The Shoppes at Coventry

The Shoppes at Coventry (formerly known as Coventry Mall) is an outdoor shopping center and former enclosed mall in North Coventry Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania (although its mailing address is Pottstown, PA). It is located at the interchange of Pennsylvania Routes 100 and 724.
== History ==
Opened as The Norco Mall on October 5, 1967, it featured Sears, Britt's Department Store (later Hess's), Pantry Pride, and Thrift Drug as anchors as well as eleven smaller retail stores. In 1974 the original open-air plan was enclosed and expanded to include a new anchor store, J.M. Fields, a two-plex movie theater operated by the Fox Theatres chain, and more than a dozen new retail spaces. In 1982 the mall underwent further expansion and a name change to The Coventry Mall. J. M. Fields was later a Jefferson Ward and then a Bradlees. After it closed, it was subdivided between Ross Dress for Less and Dick's Sporting Goods, the former of which closed in 2014.
Pomeroy's department store was added in 1985. This store is now Boscov's; it has 2 floors plus rooftop parking.
Hess's sold most of its stores to The Bon-Ton in 1994, but was unable to complete a deal with Bon-Ton on this store. It instead became JCPenney for a short time, then The Bon-Ton before finally becoming Kohl's. In 2004, Stoltz Real Estate Partners acquired the mall from The Goodman Co.
Sears closed in April 2012. Mall owner Coventry Retail LP failed to make payments for the property and Jones Lang LaSalle became the receiver of the mall in March 2013. On September 19, 2013, the mall was sold at auction to U.S. Bank National Association for $49.5 million. Jones Lang LaSalle continued as the receiver and manager of the mall. In December 2014, Limerick Furniture opened in the former Sears location. On April 8, 2016, the Coventry Mall was sold to Pennmark Management Co., who planned on improving the mall by filling vacancies with new stores and restaurants. Gabe's, an off-priced retail store, opened on March 18, 2017 in a 45,000-square foot spot previously occupied by Sears, joining anchors Boscov's, Dick's Sporting Goods and Kohl's. In 2018, Joann Fabrics moved into the mall from an adjacent shopping center.
In February 2022, it was reported that Pennmark Management was planning to redevelop the mall into The Shoppes at Coventry by closing most of the indoor portion of the mall, except for the southern portion between Gabe's and Joann. Said southern portion would have exterior store entrances added to it, and the remainder of the mall would be demolished or redeveloped for medical or self-storage use.https://www.pottsmerc.com/2022/02/21/coventry-mall-mulling-options-as-business-model-evolves/https://www.wfmz.com/news/area/southeastern-pa/coventry-mall-reveals-renderings-of-the-shoppes-at-coventry/article_8d1e1c1c-c6da-11ec-940b-3b2272f5b79a.html In March 2022, Big Phil's Bar & Grill opened in a space formerly occupied by TGI Fridays. Roses opened in another portion of the former Sears space in November 2022. The mall officially closed in December 2022, with the anchor stores, as well as all stores with exterior entrances and those located in the southern portion of the mall, staying open, and Books-A-Million moving into a space formerly occupied by Pier 1 Imports; all other stores closed. In 2023, 60,000 square feet of the former mall was converted into a CubeSmart Self Storage facility, leaving approximately 140,000 square feet for other uses. In July 2024, Dick's Sporting Goods moved to the Upland Square shopping center a few miles north.
==Stores==
==See also==
* Pottstown Center
* Town Square Plaza
* Upland Square
==Gallery==
Coventry Mall.jpg|Coventry Mall sign in 2017
Coventry Mall map 2006.png|Coventry Mall in June 2006. Almost all of the stores that were open at the time have since closed.
Coventry Mall map 2012.png|Coventry Mall in December 2012, eight months after the departure of Sears.
===Videos===
File:DEAD MALL SERIES Sad, Depressing COVENTRY MALL in Pottstown, PA|Mall Tour
File:Schindler RT Hydraulic Elevator at Boscov's Coventry Mall Pottstown, PA|The Mall's Only Elevator
==References==
Category:Malls in Pennsylvania
Category:Shopping Malls
Category:Malls in the United States
Category:Single-Level Malls
Category:Malls with Multi-Level Stores
Category:Malls that opened in 1967
Category:Kohl's-anchored Malls
Category:Boscov's-anchored Malls
Category:Gabe's-anchored Properties
Category:Roses-anchored Properties
Category:Joann Fabrics-anchored Malls
Category:Former Dick's-anchored Properties
Category:1967