Gwinnett Place

Gwinnett Place Mall is a shopping center located in the Pleasant Hill Road corridor of Duluth, Georgia. Initially, the mall was the main shopping destination for the area, attracting shoppers from South Carolina and serving as a focal point in one of the nation's fastest-growing counties for 16 years. However, after the opening of the Mall of Georgia in Buford and Sugarloaf Mills in Lawrenceville, the mall faced stiff competition. Despite this, Gwinnett Place Mall has gained notoriety as the filming location for the StarCourt Mall in the third season of Netflix's popular show, Stranger Things.
== History ==
When Gwinnett Place Mall first opened in 1984, it featured anchor tenants such as Rich's, Davison's, and Sears. Later, Mervyn's also joined the mall, and Davison's was eventually rebranded as Macy's. The mall continued to expand with the addition of Parisian, which anchored a northwest wing. In 1984, J. C. Penney took over the Mervyn's location but closed later that year after a mall fire. In 2016, Beauty Master took over the space.
In 2003, Rich's and Macy's merged to form Rich's-Macy's, but the name was later changed to Macy's in 2005. With two Macy's stores in the mall, the former Davison's location closed and reopened in 2010 as the first MegaMart in the United States. In 2007, Parisian was rebranded as Belk, which unfortunately closed its doors in 2013.
Gwinnett Place Mall faced significant challenges with the opening of competing shopping centers such as Mall of Georgia in 1999 and Sugarloaf Mills in 2001, leading to a loss of a significant portion of its customer base. Despite efforts, the mall struggled to attract new anchor tenants for several years, resulting in many store fronts and food court vendors remaining empty and available for lease.
In 2008, Gwinnett Technical College opened an International Education Center within the mall, which offers foreign language classes for students. Despite this development, the mall continued to decline, culminating in the closure of Belk in 2013 and Simon Property Group losing the mall to foreclosure. The mall was eventually acquired by Moonbeam Capital Investments LLC.
JCPenney also faced closure on April 4, 2015, leading to Beauty Master purchasing the former JCPenney building in March 2016. Beauty Master officially opened its doors on August 4, 2016, becoming one of the few remaining tenants within the mall.
Gwinnett Place Mall has faced various incidents in recent years that have raised concerns for its safety and security. In December 2017, the tragic discovery of a 19-year-old woman's body in the back room of the food court shocked the community, and it was later revealed that it had gone unnoticed for weeks.
In January 2018, two mall employees were robbed and assaulted in the Macy's parking lot, raising concerns about safety in the mall's parking lots. In March 2018, a 32-year-old woman was arrested for indecent exposure, solicitation of prostitution, and possession of heroin and cocaine in the Sears parking lot, further adding to the mall's safety concerns.
The mall also suffered from significant closures, including Sears, which announced in May 2018 that it would be closing its Gwinnett Place Mall location in September 2018 as part of a plan to shutter 63 stores across the United States. This closure represented a significant loss for the mall, which had already faced challenges in attracting tenants and customers.
In late February 2019, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Gwinnett Daily Post reported that sports developer CricRealty intends to redevelop the Gwinnett Place Mall site to build a mixed-use development anchored by a 20,000-seat cricket stadium.
In 2020, after only 37 years in business, Gwinnett Place Mall was forced to permanently close its doors.
On December 15, 2020, officials from Gwinnett County's Urban Redevelopment Agency announced their plans to purchase the 39-acre Gwinnett Place Mall site from Moonbeam Capital Investments LLC for $23 million. Despite the mall's closure, several tenants, including Macy’s, Mega Mart and Beauty Master, still own their own property on the site.
The sale of the property closed in April 2021, marking a new chapter for the site's redevelopment. While specific plans for the site have not been publicly disclosed, the acquisition by the Urban Redevelopment Agency signals a commitment to revitalizing the area and bringing new life to the once-thriving shopping center.
== Anchors ==
=== Current Anchors ===
* Macy’s
* Beauty Master
* Mega Mart
=== Former Anchors ===
* Sears
* Rich’s (Became Rich's - Macy's) Then Macy's
* Davidsons (Became Macy’s)
* Macy’s (Became Mega Mart)
* JCPenney (Became Beauty Master)
* Mervyns (Became JCPenney) Then Beauty Master
* Parisian ( Became Belk’s )
* Belk
*
Category:Shopping Malls
Category:Distressed malls
Category:Malls in the United States
Category:Malls in Georgia
Category:Malls that opened in 1984
Category:Malls that closed in 2020
Category:Former Sears-anchored Malls
Category:Former JCPenney-anchored Malls
Category:Former Mervyn's-anchored Malls
Category:Former Davison's-anchored Malls
Category:Former Rich's-anchored Malls
Category:Former Parisian-anchored Malls
Category:Former Belk-anchored Malls
Category:Macy's-anchored Malls