicide. Four others were injured unrelated to the shooting. Police arrived within two minutes to find an extensive amount of ammunition and crude explosive devices next to Aguilar's body, which were disabled safely. All of the injured were treated and later discharged from the Howard County General Hospital. [28] [29] [30] [31]

2015 shooting

Former Jessup correctional officer Hong Young was arrested on March 2, 2015, on suspicion of shooting at the Columbia AMC theater building and gunfire incidents at the National Security Agency, Arundel Mills Costco, Inter-county Connector and Laurel Walmart. [32] [33]

2024 shooting

On July 28, 2024, 17-year-old Angelo Little was shot and killed in the mall's food court in what police said was a targeted attack. Some witnesses told of their experiences on X. [34] The suspect was later revealed to be another 17-year-old, and police offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. [35]

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References

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