Mall at Stonecrest

Mall at Stonecrest

Location	Dekalb County, Lithonia, Georgia, USA 30038
Opening date	2001
Management	Forest City Enterprises
No. of stores and services	120+
No. of anchor tenants	4
Total retail floor area	1,162,000 sq ft (108,000 m2)
No. of floors	2
Website	the Mall at Stonecrest

The Mall at Stonecrest (often Stonecrest Mall) is a super-regional shopping mall outside of Lithonia, Georgia, along Interstate 20 in eastern metro Atlanta. The Mall of Stonecrest is off exit 75 on Interstate 20 ^[1]

The Mall at Stonecrest opened in October 2001 as part of a master-planned community on the growing I-20 corridor.^[2]

The mall has four anchors: Sears, Dillard's, Macy's, JC Penney. Also attached to the mall is an AMC Theatres movie theater located in the outdoor plaza near the pavilion food court. Surrounding the mall area there are also many other stores and restaurants. This successful mall carries many of the popular national retail stores, and is opening new restaurants in its plaza area in 2014. Apartments and condos are also popping up in the area, making Stonecrest a mixed-use community.^[3]

The mall serves a diverse clientele including blacks and Hispanics, and provides, for example, both black and white Santas in the period running up to Christmas.^[3][4]

History

This mall was envisioned and planned over 30 years ago. Original opening dates as reported by the AJC included dates in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The mall had names like Turner Hill Mall, Interstate East Mall or Metro East. Each time, there were proposed dates that ended up falling through due to various issues among various developers. One land developer had an issue in the early days of getting retailers to commit (at the time South Dekalb Mall was still thriving). A few times the land was cleared of forest to make way for the mall and then things fell through. Local residents often questioned if the mall was even going to happen. Other things were envisioned for the area as planned by Dekalb County planners to include a convention center, outdoor theatre, mid-rise to high-rise apartment units, MARTA rail station (proposed terminus for the east line), satellite college campus and more. While the county did construct a library (Stonecrest Library), MARTA is currently reviewing plans of the east line rail extension to the mall with a proposed new sales tax, and economic development officials are studying to see if a convention center for the area is still viable. The goal would be to attract private investment with incentives rather than public dollars to build such.

In 2014, the city of Lithonia devised a plan to annex the mall and surrounding business district including Lithonia Industrial Boulevard into the city. The plan was developed in response to the proposed city of Stonecrest, Georgia that envisioned the mall serving as the "downtown" for the city. No property owners expressed interest in annexation despite having a Lithonia mailing address. The cityhood bill went through various legislative hurdles at the Georgia General Assembly and saw a public referendum in November 2016, being approved by 59%, with elections and official municipal incorporation in spring 2017.

The mall and business corridor were previously served by the South Dekalb Business Association. In 2008, the Stoncrest Business Alliance was formed to focus on the corridor. Also, the corridor is part of the new East Metro Community Improvement District, which is also going to bring public sector enhancements to the corridor. Prior to that, in 2006, the mall was included in the designation of the Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area. The mall is accessible via the Arabia Mountain PATH, which runs throughout the 40,000-acre (160 km²) area.^[5] Stonecrest Mall is one example of how businesses and residences can be included in a national heritage area unlike a national park.^[6] Fast fashion retailer H&M has announced plans to open at the mall in spring 2017.

Notable News Headlines Involving the Mall

In May 2009, the management instituted its Parental Involvement Program (derisively known in the community as the "anti-teenager policy"), whereby anyone under age 18 must be accompanied by an adult after a 4pm "curfew" on weekends, or be forced to leave by mall security. This was in response to several notable incidences of violence and mayhem perpetrated primarily by teenagers.^[7]

In April 2010 an argument over a parking space led to a stabbing and a shooting.^[8] MARTA provides bus service to the Mall at Stonecrest.

In December 2011, police had to quell a disturbance at the mall on the day of the release of a new Air Jordan limited edition shoe. The mall was to open at 8 AM but at about 7 AM already 200 people were waiting outside. The mall door was pried open and the crowd rushed inside to the door of the store selling the shoes.^[9]

In January 2013, it was reported that that mall was "beset by debt issues that could leave it vulnerable to foreclosure".^[10]

In March 2016, Kohl's announced that the location at The Mall at Stonecrest will close on November 1, 2016. It is unknown who will replace the soon to be vacant space.

Anchors

Current Anchors:

• Dillard's (opened 2001)
• JCPenney (opened 2001
• Macy's (opened 2005)
• Sears (opened 2001)

Former Anchors:

• Parisian (opened 2001, closed 2007, became Kohl's)
• Rich's (opened 2001, rebranded as Macy's in 2005)
• Kohl's opened 2007 and closed 2016

References

External links

• http://www.mallatstonecrest.com

Coordinates: 33°42′00″N 84°05′42″W / 33.700°N 84.095°W / 33.700; -84.095