Hampton Towne Centre
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Hampton Towne Centre (formerly Hampton Square Mall) | |
 Sign in front of Hampton Towne Centre |
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| Mall facts and statistics | |
|---|---|
| Location | Essexville, Michigan, United States |
| Opening date | 1975 |
| No. of stores and services | fewer than 10 remain; contained over 50 at its peak |
| No. of anchor tenants | 3 (1 vacant, 2 used as offices) |
| Total retail floor area | 248,868 square feet |
| No. of floors | 1 |
Contents |
[edit] Summary
Hampton Towne Centre (formerly Hampton Square Mall[1]) is a dead mall located in Essexville, Michigan, just outside of Bay City. It was the dominant shopping mall in Bay City until 1991, when Bay City Mall opened on the other end of town. As a result of that mall's opening, Hampton was quick to lose stores, becoming the dead mall that it is today.
[edit] History
Hampton Square Mall opened in 1975, featuring Kmart, Perry Drugs, Wiechmann's (a Saginaw, Michigan-based department store), with an A & P supermarket located next to Wiechmann's. At the time, Hampton Square Mall serviced a rather wide market, including the "Thumb" region of Michigan.
Early tenants included Lerner New York, Fannie Farmer, B. Dalton, Circus World, Zales Jewelers, Fashion Bug, and Kinney Shoes. A new northern wing was added to Hampton Square in 1990, bringing in J.C. Penney as a third anchor. A second expansion of the mall was also planned in 1990, but this second expansion never came to fruition.[2]
[edit] Downfall
In 1990, a new Target store opened on the opposite side of Bay City; this store was the first store to open in the Bay City Mall. By 1991, Bay City Mall itself opened, while at the same time, Midland Mall opened in nearby Midland. These newer, larger malls featured many national chain tenants, as well as food courts. In addition, the newer malls were more convienently located to freeways, whereas Hampton was on the opposite end of Bay City.
JCPenney moved to Bay City Mall in 1992, becoming the fourth anchor store there after only two years in operation at Hampton Square. Similarly, many of the older mall's tenants left for the newer mall. Wiechmann's closed all of its stores in 1993, leaving the west end of Hampton Square without an anchor. A & P closed its A & P-branded Michigan stores in the 1990s as well, although sister chain Farmer Jack was retained. Despite the loss of two anchor stores, Hampton Square still saw some new stores open (including a dollar store, a storefront church, and a small McDonald's), but these tenants were often short-lived. Around the same time, the mall was re-named Hampton Towne Centre. [2]
Eventually, many of the former retail spaces were converted for non-retail use. The former Wiechmann's has been converted into classrooms for Bay-Arenac Intermediate School District, and the former JCPenney is now Family Independence Agency offices. Edward Jones Investments, an allergy clinic, a gym, and other offices opened up, although even some of these non-traditional tenants have left.
In 2003, when Kmart declared bankruptcy, several stores were closed, including the Hampton Towne Centre location. A Hallmark across from Kmart was the last chain store to close, and a drapery shop called Spring Crest Drapery moved outside the mall in 2004.
[edit] The mall now
The mall is still open to the public. Many patrons come to walk laps around the mall for exercise, and several of the office and service tenants are in operation, including an allergy clinic. Mandarin House, a Chinese restaurant, also remains open. Once a year, Bay County Library holds a used book sale in the mall.
Kmart and Perry Drugs are still vacant, as are the majority of the mall's inline spaces. Some spaces have been vacant for more than ten years. Even non-traditional mall tenants, including the storefront church, have left. The fountain in the center court has been turned off, and most of the lighting in the concourse remains off. According to the author of the "Forgotten Michigan" page below, Christmas decorations have been seen in the mall as late as April.
As of September 2006, Do-All, Inc., a thrift shop and material assistance center, has opened in the former A & P.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.mybaycity.com/scripts/Article_ViewB.cfm?ArticleID=195&NewspaperID=0
- ^ a b http://www.angelfire.com/mi4/forgottenmi/hampton.html
- ^ http://www.mlive.com/news/bctimes/index.ssf?/base/news-7/1158074140201470.xml&coll=4
