Signal Hill Mall

Signal Hill Mall is a defunct enclosed shopping mall located in Statesville, North Carolina, serving Iredell County and the surrounding area located in the northern suburbs of Charlotte. The mall is anchored by Belk. The mall is located on Interstate 77. 
== History ==
C&J Associates announced the mall on December 10, 1971, with F. W. Woolworth Company and Belk as the first two anchor stores. The mall would have 275,000 square feet (25,500 m2) of retails space and room for 30 stores. The third original anchor, Spainhour's, was a local department store also operational in downtown at the time. Belk had been operational in the city since 1912.
The mall officially opened for business on August 1, 1973, with Belk, Spainhour's, and Woolworth as anchor tenants. A Winn Dixie grocery store was located just behind the mall.
=== The 1980’s ===
In August 1979, the mall would start to undergo an expansion. The existing Spainhour's would be gutted and turned into inline space. A new Spainhour's store would go on the end of the mall, next to a JCPenney. The JCPenney building would be 51,324 square feet, and the new Spainhour's building would be 41,000 square feet.The cost of these renovations was stated to be $4 million. The new interior space totaled up to 21,000 square feet, and included 8 new stores. This brought the total to 42 stores. C & J Associates stated this portion cost $1 million. Stores that joined during this period included  Endicott Johnson, Merle Norman; which had been operating previously somewhere else in the mall for six years, GNC, Chickfila, Pearle Vision Center, The Lerner, Record Bar, and Southern Bell Telephone Company; which opened in November 1980. Renovation work concluded with ceremonies on August 6, 1980 for the two anchor stores, and October 15, 1980 for the interior tenants.
The mall continued strong throughout the 1980's. Big names inside the mall in 1989 include Chickfila, GNC, Peanut Shack, Stride Rite, Just Pants, Show Show, Bookland, The Lerner, Claires, Dollar Tree, Merle Norman, K & K Toys, RadioShack, Pet-Go-Round, Endicott Johnson, Record Bar, and more.
=== The 1990’s ===
The 1990's was a time of anchor tenant scares for the Signal Hill Mall. Spainhour's would close its doors at the end of 1992, ending its 50 years of service in Statesville. Just months later, Woolworth, which had been operating at the mall since opening day, would close on January 31, 1993, citing underperformance.The space left by Spainhour's was quickly filled, however. On November 11, 1993, Peebles would have a grand opening ceremony at the mall, with a live band performance from The Muscat Ramblers, a band out of Charlotte, North Carolina. Further festivities were hosted during the weekend.  Peebles offered name brand clothing and accessories for families, and the remodel of the new store took 6 months to complete.
Another blow would come when the 25,000 square foot Winn Dixie location behind the mall closed on December 14, 1994. This was a response to the company making a wider move to close smaller stores, and open larger ones. The original Winn Dixie location on the mall grounds never re-tenanted, and remains abandoned.
Hills would open in the former Woolworth space and section last occupied by Midas Muffler on July 28, 1995. The 83,000 square feet (7,700 m2) store would be renovated at the cost of about $2 million dollars.This location would be short lived, as Hills would close its doors in April of 1997.
The former Hills space would rapidly be filled by Sears, which had grand opening on October 18, 1997. There was 65,000 square feet of retail space, and it was the most highly requested store according to manager, Burr Collier.
The 1990's weren't all bad for the mall. National chain iHop would open at the mall in February of 1994, filling a space at the front of the mall that was last occupied by the Apple House Buffet. The mall continued to have great occupancy rates, with fan favorites like Blockbuster Music, Chickfila, Claires, Dollar Tree, Footaction, GNC, Kay-Bee Toys, Little Pigs II BBQ, Pet Pros, Playhouse Arcade, Sagesport and more in 1996.
=== The 2000’s ===
Peebles would close its doors in January of 2004. The going out of business sale started on December 3, 2003. Around this time, management of C & J Associates realized the mall needed an update. It is stated that the mall management stopped renewing some leases, in order to keep flexibility for redevelopment.
The mall started to show signs of struggling when Chickfila closed on December 31, 2005. Dale Wooten, owner of Wooten Jewelers (formerly known as Scrogg's), commented in January of 2006 on how there used to be a long line for the Chickfila in the 1990's, and how thats not the case anymore. Bob Barber, who used to run the Pet Pros from 1987 until closure in 2004, stated his sales dropped 40% in the last 5 months of being open. A patron in the 2006 article detailing the struggling mall's story stated, "If I'm going to go shopping, I'm going to go to another mall." Dale Wooten also claims that sales for his store thats operated in the mall since 1975 are down 26% compared to the last year of 2005.
=== The 2010’s ===
Sears would close its doors in 2012 following the company's plan to close 100+ stores.
Despite the mall's troubles, Jack's Furniture and Piano Restoration opened inside the mall.
JCPenney would close its doors on April 4, 2015, as part of the company's plan to close 40 stores.
The Artist Guild of Statesville would leave the mall in 2015. The reason for leaving was lack of cash flow, despite the rent in their space being free. Margerey Turnispeed, an officer for the Artist Guild stated "we aren't selling enough work to even pay for the electric bills."
Bookland, which had been operating at the mall since the 1980's, would close on January 31, 2016.
Saslow Jewelers, after almost 20 years of operation, closed its store in October of 2017.
Radio Shack would close in 2017, after the companies plan to close 700 stores in 2017.
GNC, one of the original mall tenants, closed in 2019.
iHop closed in May 2021 due to the deteriorating condition of the mall.
=== The 2020’s ===
As of 2022, the mall has continued to decline, with Belk being the only remaining anchor tenant. The Iredell Free News reported that previous attempts at redevelopment had failed due to slow economic growth in the Statesville area; despite this, representatives of C&J Associates noted that industrial development in the area had increased in the intervening years, leading to the possibility of the mall being repurposed for non-retail use. The mall is occasionally used as space for community and recreational events by Statesville residents.
The interior of the mall closed its doors in January of 2024.
Category:Malls that opened in 1973
Category:1973
Category:Malls in North Carolina
Category:Shopping Centers in North Carolina
Category:Malls in the United States
Category:Shopping Centers in the United States
Category:Dead Malls
Category:Dead
Category:Malls
Category:Former Woolworth's-anchored Properties
Category:Belk-anchored Malls
Category:Regional malls
Category:Enclosed Malls
Category:Single-Level Malls
Category:Shopping Malls
Category:Shopping Centers
Category:Former JCPenney-anchored Malls
Category:Former Sears-anchored Malls
Category:Former Peebles-anchored Properties
Category:Former Hills-anchored Malls
Category:Defunct malls
Category:Mall that closed in 2024
Category:Malls That Closed In 2024