Kokomo Town Center

Kokomo Town Center, formerly Kokomo Mall, is an outdoor shopping mall in Kokomo, Indiana. Opened in 1963, the property was converted from an enclosed mall to an outdoor mall in 2014. The mall's anchor stores are JCPenney, AMC Theatres, Robert Miller & Son Furniture, Momentum Clothing & Accessories, Classy Nails, CosmoProf, and T-Mobile.

Kokomo Town Center
LocationKokomo, Indiana
Coordinates40.463798°N 86.110305°W / 40.463798; -86.110305
Address1700 East Boulevard
Opening date1963
2014 renovated
DeveloperEdward J. DeBartolo, Sr.
OwnerVeritas Realty
No. of anchor tenants7 (6 open, 1 vacant by around October 2020)
Total retail floor area310,430 square feet (28,840 m2) (original mall)[1]
No. of floors1

History

Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation built Kokomo Mall in 1963. Anchor tenants included Montgomery Ward, H. P. Wasson and Company, and J. C. Penney.[2] By the end of the decade, the mall was purchased by Novil-Novick Associates, who enclosed the formerly open-air mall.[3]

Several stores at the mall closed throughout the 1980s, starting with National Food and Wasson's in 1980, followed by Montgomery Ward in 1981, G. C. Murphy, and several other original stores, leaving only J. C. Penney as an anchor. Meis replaced the former Montgomery Ward in 1987.[4][5] After Meis opened, Kokomo Mall Associates bought the mall in 1986 from West-Penn Realty and added several new stores, including Phar-Mor in the former Wasson's. Also, the mall interior was largely rebuilt, and new marble flooring was installed.[5] Meis was bought out by Elder-Beerman in 1989.[6]

In 1992, Manulife Real Estate acquired the mall.[7] A year later, mall occupancy declined to 60 percent as tenants moved to other retail developments in Kokomo.[8] Goody's Family Clothing opened an anchor store at the mall in 1998, taking over several small spaces in the J. C. Penney wing.[9]

By 2010, the mall was almost again empty after Goody's closed.[10] Elder-Beerman's parent company, The Bon-Ton, closed the Kokomo Mall store in 2011 and replaced it with a Carson's at nearby Markland Mall.[11] The space became Robert Miller & Son Furniture one year later, coinciding with mall renovations and a rename to Kokomo Town Center.[12]

In 2014, part of the mall structure was demolished, leaving only the storefronts on the east side, plus the J. C. Penney and Robert Miller stores, and the long-abandoned Phar-Mor.[13] The property is now owned by Veritas Realty.[14]

On June 4, 2020, it was announced that JCPenney will be closing around October 2020 as part of a plan to close 154 stores nationwide. After JCPenney closes, Robert Miller & Son Furniture will be the only traditional anchor store left.

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References
  1. Directory of major malls. MJJTM Publications Corp. 1990. p. 240.
  2. "Kokomo Mall is one stop shopping center". Kokomo Tribune. 7 October 1964. p. 9.
  3. Fipps, Lisa (12 September 1999). "Millions head to the malls". Kokomo Tribune. p. 4.
  4. "Meis store is ready". Kokomo Tribune. 29 October 1987. p. 34.
  5. Kitchell, Dave (27 March 1988). "Good old days of the Kokomo Mall returning?". Kokomo Tribune. p. 7.
  6. "Signs mark switch to Elder-Beerman". Kokomo Tribune. 24 November 1989. p. 5.
  7. Phillips, Dave (26 April 1992). "Manulife Real Estate acquires Kokomo Mall". Kokomo Tribune. p. 21.
  8. Phillips, Dave (12 August 1993). "Mall gets new lease on business". 5.
  9. Slade, Scott (16 April 1998). "Kokomo Mall to offer lots of new 'Goody's'". Kokomo Tribune. p. C1.
  10. "Fortune to breathe new life into Kokomo Mall". Kokomo Perspective. 15 July 2010. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  11. Human, Daniel (15 April 2011). "New mall, new name for Elder-Beerman in Kokomo". Indiana Economic Digest. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  12. Human, Daniel (30 May 2012). "Kokomo Mall transforms into Kokomo Town Center". Kokomo Tribune. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  13. Munsey, Pat (1 October 2014). "A mall no more". Kokomo Perspective. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  14. "Kokomo Town Center". Veritas Realty. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
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