A Tale of Two Malls
In Greenville, two shopping malls that found new life as
public buildings continue to evolve.
McAlister Square opened in 1968. The Greenville News (July 28, 2018) explained that the new mall—with
its air conditioned spaces, evening shopping hours, and ample parking—"devastated
downtown retailers," pushing many away from Main Street. By 1999, however,
the aging mall could not compete with newer malls. Greenville Technical College’s
foundation purchased the property and reinvented it as a higher education
center. The largest tenants are Greenville Tech and the University Center, a
partnership offering space to 10 colleges and universities. A few businesses
still operate in the mall, but most of the smaller tenants are government or
non-profit agencies. Greenville Tech’s plans to vacate a large part of the mall
in the coming year will change how the mall operates further.
 |
| Present day McAlister Square Mall |
 |
| Interior of present-day McAlister Square Mall |
Bell Tower opened in 1970 on the former Furman University
Campus. One website partly attributed the mall’s failures to this West End location
in downtown Greenville. As businesses moved to the suburbs, Bell Tower faced
heavy competition and closed by the mid-1980s. In 1987, the Greenville County bought
the mall, transforming it into County Square where many county government
offices are housed. As the popularity of downtown Greenville has revived since
the 1980s, the Greenville News
(August 12, 2019) reports that the estimated value of the Bell Tower/County Square
land has skyrocketed. To match the growth of downtown, public officials are
working redevelop the site as a new center that could exceed $1 billion.
 |
| Current County Square complex |
 |
| Rendering of proposed County Square redevelopment |
While McAlister Square's primary purpose changed, its origins are unmistakable—i.e. Junkspace.
The Bell Tower project, however, led me back to the Koolhaas piece, looking for
hope that the site's impending redevelopment could redeem the Junkspace that was Bell
Tower Mall. However, I found the term "JunkSignature," which Koolhaas
described as “Junkspace minus its saving vulgarity.” It will be interesting to
see if Greenville’s $1 billion investments creates a new space that breaks from
Koolhaas’ description or simply reinvents more Junkspace.
Cindy, really liked how you looked close to home for an example of how dying malls have been adapted. I wonder why Haywood Mall is still successful today in Greenville. In regards to Greenville's $1billion investments into County Square, unfortunately, I don't think it will redeem the Junkspace that was Bell Tower Mall. I believe the plans are to completely demolish it and create a whole new civic center for Greenville that will reconnect it to downtown.
ReplyDeleteSophia, you are right about Bell Tower. The reputation and property values of downtown demand an attention-getting redevelopment. While McAlister Square carried on with a new programmatic purpose and a minor facelift, the same will not be true for County Square/Bell Tower. I did not mention Greenville Mall earlier, but there developers took a hybrid approach--keeping part of the original structure while demolishing the rest to make way for more shops and restaurants. These cases offer three approaches for dealing with Junkspace. Who knows if Haywood Mall will go the same way; however, if it does, I feel certain that there will be many examples for dealing with Junkspace that has lost its luster.
ReplyDelete