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SouthPark Mall, located in Charlotte, opened on February
12, 1970 with three deparment stores and one million
square feet. Located about five miles south of Uptown,
the area was considered the outskirts of Charlotte
at the time; people were skeptical about a big shopping
mall in the middle of pastureland. The mall was developed
by the Belk and Ivey families, owners of the eponymous
department stores, who jointly owned and operated
the mall. The design of the shopping mall was starkly
modernist, with an underground parking deck. The inspiration
for the mall's original architecture reportedly was
the Dallas's NorthPark Center. After the flagship
Belk and Ivey's stores, Sears was the third anchor
store to join the mall. A strip mall opened behind
Sears in June of 1970 with a Colonial Stores grocery
store (later a Big Star food market, then acquired
by Harris Teeter in the 1980s) and the SouthPark Cinemas
I & II.
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Eventually,
the mall faced competition with the two-story Eastland
Mall built about 6 miles northeast. Eastland contained
Sears, Belk and Ivey's stores-- however it also included
a 4th department store, JC Penney, and an ice skating
rink. Over the years SouthPark became more upscale
as the mall's interior and department stores were
renovated, however they were more 'upgrades' than
massive renovations.
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In
1986, a major expansion was announced. The May Department
Store company planned to bring Thalhimer's and Lord
& Taylor to the mall, in addition to a new food
court. The food court and Thalhimer's department store
joined the mall in a new wing; however the addition
of Lord & Taylor never materialized. The new wing
opened in 1987. In 1990, Dillard's bought out, and
subsequently renamed, Ivey's department stores, and
the following year Thalhimer's was converted to Hecht's.
Belk, Dillard's, Hecht's and Sears were the mall's
'anchor' stores.
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In the 1990s, SouthPark standbys such as Woolworth's
and Morrison's Cafeteria left, and many changes
resulted from the new competition of Carolina Place
Mall, located several miles to the south, in Pineville.
The strip mall's Cinemas 3 closed after the new
Phillips Place Cinemas opened, and the Harris Teeter
moved to Morrocroft Shopping Center across Sharon
Road. It was then announced that Saks Fifth Avenue
and Nordstrom would join the mall in its biggest
expansion yet. Soon after, the Belk and Ivey families
sold their interests in the property to Rodamco,
who then sold the mall to Simon Property Group.
Saks pulled out of the project, but Nordstrom opened
their doors in 2004. Two new parking decks were
added, and a third is slated for opening in 2006.
The expansion began in 2000 and is scheduled to
finish at the end of 2006.
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Today SouthPark Mall is home to the flagship and
largest Belk department store, one of the largest
Dillard's stores, a newly renovated Hecht's, the
state's second Nordstrom, and soon to come-- the
first Neiman Marcus in the Carolinas. The mall also
has a new Dick's Sporting Goods at the former location
of Sears, which closed in 2003 due to underperformance.
SouthPark also houses restaurants The Cheesecake
Factory, Maggiano's Little Italy, Morton's Steakhouse
and McCormick & Schmick's. The mall now boasts
1.4 million square feet (130,000 m²) and will
eventually have nearly 7,600 parking spaces.
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On the grounds of the mall, where the former strip
mall was located, an oudoor stage called Symphony
Park has been built. Here, during the summer months,
the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra stages its annual
"Pops in the Park" free concert series.
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