Pinellas Square Mall/Parkside Mall: Pinellas Park, FL

Across the entire nation, few places have had a mall purge as pronounced and extreme as Pinellas County, FL.  Since the late 1990's, six malls have faded and died in what is otherwise one of the most populous and prosperous areas of Florida.  In fact, Pinellas County has nearly a million residents making it more populous than seven US states!  Nevertheless, the big mall purge has left only two active malls in the county, which makes up the peninsula that includes Clearwater and St Petersburg.  Pinellas Square Mall, last known as Parkside Mall, is not one of those malls.

Pinellas Square Mall opened on April 13, 1977 joining the ranks of six other malls in Pinellas County including two which had opened a few years before in 1974.  At the time it opened, it was the newest major mall in the county.  Despite being in a good location at Gandy Blvd (FL 694) and US 19 in a fast growing, high population county the area was already being overwhelmed with malls.  It seemed at the time that every municipality in Florida wanted their own mall not just as a tax base but also as a "downtown" since suburban Florida in the 70's pretty much lacked any other form of central business district due to the lightning fast sprawl that took hold in the decades prior. 

This is a view entering the mall from a lower level entrance wing.  The first photo shows the center court, which was drastically modified from the original mall.  Something tells me that used to be Morrison's Cafeteria on the left.  Morrison's was gone in 1995, and that was about the time this mall was already in the toilet.  This and all photos by id780 taken March 9th and 10th, 2004.

Another view of the same area.  Photo by id780.

In the main mall, a very 70's method of escalators is used: up or down escalators no where near each other separated away from center court.  The malls that still have these as a whole are not doing very well.  Photo by id780.

Staircase with spooky abandoned store in the background.  Photo by id780.

GNC: always the last to turn out the lights when the party is over.  Photo by id780.

The mall was 70% leased when it closed, but much of those leases were filled by local shops such as this.  When a mall talks about bringing in "more local stores" that is code for "we're losing national retailers and failing".  Photo by id780.

Like so many malls that ultimately failed, Pinellas Square lacked any other draw but the mall itself.  When it opened, it had three anchors: JCPenney on the east end, Ivey's on the north end and Montgomery Ward on the west end.  It was hard to make the mall stand out when none of those anchors featured was a local store.  Having Maas Brothers or Burdine's there would have helped for sure.  This seemed to be a problem with DeBartolo malls as a whole: the fact they tended to choose terrible anchors.  Regency Mall in Augusta, GA is the most glaring example of how far DeBartolo could go astray.  The mall was also a pretty typical DeBartolo mall with lots of plain white, trees, built-in planters and fountains.  The mall also originally featured sculptured water animals in the fountain in center court, which appeared to look like flamingos in a pond.  I also noted that the mall has very little natural light, which I am sure did not help its appeal.  About the only thing that truly stood out about Pinellas Square was that it was a two level mall in a region where one story malls seem to dominate.

This JCPenney outlet mall entrance rocks my world.  It is about as dated as you can get right down to the diagonal wood and blonde brick.  Those neon strips on the ceiling were an interesting way to bring a 90's flair to a mall still basically in a bad time warp.  Photos by id780.

For some reason, the wood paneling doesn't show up on the second floor, but it looks a lot more spooky from this angle, especially with the letters burned out on the sign.  Photo by id780.

A random view along the second floor.  Notice the total absense of skylights.  This mall was way too dark.  Parkside Mall should have been nicknamed "Darkside Mall".  Photo by id780.

A random second floor shot approaching the neon-filled center court and ice rink.  Photo by id780.

This is hilariously corny...or should i say sticky sugary sweet?  The excitement is building...a new shopping center when they tear this dump down?  Photo by id780.

While Pinellas Square is gone today, it was not an innocent bystander in the great Pinellas mall race.  Another older mall was located very close by known as Gateway Mall.  Opening less than 10 years before, the older mall clearly catered to a slightly different demographic but it was without doubt that Pinellas Square had at least some affect on the mall.  Gateway was eventually torn down in 1998.  In the previous year, Pinellas Square received its final renovation after being purchased by John Hancock Insurance.  The renovation replaced a more standard center court with an ice rink and added a movie theater with stadium seating in 2001.  This is when the mall was also renamed Parkside Mall (actually ParkSide Mall, but I don't care for that spelling).

Looking down from the top floor.  Despite their best efforts to remodel, I think they actually made the mall look worse than it did when it opened.  Photo by id780.

Here are a couple rink area views.  Note the mall's logo in the ice.  Photos by id780.

This dark, spooky corridor ends at what was once Montgomery Ward.  Unfortunately, no close-up is available of the mall entrance.  Photo by id780.

Mall guide sign near the old Wards entrance.  Dillard's was already gone when this was taken.  Photo by id780.

The theater...one of the last things to open at the mall and the only thing still standing.  This spot, however, is most definitely different looking now and likely outside.  Photo by id780.

When a mall is renamed, it is never a positive sign.  It usually suggests that the owners are desperate to mask a badly tarnished reputation caused by a negative public perception.  The perception was due to vacancies creeping higher starting in the early 1990's.  The St. Petersburg times noted this in an article published in January 1993 that Christmas there was not so jolly the previous year as about 12 store fronts went dark afterwards.  By then, the mall was beginning to struggle noticeably, and it became clear in 1997 when Montgomery Ward closed its store at the mall in its first round of closings before the big 2001 liquidation.  Hot on the heels of Montgomery Ward's departure was JCPenney, who announced in December 1998 that it was downgrading its store to an outlet, which opened in early 1999. Darcy's Clothing Outlet, a local outfit, also took over the Montgomery Ward space for awhile.

Views from the second floor including a mom 'n' pop "Optical Outlet" that apparently used to be Pearle Vision Centers.  Photos by id780.

I'm not exactly positive what I am looking at here, but I know it's on the second floor.  Photo by id780.

A couple retro storefronts.  Photo by id780.

Side view of the one-way escalator.  Since the mall is void of people who knows if it's up or down.  There is no way to find out anymore.  Photo by id780.

I cannot quite place what this was, but it looks like food.  Arby's? Checkers?  Photo by id780.

To all appearances, Pinellas Park Mall never really did catch on.  Their problems simply went from bad to much worse in the late 1990's but became terminal when unbeatable competition opened in Tampa.  The only previous competition was older Westshore Plaza, and the two malls at that point seemed to compliment each other.  This was not the case when International Plaza and Bay Street opened in 2001.  This super high end mall was very destructive in that several malls died because of it.  It is without a doubt that this mall along with expansions to Westshore Plaza had an effect.  Suddenly the 10 mile trek across the Gandy Bridge was even less appealing for South Tampa residents and the slightly longer trek back across the Frankland Bridge (I-275) was much more appealing for residents of St Petersburg.  Parkside Mall began to fail during this time.  In early 2004 Dillard's, which was Ivey's until 1990, closed.  This was the final nail in the mall's coffin.

A couple more views of the ice rink from the lower level this time.  Photos by id780.

Here, the photographer is walking along the Dillard's/Ivey's wing.  Photo by id780.

Considering that this used to be Ivey's, of course the mall entrance is classy.  Ivey's had pretty sleek looking stores even for the bland 70's modern era.  Photo by id780.

A side view of the Ivey's/Dillard's mall entrance and adjacent shops.  Note that this wing retains a few of the original planters.  Photo by id780.

The other end of this wing features the mall's elevator in a rather strange spot.  Most likely it used to be in center court.  Photo by id780.

In all, it still really does not completely make sense why Pinellas Park Mall failed the way it did.  I tended to believe there was something more to it, and what appears to be the most likely scenario is the age demographics.  Currently, nearly 50% of the population is over 45, this is about the only other possibility I can think of: that the mall was not able to draw the young crowd necessary to survive.  The only other possibility is that shoppers simply liked the older Tyrone Square Mall better.  Tyrone Square features more anchors than Pinellas Square ever had, and it is better situated not to compete with any of the Tampa malls meaning it likely had the better stores all along.

This view is looking back the way that id780 came in with the mysterious second run store (Morrison's?) on the right.  Photo by id780.

Dairy Queen/Orange Julius/Karmelkorn combination.  My mall used to have one of those, and it sadly closed a couple years ago.  The rainbow colored candy coated popcorn was fun, and who doesn't like Orange Julius?  I know you're out there but nobody understands you, either.  Photo by id780.

The 80's and 90's were big on color because the 70's were not.  I am sure the original entrance was probably just a box.  The entrance here remodeled to 1997 specs features a blend of mango and avocado colors, which would taste absolutely disgusting together.  Photos by id780.

JCPenney Outlet Store featuring palm trees, mildewed brick and some sort of see-through screen thingy that is not the worst I have seen them do.  People like warm tropical breezes.  So does mildew.  Photo by id780.

Whatever it was that killed Pinellas Square Mall, it was not entirely vacant when it was demolished.  A local developer purchased the mall in 2003, and his plans were set to demolish the mall before the mall closed on its own.  After Dillard's closed, the bulldozers arrived by May or June of 2004 and demolished all of the mall except for the nearly new theaters.  The mall was then converted to just a strip mall incorporating the mall's theaters into the center of the new development.  The new strip mall that took its place is known as "The Shoppes at Park Place" and feature stores such as Target, Marshall's, Michael's, Office Depot and Petco.  In all, it is just a typical modern big box strip center now.

Wards MORE than made up for Penney's lack of outlandish, imposing architecture that was dated by the day it opened on their store at the mall.  This relic was on the west end of the mall and somehow came back to life for awhile as a local clothing outlet.  Photo by id780.

The ghost of Wards visible through the mold says "boo".  Photo by id780.

I cannot deny I dig the way this place looks no matter how weird it is.  Photo by id780.

The photographer could not get enough of Wards.  I can't either.  Photo by id780.

Ivey's was quite interesting itself with this big arc-shaped side.  Apparently Dillard's saw no need to transform this store into their trashy stucco arch design they got hung up on in the 90's.  It was nice in the days that anchors mattered so much that each store looked different with a personality all its own.  Photo by id780.

I know this is not the original mall logo, but I like the whimsical style of it.  It at least portrayed a carefree, lighthearted side to the 90's.  Cheap gas would make you feel that way.  Photo by id780.

The demalling of Pinellas Square to a strip center joins the many other lost malls of the peninsula, and it serves as a painful reminder of the problems that come with overbuilding and rapid suburbanization.  Perhaps if Pinellas County had only had about three malls further apart from one another, they would all be thriving today.  It is clear it was just one of those malls that could never be saved and probably never should have been built.  Also see the YouTube video below published by id780 for more pics.

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The photographer, id780 also published this YouTube video of the mall with his collection of still shots including some I did not publish here.

University Square Mall: Tampa, FL

The area of Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater has not only been an area of phenomenal growth over the past several decades, but also phenomenal sprawl. University Mall, originally University Square Mall, is one of those malls that led the charge of Tampa sprawl located between I-75 and I-275 northeast of the city.  As a second generation mall in the region and the second in the city, the mall is not what it once was, but it is still hanging on for now.  It has also had a long life with a very dynamic anchor history originally opening over 36 years ago opening on August 15, 1974.  As an additional note, this is my third mall I have covered named University Mall and second in Florida, and I've only covered two malls in Florida so far.

University Mall is named as such for its proximity to University of South Florida.  It is also located near the Busch Gardens theme park.  The DeBartolo-built mall started out small with only one level anchored by Tampa-based Maas Brothers on the south end with Robinson's of Florida on the original north end.  Robinson's of Florida was actually a division of the same J.W. Robinson's in California, and the company hoped to tap the booming east coast market as well.  JCPenney also was slated to open with the mall, but arrived fashionably late in October of 1974, making up the west anchor of the mall.  The new and successful mall was definitely bringing growth to the area, so the growth did not stop there with Sears rounding off the mall in 1975 as the east anchor.  Lastly, Burdine's would join the mall in 1983 in an awkward pad between Sears and Robinson's where Burlington Coat Factory is today.  With five anchors, the mall was a powerhouse, and it dominated the north side of Tampa all throughout the 80's and 90's.

While the first photo shows an elegant view from the second floor addition, you can see the rest of the mall is incredibly bland.  I am sure when the original mall was in place, this was much more appealing with in-floor fountains, dark tiles and and other items, but now it's just a plain white hallway with the usual kiosks.  It looks dated, and not in a good way.  I also want to note that ALL photos here are submitted to me from id780.

Traffic...what this mall wants more of with 1 1/2 empty anchors (id780)

Detail of the peculiar skylights with a 90's whitewashed twist (id780).

Florida's volatile retail market meant that the mall would see many significant anchor changes over the years.  With University Square, these would not just be anchor changes but would actually lead to an interesting expansion.  The first of those changes came in 1988 when Robinson's was sold to New Orleans-based Maison Blanche.  While this made little impact on the mall, fireworks would soon erupt in 1991.  First, Maison Blanche sold the University Square store as well as seven other Florida locations to Dillard's.  This was accompanied by the shake-up in the industry that also featured the merger of Maas Brothers, which had merged with Jordan Marsh prior, into Burdine's.  Burdine's, previously stuck in a less than ideal anchor pad, seized the opportunity and moved their store into the former Maas Brothers.  Montgomery Ward then joined the mall, taking over the former Burdine's space.  Perhaps the arrival of Wards put a curse on the mall.

Here, we have center court of the mall and the escalators to the second level.  I cannot deny that is pretty cool (id780).

The wood trim next to the escalators looks a little cheap (id780).

Here is a view from the second level looking back towards Macy's, formerly Maas Brothers and Burdine's (id780).

Looking back down the escalators, which apparently approach the upper level from two angles off the center court (id780).

The biggest changes to the mall itself came in 1995 when Dillard's, then still new to the market, constructed a brand new store connected to the existing store, which had previously housed Maison Blanche and Robinson's.  When completed, the original store was converted to mall space, creating a two-level wing to an otherwise one-story mall.  This was likely done to compete with the new Brandon Town Center, which opened in 1995, and the addition to the mall was completed in 1996.  This unique change to the mall's footprint was also tried in one other mall in Florida, Tallahassee Mall.   Everything was going well for the mall, but the next decade would prove that the mall was losing ground, but it was still holding up far better than its sister mall Eastlake Square, which closed in 1998.

Here are a few more views of the vaulted area in the main court adjoining the two level part.  I wonder how this used to look (id780).

Here is the lower level of the two-level portion heading to Dillard's.  This originally would have had the mall entrance to Robinson's of Florida and Maison Blanche directly in view (id780).

Prior to Brandon Town Center, Tampa had only five malls, and all but one were originally very successful.  The others were Westshore Plaza, Floriland Mall, Eastlake Square and Tampa Bay Center.  The problem was, two more malls would soon arrive to negatively affect the five original malls with Floriland, Eastlake Square and Tampa Bay Center losing the battle completely.  The new malls, Citrus Park Town Center and International Plaza (and Bay Street) were very formidable foes.  As an older, smaller mall in an older side of town, University Mall was then forced to compete with not only Brandon Town Center, but also the newer Citrus Park Mall.  While the distance was still enough that University Mall held its own, the neighborhood around it began to decline and the strain was beginning to show.  The first was when Montgomery Ward closed in 2001.  Instead of a conventional department store taking the spot, the anchor which originally housed Burdine's was filled with Burlington Coat Factory.  JCPenney was the next to leave, leaving the mall in 2005 for a free-standing prototype store in Wesley Chapel that would eventually become The Shops at Wiregrass, a new lifestyle center that would prove the toughest blow for the aging mall. 

Here is a well-centered shot of the east wing of the mall.  Move along... (id780)

A few shots were provided of the theater, but I've only posted one here.  If interested, I will add more of this very 90's theater (id780).

This is one shot of the food court, which is situated on the upper level keeping it alive.  I don't think I've heard of the restaurant here but this does make a tamale sound awfully good (id780).

Here, this is looking from the second level food court down on the first level (id780).

Now, with several newer, bigger malls in the region and a lifestyle center in a newer area, it was becoming obvious that University Mall was in a tight spot.  Dillard's would open a store in 2008 at Wiregrass, resulting in the store in the mall being downgraded to a clearance store.  JCPenney had already left, and Macy's also opened a store at the new center though they are so far maintaining stores at both locations.  The former JCPenney did find new life as Steve & Barry's University Sportswear (appropriate for a college-named mall) but the store closed with the chain in 2009.  K&G Menswear has also since come along as a junior anchor next to Sears.  While this looks troublesome, University Mall is still not a dead mall, and its current owners since 2007 Somera Capital Management/Rockwood Capital have plans to revitalize the mall partly through a demolition of the former JCPenney/Steve & Barry's site for new shops.

More of the food court.  Why did I have to be hungry when I posted this? (id780)

A view of the second level food court.  I like this part of the mall, which is a bit more elegant (id780).

From the food court onto Dillard's, things move downhill fast.  Pretty much everything is dead from there to the mall entrance, and Dillard's also abandoned the upper level as well.  Dillard's does not help at all considering their clearance stores have reduced hours (id780).

The most fascinating thing about this view looking toward Dillard's is that this was the center of a department store up to 1995.  I think there are few things more cool than converting old department stores into mall space, especially if the addition is a level higher than the rest of the mall. (id780)

The two-level wing of the mall brought some needed traffic to the mall at first.  It brought the mall a new theater and a new food court, which both have helped the mall stand out.  Also, both were wisely added to the upper level as well so that the space was not entirely dependent on traffic that might be bound for Dillard's.  The problem with the upper level wing, however, is it still is hurting from the closure of Dillard's own upper level.  Such additions are very dependent on the anchor, which means that hybrid designs like this must remain healthy.  Malls with third levels often get stuck with dead space, and this upper level portion clearly has a disconnect with the rest of the mall meaning a better anchor is badly needed in that location.

Here are a couple more views of the upper level, which does have a couple shops remaining past the food court.  Luckily food courts are not anchor driven, they are hunger driven. (id780)

Dark Dillard's is here to remind you that if you're looking for the final dibs on their most unwanted apparel you need to mozy on back to the escalators in center court.  Dillard's needs to change that slogan there to "Second Floor: The Style of No Life". (id780)

It is obvious at this point that University Mall is at a crossroads.  As the mall approaches 40 years old, changes will need to be made to keep the mall viable.  Those plans should most definitely include making the mall have fewer anchors, since clearly five anchors are way more than the mall needs.  Swapping the Macy's and Dillard's Clearance Stores would definitely help, since Dillard's is now only using the lower level.  The upper level wing is mostly emptying out because of this.  If the economy looks up in Florida, I can see this mall surviving but I do not see Dillard's maintaining a location in the mall for a long time as a clearance store. Maybe if the stores switched places, another anchor might be interested in the current store  Also, the most practical move to me is for them to demolish not just the JCPenney, but the entire wing extending from center court to where JCPenney was, converting it to outdoor shops and restaurants.  To keep the mall viable, each time an anchor closes, the wing of the mall attached to it should be demolished and likewise converted to outdoor shops, though I would also advocate attempting to lure big box anchors to fill the void before doing that.  I also believe that after the anchor switch that if Dillard's closes their store that Burlington Coat Factory should move into that space with the existing store demolished.  Eventually, if all of the anchors close, then the rest of the mall should be replaced with an open-air shopping center with an elegant central area featuring a roundabout, a small park and shops, but only if the mall loses all of its anchors.  Hopefully, this will not happen, but it is clear the mall needs to improve.  In addition, the mall is rather bland inside and needs a showy renovation.  How can a mall that looks like 1991 in a bad way compete with the newer malls?

Since the second level is also accessible via a parking deck, there is at least access to it other than the center court. (id780)

Macy's here looks so spooky after closing time.  I bet this store looked so much cooler with the Maas Brother's logo.  Since I did not take these photos, I have no other anchor photos available to me. (id780)

This contemporary mall entrance is pretty mod.  I wish the inside was as full of cutting edge design.  Maybe it will be soon. (id780)

This older mall entrance reminds me of the more distinctive classic "Florida Modern" look, and I like it. (id780)

Whatever they decide to do or are able to do, University Mall had 30 successful years.  For now, the mall is still holding onto enough anchors to stay successful, but unfortunately the mall must look at the possibility of gradually de-malling if that success is to remain over the years ahead.  It has both factors making the mall sick: newer, bigger options stealing its market area and a neighborhood that is less prosperous than its peak years.  Perhaps the neighborhood will continue to support it, though, but the current owners also need to do more to fix it up.