St. Charles Towne Center

St. Charles Towne Center is a two-level, enclosed shopping in the planned community of St. Charles in Waldorf, Maryland. Built in 1988, it covers an area of 980,418 sq ft (91,083.8 m2), and is currently the only regional mall in Southern Maryland. In addition to Waldorf and St. Charles, the mall also serves the southern suburbs of Washington, D.C., and has a trade area population of 338,502. Anchors are Dick's Sporting Goods, J.C. Penney, Kohl's. Macy's, and Macy's Home Store.
== History ==
The mall opened in 1988 with JCPenney, Hecht's, Montgomery Ward, and Sears. It was built by Melvin Simon & Associates, now known as Simon Property Group. Kohl's was added in 1997. The Montgomery Ward store was split between a second Hecht's location and Dick's Sporting Goods in 2002. Both Hecht's stores became Macy's in 2006. Also, there is a movie theatre outside of the mall which was formerly known as Cineplex Odeon Cinemas (1988–1998), Loews Cineplex Entertainment (1998–2005), and is now AMC Theatres (2005 – present).
On February 6, 2020, it was announced the Sears location at St. Charles Town Center would be closing as part of a plan to close 31 stores nationwide. The store closed April 2020.
=== Renovation ===
In 2007, St. Charles Towne Center underwent an extensive renovation to shift its image to a more family-oriented mall. The entrances and inside of the mall were redesigned, and the washrooms made larger to allow easier access for families with young children. In addition, a kid's play area was added to a section of the mall. It took only two years to renovate the mall from 2007 – 2008. The food court was also renovated during the project.
=== 2008 shooting incident ===
In September 2008, an incident occurred in which a police officer's firearm was used in the mall's parking lot. According to local authorities, the suspect was seen trying to steal a GPS device from a vehicle when the officer noticed him. The suspect was treated and released from the hospital, and later charged.
Category:Malls in Maryland
Category:Shopping Malls
Category:Simon Property Group Malls
Category:Multi-Level Malls
Category:Malls in the United States
Category:Malls that opened in 1988
Category:North America