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WestGate Mall is an indoor mall located at 205 West Blackstock Road, Spartanburg, South Carolina 29301-1382, the northwest corner of West Blackstock Road and W.O. Ezell Boulevard in the city of Spartanburg in Spartanburg County, South Carolina.
History
The mall opened for business on 28 October 1975. It was originally anchored by Belk Hudson (now Belk), 205 West Blackstock Rd, Suite 132, Spartanburg, South Carolina 29301-1382; Meyers-Arnold; and Sears #1545, 205 West Blackstock Road, Suite C, Spartanburg, South Carolina 29301-1382. J.C. Penney #1751, 205 West Blackstock Road, Suite 8, Spartanburg, South Carolina 29301-1382, was added in 1978.
The mall underwent an expansion in the late-1990's. Two anchors, Dillard's #167 and Profitt's, and a multiplex, Westgate Mall 8 (Regal Cinemas #1718), were added.
Meyers-Arnold was acquired by Upton's in 1987. It closed in 1999 when Upton's went out of business. It has been replaced by Bed Bath & Beyond and Dick's Sporting Goods #190, 205 West Blackstock Road, Suite 960, Spartanburg, SC 29301-1382
Profitt's acquired J.B. White in 1998. The store closed in 2005 when Belk acquired Profitt's. It was demolished to make way for the freestanding Costco #1008, 211 West Blackstock Road, Spartanburg, South Carolina 29301-1382, which opened in 2007.
Recent developments
Stockholm, Sweden-based apparel retailer H&M will be opening an approximately 21,000-square-foot store at WestGate Mall.
That last newspaper article was interesting - so, at Westgate's opening, it was the largest mall in the state of SC and the largest mall between Charlotte and Atlanta. Was Spartanburg considered the epicenter of retail commerce in the Upstate in the 1970's? Why was this not built in Greenville?
Somewhat speculative on my part, but Greenville was a fading mill town in the 70's. Spartanburg would seem to have been the more logical choice being at the crossroads of 85 and 26.
That last newspaper article was interesting - so, at Westgate's opening, it was the largest mall in the state of SC and the largest mall between Charlotte and Atlanta. Was Spartanburg considered the epicenter of retail commerce in the Upstate in the 1970's? Why was this not built in Greenville?
I do not recall Spartanburg being the epicenter of retail commerce across the upstate in the 1970's.
Greenville, which had McAlister Square, 225 South Pleasantburg Drive, Greenville, South Carolina 29607-2521, would see two new malls constructed and opened in a span of two years. Greenville Mall, 1025 Woodruff Road, Greenville, South Carolina 29607-4108, opened around 1978. It has been replaced by Magnolia Park. Haywood Mall, 700 Haywood Road, Greenville, South Carolina 29607-2725, opened in 1980. It has rivaled WestGate Mall as being the largest malls in the state.
Somewhat speculative on my part, but Greenville was a fading mill town in the 70's. Spartanburg would seem to have been the more logical choice being at the crossroads of 85 and 26.
Greenville was experiencing a change in the majority of industries and initial growth in eastern Greenville County during the 1970's. Two new malls opened in a span of nearly three miles. Haywood Mall eventually won because it was between McAlister Square and Greenville Mall.
Somewhat speculative on my part, but Greenville was a fading mill town in the 70's. Spartanburg would seem to have been the more logical choice being at the crossroads of 85 and 26.
I would not say fading. Spartanburg was a mill town too in the 70's . Just about every town in the upstate was. When Westgate opened it's only other competitor was McAlister Square in Greenville which opened in the 60's. Greenville saw the construction of two additional malls in the late 70's.
The 70's is probably wrong on my part. In the 80's as a young man I worked in a couple of the mills and it seemed like we always either had a bunch of work or people were getting laid off.
Carolina Knight do you know about that supposed development of a new shopping center at the intersection of I-85 and US 29?
I was told by some of my retail friends that (Federated) Rich's Department Store signed on as an anchor of the new shopping center but then Westgate Mall management decided to renovate and expand the mall and add on Dillard's, Proffit's, and the movie theaters and therefore killed that project.
What I have noticed about Westgate Mall is that this facility is very "anchored" but the inline tenants roster is small.
The 70's is probably wrong on my part. In the 80's as a young man I worked in a couple of the mills and it seemed like we always either had a bunch of work or people were getting laid off.
True. I think in the 80's is when the layoffs and mill closures really started to mount. I was young but I remember family members losing jobs then.
Carolina Knight do you know about that supposed development of a new shopping center at the intersection of I-85 and US 29?
I was told by some of my retail friends that (Federated) Rich's Department Store signed on as an anchor of the new shopping center but then Westgate Mall management decided to renovate and expand the mall and add on Dillard's, Proffit's, and the movie theaters and therefore killed that project.
What I have noticed about Westgate Mall is that this facility is very "anchored" but the inline tenants roster is small.
Yes, I do. A mall was proposed nearly 20 years ago where Spartan Exchange Village, Upward Sports, and Tyger Lake are present. I do not know about Rich's being signed on as an anchor. I do recall Dillard's and J.B. White being speculated as anchors before they went to WestGate Mall.
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