Malls · Tennessee

Knoxville Center Mall

Imported, unreviewedRedevelopedDemolishedKnoxville, TN

Opened 1984. Closed 2020. Redeveloped in 2024.

Status nowDemolishedextracted, unreviewed

documented

The demolition of the mall began in April 2021 and was completed later that year.

en.wikipedia.org

What it becamelogisticsextracted, unreviewed reported

Site size78 acresextracted, unreviewed

documented

In September 2020, Hillwood Enterprises sought rezoning for the 78-acre mall site to construct an e-commerce fulfillment center for Amazon, with an estimated redevelopment cost of $70 million.

en.wikipedia.org

Retrofit year2024extracted, unreviewed reported

Walkability13.3 of 20 · 15-minute 3 of 6EPA, OpenStreetMap

Rail within 800 mNoOpenStreetMap, HUD

Claim this site Deal kit 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. documented = a quoted excerpt (click to read it) · reported = a source named, no excerpt yet · no source.

Knoxville Center Mall — Exterior view of a shopping center with parked cars and clear blue sky. · verified by a vision model. Photo: Mike Kalasnik from Charlotte, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Site profile14 elements · what this site is built with · tap a chip for the evidence

Former anchors

JCPenney

This site: JCPenney wikipedia · all sites with this

Sears

This site: Sears wikipedia · all sites with this

Ownership

Single-purpose entity

This site: Knoxville Partners LLC county-parcels · all sites with this

Place

30,000+ vehicles a day on an adjacent road

This site: 50,461 on 640 fhwa-hpms · all sites with this

Grocery within 800 m

This site: 4 stores openstreetmap · all sites with this

Interstate or freeway within 600 m

This site: 640 fhwa-hpms · all sites with this

Renter-majority tract

This site: 54% census-acs · all sites with this

Tract house prices doubled in 10 years

This site: +126% fhfa · all sites with this

Tract income up 60%+ since 2013

This site: +107% census-acs · all sites with this

Walkable block group (EPA ≥ 12)

This site: …index 13.3 epa-walkability · all sites with this

Policy tool

Rezoning

This site: …sought rezoning for the 78-acre mall site to construct an e-commerce fulfillment center for Amazon extraction · all sites with this

Scale

60+ acre site

This site: 78 acres extraction · all sites with this

Strategy

Redeveloped

This site: Amazon Fulfillment Center, DNA6 extraction · all sites with this

New use

Logistics and industrial

This site: Amazon Fulfillment Center, DNA6 extraction · all sites with this

All elements and lists · Trends

Now

Status	Demolishedextracted, unreviewed documented The demolition of the mall began in April 2021 and was completed later that year. en.wikipedia.org
Strategy	Redevelopedextracted, unreviewed documented Despite plans to transform the mall into a mixed-use facility, including office space, retail, dining, and entertainment, the decline persisted. en.wikipedia.org
New uses	logisticsextracted, unreviewed reported
What is there now	Amazon Fulfillment Center, DNA6extracted, unreviewed documented The Amazon Fulfillment Center, DNA6, opened for service on the former mall site in August 2024. en.wikipedia.org
Retrofit year	2024extracted, unreviewed reported
Developer	Hillwood Enterprisesextracted, unreviewed

Links out

Every link is built from an id this record holds (parcel number, filer CIK, Wikidata item, Census tract, coordinates) or from the name and city typed into a search. Nothing here is a guessed address. Search links are marked search in their source note; commercial listing links are marked for search engines not to follow. Hover a link for why it is here.

Official records (8)

government and regulatory records for this site, built from ids on the record

EDGAR full-text search: “Knoxville Center Mall”from city search
10-K property table · Washington Prime Group 2015from sec.gov
10-K property table · Simon Property Group 2010from sec.gov
Census tract 47093004300 profile (data.census.gov)from data.census.gov
Census tract 47093004300 on Census Reporterfrom censusreporter.org
Knox County (47093) profile (data.census.gov)from data.census.gov
FEMA flood map (NFHL) at this point (search)from msc.fema.gov
EPA ECHO facilities within 1 milefrom echo.epa.gov

Reference (5)

encyclopedic and research references

Wikipedia articlefrom en.wikipedia.org
Wikidata item Q6423653from wikidata.org
Wikimedia Commons photos within 500 mfrom commons.wikimedia.org
Retrofitting Suburbia (book site)from retrofittingsuburbia.com
Knoxville, Tennessee on Wikipediafrom en.wikipedia.org

Place (8)

map and street views by coordinates

Google Mapsfrom google.com
Street Viewfrom google.com
Bing Mapsfrom bing.com
Apple Mapsfrom maps.apple.com
OpenStreetMapfrom openstreetmap.org
Walk Score at this pointfrom walkscore.com
Transitland mapfrom transit.land
USGS National Mapfrom apps.nationalmap.gov

Market (1)

listings and owner pages; commercial, so search engines are told not to follow

LoopNet: for sale in Knoxville, TN (search)from city search

News (2)

news searches and archived pages

Google News: “Knoxville Center Mall” (search)from name search
Bing News: “Knoxville Center Mall” (search)from name search

History and original facts

Opened	1984Wikidata reported
Closed	2020extracted, unreviewed documented The mall ceased operations on January 31, 2020. en.wikipedia.org
Acres	78.0extracted, unreviewed documented In September 2020, Hillwood Enterprises sought rezoning for the 78-acre mall site to construct an e-commerce fulfillment center for Amazon, with an estimated redevelopment cost of $70 million. en.wikipedia.org
Anchors	Service Merchandise, JCPenney, Sears, Regal Cinemas, Sam's Club, Miller's, Profitts
County	Knox County
Census division	6 · East South Central
Notes	Wikipedia categories: Demolished shopping malls in the United States

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

Planning

Zoning change	sought rezoning for the 78-acre mall site to construct an e-commerce fulfillment center for Amazonextracted, unreviewed

Securitised debt and public filers

As reported by the owner

Property tables from the owner's annual report (Form 10-K, Item 2) on EDGAR, one row per filing year. GLA, occupancy and anchors are the filer's own figures at that year end; “leased” counts signed leases, “occupied” counts open stores; ownership is the filer's share. Matched by name and place, unreviewed; the verbatim table row is in sec_facts.csv.

Year end	Filer	Name in filing	GLA sq ft	Occupancy	Years	Share	Sales psf	Anchors listed
2014	Washington Prime Group 10-K, 2015-02-26	Knoxville Center Knoxville, TN match: name-city	960,882	72.5% occupied	built 1984	100.0% Fee		JCPenney, Belk, Sears, The Rush Fitness Center, Regal Cinema
2009	Simon Property Group 10-K, 2010-02-25	Knoxville Center Knoxville, TN match: name-city	978,027	79.6% occupied	built 1984	100.0% Fee		JCPenney, Belk, Sears, The Rush Fitness Center, Regal Cinema,

Before and after

Before: the mall

Site	78 acresquote
Renovations	1997quote

After: the retrofit

Demolished	2,021quote

Hover "quote" to see the sentence each value came from. Planned figures are labelled planned. Method.

Site context

FEMA flood zone	X · AREA OF MINIMAL FLOOD HAZARDFEMA NFHL
EPA-regulated facilities within 500 m	7: AMAZON.COM SERVICE LLC - DNA6; AMAZON.COM SERVICES LLC - DNA6; LOWE'S OF EAST KNOXVILLE #1544; NATIONAL TIRE & BATTERY #664; OKLAHOMA INSTALLATION COEPA FRS
Census tract 47093004300	2,955 people, 907 per sq mi; median household income $72,083; median gross rent $1,105; 54% renters; 14.9% vacant units; 0.0% commute by transitACS 2023 5-year
Walkability (EPA, block group)	index 13.3 of 20; 36 intersections per sq mi; nearest transit stop 688 m; land-use mix 0.87; 57,063 jobs within 45 min by car, 22,766 by transit; 1% of households without a carEPA Smart Location
Within a 10–15 minute walk (800 m)	3 of 6 daily needs: 4 grocers, 0 schools, 0 parks or playgrounds, 0 health, 2 civic, 9 food and drink; 0 cycleway segments, 0 sidewalk-tagged segmentsOpenStreetMap
Opportunity Zone	noHUD
Housing permits, Knox County (TN), 2024	1,958 units in 5+ unit buildings, 6 in 2–4, 2,544 single-family; 2023: 1,777 in 5+Census BPS
Social vulnerability (CDC SVI 2022, tract)	overall percentile 0.45; socioeconomic 0.51; housing and transport 0.54; 19% below 150% of poverty; 2% of households with no vehicleCDC/ATSDR
Other atlas sites nearby	1 within 10 km, 1 within 25 km: Market Square (8.5 km)computed
Overture Maps	no place match; building footprint 30,910 m²Overture (CDLA-Permissive 2.0)
Attention: Wikipedia page views	18,372 since 2015; 4,628 in the last 12 months (-33% vs the prior 12); peak 2025-03 with 820Wikimedia
Tract change 2013–2023	population +10% (2,684 → 2,955); median income +107% ($34,757 → $72,083); renters 47% → 54%; median home value +103% ($112,500 → $227,900)Census ACS 5-year
Natural hazard risk (FEMA National Risk Index, tract)	relatively low overall (score 23.6); expected annual loss $777,261; community resilience relatively moderateFEMA NRI
Tax-credit housing within 1 km	noneHUD LIHTC
Retail trade in the county, 2025 (BLS QCEW)	31,798 jobs in 1,833 establishments; average annual pay $45,148; employment location quotient 1.22; employment +1.2% on the yearBLS QCEW 2025, NAICS 44-45, private
Jobs located in the tract, 2022	2,877 jobs; 1,164 in retail trade, 393 in accommodation and food (workplace blocks summed to tract 47093004300)Census LEHD LODES8 WAC 2022
Upward mobility (Opportunity Atlas, 2010 tract)	children of low-income (25th percentile) families reached the 34th income percentile as adults; 5.8% incarcerated at the 2010 count (254 children in the sample); born 1978–83, measured 2014–15Opportunity Insights
Food access (USDA FARA 2019, 2010 tract)	not a low-access tract at 1 mile; 19% of residents more than 1 mile from a supermarket; poverty rate 16.3%; median family income $57,016; 190 SNAP householdsUSDA ERS
Schools	Knox County School District (PK-12); 1 public school within 1 mile: Spring Hill ElementaryNCES EDGE
Elevation	989 ft above sea level at the site pointUSGS 3DEP
Storm events in the county, 2016-2025	284 county-logged events: 175 thunderstorm wind, 48 flash flood, 42 hail, 14 flood; $36,341,000 property damage reported; 2 direct deaths; forecast-zone events (most flood, winter and heat) not countedNOAA Storm Events
Homes for sale in ZIP 37924, 2026-09	median list price $379,900 (-4.9% on the year); 96 active listings; median 56 days on market; 21% with a price cutRealtor.com Research
Retail trade in the county, 2012 to 2023	1,786 establishments (+2%); 31,659 jobs (+6%)Census CBP
Housing market in the county	typical home value $376,337 (+1% 1 yr, +42% 5 yr); typical rent $1,729/mo (+1% 1 yr), 2026-09Zillow Research
House price index, tract, 2025	312 (2000 = 100); -3.0% 1 yr, +59% 5 yr, +126% 10 yrFHFA
Traffic on the busiest road within 600 m (2024)	50,461 vehicles a day on 640 (Interstate, 6 lanes); 14,279 trucks; 20 counted segmentsFHWA HPMS

Summary, model-written

Opened in 1984 as East Towne Mall, the property was rebranded Knoxville Center Mall in 1997 and operated until 2020. Anchor tenants such as Dillard’s (2008) and Sears (2018) closed, ownership shifted to Knoxville Partners LLC in 2016, and the mall ceased operations in January 2020 before being demolished in 2021. The site was redeveloped in 2024 as an Amazon fulfillment center (DNA6) by Hillwood Enterprises.

Why. The record shows anchor losses (Dillard’s 2008, Sears 2018) and a declared complete closure in 2019 as the primary reasons for decline; no other causes like debt or competition are explicitly stated.

Where it stands. The mall is demolished and the 78‑acre site is now controlled by developer Hillwood Enterprises, which built an Amazon fulfillment center (DNA6) completed in 2024.

For a planner

Strategy listed as redevelop with a zoning change sought for an e‑commerce fulfillment center.
Policy tool used: rezoning request to allow logistics use on former retail land.
Open questions: long‑term traffic generation, workforce impacts, and compatibility with surrounding land uses.

For a developer

Site size: 78 acres.
Control: owned/developed by Hillwood Enterprises; tenant Amazon (DNA6).
Entitlement stage: zoning change sought and retrofit already built (completed 2024).
Context‑layer constraints (flood, transit, environment) are not detailed in the record.
Market signals: opp_score 20, opp_reasons note retrofit already built, closed/demolished site, 78‑acre size, and 6.8% county growth 2018‑23.

What we do not know yet

Exact demolition year is not fully clarified (record notes 2021 demolition but year_retrofit 2024).
Environmental review, floodplain status, and transit access details are missing.
Current ownership breakdown after redevelopment is not specified beyond developer and tenant.
Data verification status is draft, indicating some facts may be model‑extracted and unreviewed.
Financial terms of the redevelopment deal and any incentives are not provided.

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

Lakeforest Mall, Gaithersburg, MD · Malls · similar size (100 acres); opened 1978; closed 2023
North DeKalb Mall, Decatur, GA · Malls · similar size (73.11 acres); closed 2020; same strategy: redevelop
DeSoto Square Mall, South Bradenton, FL · Malls · similar size (100 acres); closed 2021; same strategy: redevelop
Mall at Fox Run, Newington, NH · Malls · similar size (82 acres); opened 1983; same strategy: redevelop

Elsewhere on the web

Pages with photos

Amazon opening delivery center Knoxville Center Mall AKA East Towne knoxnews.com
Local leaders want to see development at Knoxville Center Mall wbir.com
Knoxville Center Mall/ East Tow… reddit.com

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

Multifamily screen

retrofit already built
closed or demolished site (sourced)
78 acres
county grew 6.8% 2018–23

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

Background

Knoxville Center Mall, originally known as East Towne Mall, was a shopping mall located in the eastern part of Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville, Tennessee. It was in operation from 1984 to January 2020 and was demolished in 2021.

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

Timeline

1984 Opened (Wikidata)
1984 East Towne Mall opened
1997 Mall renovated and rebranded as Knoxville Center Mall
1998 Sam's Club opened in outlot
2005 Belk acquired Proffitts, store became Belk
2008 Dillard's announced closure effective September 2008
2016 Ownership changed to Knoxville Partners LLC
2017 Name changed back to East Towne Mall by Knoxville Partners LLC
2018 Sears closed
2019 Owners declared mall's complete closure, leases terminating Jan 31 2020
2020 Mall ceased operations

Sources

Wikipedia: Knoxville Center Mall · supports: acres, after notes, status, strategy, year closed, zoning change
16 quoted sentences
The mall ceased operations on January 31, 2020.
In September 2020, Hillwood Enterprises sought rezoning for the 78-acre mall site to construct an e-commerce fulfillment center for Amazon, with an estimated redevelopment cost of $70 million.
The Amazon Fulfillment Center, DNA6, opened for service on the former mall site in August 2024.
The demolition of the mall began in April 2021 and was completed later that year.

Cite

Retrofit Atlas (2026). "Knoxville Center Mall, Knoxville, TN." Record m-c8351aaab4, imported, unreviewed. Built on the public Retrofitting Suburbia map (Dunham-Jones and Williamson) and the sources listed. https://retrofitatlas.org/malls/tn/knoxville-knoxville-center-mall/ (accessed 2026-10-21).

BibTeX

@misc{retrofitatlas_knoxvilleknoxvillecentermall,
  title = {Knoxville Center Mall, Knoxville, TN},
  author = {{Retrofit Atlas}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://retrofitatlas.org/malls/tn/knoxville-knoxville-center-mall/}},
  year = {2026},
  note = {Record m-c8351aaab4, release 2026-10-21, tier: draft. Built on the Retrofitting Suburbia map (Dunham-Jones and Williamson) and the sources listed on the record. Accessed 2026-10-21}
}

How to cite, versioning