Retrofit Atlas

Malls · South Carolina

Richland Mall (Forest Acres)

Imported, unreviewedRedevelopedRegreenedDemolishedForest Acres, SC

Opened 1961. Redeveloped · Regreened in 2024.

Status nowDemolishedextracted, unreviewed
What it becamemixed, housing, park, retail, parkextracted, unreviewed
Retrofit year2024extracted, unreviewed
Walkability13.8 of 20 · 15-minute 6 of 6EPA, OpenStreetMap
Rail within 800 mNoOpenStreetMap, HUD
Reach the owner Download dossier (PDF) · early access Download record (JSON) API Share LinkedIn Correct this record

Solid = from the authors' map · outlined = public source · dashed = model-written, not yet reviewed by a person. Tap any value's source label to see where it came from.

Richland Mall
Richland Mall. Photo: Mike Kalasnik from Charlotte, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Site profile17 elements · what this retrofit is built with · tap a chip for the evidence

Former anchors
BelkThis site: Belk wikipedia · all sites with this
Dillard'sThis site: Dillard's wikipedia · all sites with this
Finance and pipeline
Attention fading (Wikipedia views −40% y/y)This site: 6,653 views, -42% wikimedia · all sites with this
Sold since 2020This site: 2022 Southeastern Development research-deals · all sites with this
Website dead or redirectingThis site: …http://www.richlandmallsc.com overture / http check · all sites with this
Place
15-minute neighbourhood (5+ of 6 daily needs within 800 m)This site: 6/6 openstreetmap · all sites with this
Bike network nearbyThis site: 11 ways openstreetmap · all sites with this
Grocery within 800 mThis site: 1 stores openstreetmap · all sites with this
High-income tract ($100k+)This site: $131,192 census-acs · all sites with this
Low social vulnerability tract (SVI ≤ 0.25)This site: 0.21 cdc-svi · all sites with this
Walkable block group (EPA ≥ 12)This site: …index 13.8 epa-walkability · all sites with this
Strategy
RedevelopedThis site: …park extraction · all sites with this
RegreenedThis site: …park extraction · all sites with this
New use
HousingThis site: …new_use field extraction · all sites with this
Mixed useThis site: …new_use field extraction · all sites with this
Park and open spaceThis site: …park extraction · all sites with this
Retail (continued)This site: …new_use field extraction · all sites with this

All elements and lists · Trends

Now

StatusDemolishedextracted, unreviewed
StrategyRedeveloped · Regreenedextracted, unreviewed
New usesmixed, housing, park, retail, parkextracted, unreviewed
What is there nowparkextracted, unreviewed
Retrofit year2024extracted, unreviewed
RedeveloperSoutheastern Developmentextracted, unreviewed

Planning

Zoning changemixed-useextracted, unreviewed
Entitlement year2022extracted, unreviewed

Deals and debt

DateEventPricePartiesSource
2022Sold—Southeastern Development ← Century Capitol GroupWikipedia
2010Sold—Century Capitol Group ← Peerless Development GroupWikipedia
2005Sold—Peerless Development Group ← unknownWikipedia

Site context

Transit within 800 mno rail station; 1 bus stops within 400 mOpenStreetMap
FEMA flood zoneno NFHL polygon at point (unmapped or outside coverage)FEMA NFHL
EPA-regulated facilities within 500 m7: 7 BREW AND RETAIL DEVELOPMENT; CROWN CENTRAL SC 006; EXXON CO USA 43589; KROGER SAV-ON #0012-011; OKLAHOMA INSTALLATION COEPA FRS
Census tract 450790012001,991 people, 2,830 per sq mi; median household income $131,192; median gross rent $1,203; 23% renters; 0.0% vacant units; 0.0% commute by transitACS 2023 5-year
Walkability (EPA, block group)index 13.8 of 20; 70 intersections per sq mi; nearest transit stop 768 m; land-use mix 0.81; 66,953 jobs within 45 min by car, 21,627 by transit; 2% of households without a carEPA Smart Location
Within a 10–15 minute walk (800 m)6 of 6 daily needs: 1 grocers, 1 schools, 10 parks or playgrounds, 3 health, 4 civic, 10 food and drink; 11 cycleway segments, 11 sidewalk-tagged segmentsOpenStreetMap
Opportunity ZonenoHUD
Housing permits, Richland County (SC), 20241,096 units in 5+ unit buildings, 219 in 2–4, 2,154 single-family; 2023: 578 in 5+Census BPS
Social vulnerability (CDC SVI 2022, tract)overall percentile 0.21; socioeconomic 0.14; housing and transport 0.10; 10% below 150% of poverty; 0% of households with no vehicleCDC/ATSDR
Overture Mapsplace Richland Mall (shopping_mall, confidence 0.77, from Foursquare, Overture); building footprint 8,440 m², 10.66943645477295 mOverture (CDLA-Permissive 2.0)
Website and socialwww.richlandmallsc.com (down or redirecting, status 522)Overture / Internet Archive
Attention: Wikipedia page views79,951 since 2015; 6,653 in the last 12 months (-42% vs the prior 12); peak 2024-07 with 4,183Wikimedia
Tract change 2013–2023population +6% (1,879 → 1,991); median income +45% ($90,556 → $131,192); renters 21% → 23%; median home value +24% ($323,000 → $399,200)Census ACS 5-year
Natural hazard risk (FEMA National Risk Index, tract)very low overall (score 17.0); expected annual loss $953,572; community resilience relatively moderateFEMA NRI
Tax-credit housing within 1 kmnoneHUD LIHTC
Retail trade in the county, 2012 to 20231,230 establishments (-2%); 20,015 jobs (+7%)Census CBP
Housing market in the countytypical home value $241,261 (+1% 1 yr, +27% 5 yr); typical rent $1,517/mo (+2% 1 yr), 2026-09Zillow Research
House price index, tract, 2025508 (2000 = 100); +11.3% 1 yr, +54% 5 yr, +80% 10 yrFHFA
Traffic on the busiest road within 600 m (2024)27,300 vehicles a day on FOREST DR (principal arterial, 4 lanes); 1,862 trucks; 40 counted segmentsFHWA HPMS

Summary, model-written

Richland Mall opened in 1961 as the first mall in Columbia, peaked at 27 stores, and began losing anchors in the 2000s. Interior vacancy grew, leading to demolition announcement in 2022 and start of demolition in 2024. The site is slated for mixed‑use housing, retail, and park redevelopment.

Why. Anchor losses—Dillard's closed 2003, Belk and Barnes & Noble exited 2023—combined with long‑term vacancy since the late 2000s and lack of major renovation drove the decline. The record does not cite competition, debt, or other financial pressures.

Where it stands. As of October 2024 the property is undergoing demolition and is owned by Southeastern Development, which acquired it from Century Capitol Group in 2022.

For a planner

  • Mall‑to‑mixed‑use redevelopment precedent with zoning change approved 2022.
  • Entitlement secured in 2022 allows housing, retail, and park components.
  • Open questions: required infrastructure upgrades, affordable housing share, park design and maintenance.

For a developer

  • Site controlled by Southeastern Development from 2022 to present (deed transfer 2022).
  • Entitlement stage: mixed‑use approved 2022; demolition underway 2024.
  • Constraints not detailed in record: flood risk, transit access, environmental conditions.
  • Market signal: tract data absent; however, housing component signals residential demand.

What we do not know yet

  • Exact parcel size and acreage not provided.
  • Reasons for anchor closures beyond store‑specific notes are unspecified.
  • No information on existing debt, financing, or tax‑increment incentives.
  • Environmental constraints (floodplain, wetlands, soil) are not listed.
  • Several extraction‑based fields (year_retrofit, developer, strategy, new_use, zoning_change, entitlement_year) are flagged as draft, indicating potential unverification.

Generated by nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b on NVIDIA API via Hermes CT from the fields, parcels, deals and context layers on this page, with no outside knowledge. It is regenerated when the record changes and has not been checked by a person. How it is made.

Similar sites

  • Rock Hill Mall, Rock Hill, SC · Malls · opened 1968; same strategy: redevelop; also in SC
  • North DeKalb Mall, Decatur, GA · Malls · opened 1965; same strategy: redevelop
  • Landmark Mall, Alexandria, VA · Malls · opened 1965; same strategy: redevelop
  • Avondale Mall, DeKalb County, GA · Malls · opened 1964; same strategy: redevelop

Elsewhere on the web

Retail history: Richland Mall on DeadMalls.com photos, field notes and visitor memories since 2000; matched by name and state only, check the city; nothing copied here

Pages with photos

Search images: Google · Bing · Commons · references: ULI case studies · Google Scholar

Multifamily screen

  • retrofit already built
  • closed or demolished site (sourced)
  • already in play: under construction, approved, or sold to a developer with housing plans
  • housing in the record

Inputs: record fields (size, status) and county Census ACS 2018–2023 figures (growth, rent). How the points work. Not a recommendation.

History and original facts

Now called / also known asRichland Mall
Opened1961Wikipedia
Stores at peak27extracted, unreviewed
Original developerL. J. Hookerextracted, unreviewed
AnchorsDillard's, Belk, J.B. White, Bonwit Teller, Parisian, Barnes & Noble
CountyRichland County
Census division5 · South Atlantic
NotesWikipedia categories: Demolished shopping malls in the United States

Not yet recorded: acres, GLA. Know it? Tell us.

Background

Richland Mall was an enclosed shopping mall near the intersection of Forest Drive and Beltline Blvd in Forest Acres, South Carolina within the greater Columbia Metropolitan Area. The interior mall space has been closed to the public since early 2022. However, its last anchor store, Belk, continued to operate until early September 2023. A Barnes & Noble continued to operate as a junior anchor with its own exterior access until December 31, 2023. There are two additional empty anchor stores that have both been largely vacant since the late 2000s. The mall's last inline tenant, Columbia Children's Theatre, moved out on February 1, 2023. The mall has never received a major renovation and has an ornate late 1980s-early 1990s interior aesthetic. The mall is currently undergoing demolition as of October 2024.

Excerpt from Wikipedia (authors and history), CC BY-SA 4.0. May be older than the record above.

Timeline

  1. 1961 Opened (Wikidata)
  2. 1961 opened as first mall in Columbia
  3. 1987 original mall closed
  4. 1988 redeveloped as Richland Fashion Mall
  5. 1996 renamed back to Richland Mall
  6. 2003 Dillard's closed
  7. 2022 demolition announced
  8. 2024 demolition started

Sources

  • Wikipedia: Richland Mall (South Carolina, original) · supports: after notes, original developer, status, strategy, zoning change
    12 quoted sentences
    L. J. Hooker bought the complex with plans of converting it into not only a much larger indoor mall...
    A grocery store is planned as the other anchor store. Other plans include apartments, a park, and a brewery or tap room.
    The mall is currently undergoing demolition as of October 2024.
    Tentative plans included refurbishing the former Parisian anchor store for Belk to move into so that afterward the original J.B.White/current Belk would be demolished along with the rest of the mall.

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