Malls · Virginia

Bristol Mall

Imported, unreviewedReinhabitedRetrofit proposedBristol, VA

Opened 1976. Closed 2017. Reinhabitation, proposed in 2018.

Status nowRetrofit proposedextracted, unreviewed

documented

In December 2021, Hard Rock International announced plans to reuse the existing mall facility for the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol, opening in 2024.

en.wikipedia.org

What it becamehotel, entertainmentextracted, unreviewed reported

Last sale$18.3M · 2006public reporting

Retrofit year2018extracted, unreviewed reported

Walkability7.8 of 20 · 15-minute 4 of 6EPA, OpenStreetMap

Rail within 800 mNo · Opportunity ZoneOpenStreetMap, 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. documented = a quoted excerpt (click to read it) · reported = a source named, no excerpt yet · no source.

Bristol Mall. Photo: Etittle1978 (talk) (Uploads), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Site profile18 elements · what this retrofit is built with · tap a chip for the evidence

Former anchors

Belk

This site: Belk wikipedia · all sites with this

JCPenney

This site: JCPenney wikipedia · all sites with this

Sears

This site: Sears wikipedia · all sites with this

Finance and pipeline

Foreclosure or REO

This site: …scope: property research-deals · all sites with this

Listed for sale

This site: …scope: property research-deals · all sites with this

Retrofit in the pipeline

This site: …proposed extraction · all sites with this

Website alive

This site: …http://bristolmall.com/ overture / http check · all sites with this

Ownership

Single-purpose entity

This site: Bristol Mall Acquisitions LLC county-parcels · all sites with this

Place

County lost 10%+ of retail establishments since 2012

This site: -17% census-cbp · all sites with this

Grocery within 800 m

This site: 3 stores openstreetmap · all sites with this

High social vulnerability tract (SVI ≥ 0.75)

This site: 0.82 cdc-svi · all sites with this

Lower-income tract (< $50k)

This site: $35,073 census-acs · all sites with this

Opportunity Zone

This site: 51520020100 hud-oz · all sites with this

Tract income flat or down since 2013

This site: -7% census-acs · all sites with this

Strategy

Reinhabited

This site: Bristol Industrial Mall extraction · all sites with this

New use

Entertainment and sports

This site: …new_use field extraction · all sites with this

Hotel

This site: …new_use field extraction · all sites with this

Logistics and industrial

This site: Bristol Industrial Mall extraction · all sites with this

All elements and lists · Trends

Now

Status	Retrofit proposedextracted, unreviewed documented In December 2021, Hard Rock International announced plans to reuse the existing mall facility for the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol, opening in 2024. en.wikipedia.org
Strategy	Reinhabitation, proposedextracted, unreviewed documented In December 2021, Hard Rock International announced plans to reuse the existing mall facility for the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol, opening in 2024. en.wikipedia.org
New uses	hotel, entertainmentextracted, unreviewed reported
What is there now	Bristol Industrial Mallextracted, unreviewed documented The property name changed to 'Bristol Industrial Mall.' en.wikipedia.org
Retrofit year	2018extracted, unreviewed reported
Redeveloper	Par Venturesextracted, unreviewed reported

Deals and debt

Date	Event	Price	Parties	Source
2018	Listed	$2.9M closed	← Sunstar Keshav LLC	Wikipedia
2018	Sold	—	Par Ventures ← Sunstar Keshav LLC	Wikipedia
2015	Foreclosure	—	Sunstar Keshav LLC	Wikipedia
2006	Sold	$18.3M closed	Bristol Mall Acquisitions LLC ← Aronov Realty Management	Wikipedia
1999	Sold	$25.0M closed	Aronov Realty Management ← Urban Retail Properties	Wikipedia

Securitised debt and public filers

Filings (2001 to date) that name “Bristol Mall” and “Bristol” (17 hits, first 17 sampled, 7 other filers such as tenants left out). Only weak matches to commercial-mortgage trusts: the mall may have backed a securitised loan, or may just be mentioned in the filing; several trusts usually means one loan split into pari-passu notes. Earliest trust filing in the sample 2006-10-24 (a sample date, not the issuance date); candidate loan vintage 2006 from the trust name (weak match). Whether the loan is still in the pool, in special servicing or repaid is in the trust's monthly distribution reports, which are not searchable here. Text matches, not a title search. Open the search · all trusts.

Kind	Filer	Filings	Dates	Forms
CMBS trust (weak)	Banc of America Commercial Mortgage Inc., Series 2006-5	2	2006-10-24 to 2006-10-24	8-K 2
Public owner (strong)	JMB INCOME PROPERTIES LTD V	3	2001-08-13 to 2003-03-31	10-Q 2, 10-K 1
Public owner (weak)	MACERICH CO (MAC)	3	2003-11-13 to 2005-03-25	10-K 2, 10-Q 1

Site context

FEMA flood zone	X · AREA OF MINIMAL FLOOD HAZARDFEMA NFHL
EPA-regulated facilities within 500 m	7: BRISTOL NURSING HOME INC; BRISTOL REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER; BRISTOL REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER; CROWLEY FOODS - BRISTOL - FLAV-O-RICH LLC; FLAV-O-RICH, BRISTOL, VAEPA FRS
Census tract 51520020100	3,137 people, 1,336 per sq mi; median household income $35,073; median gross rent $840; 46% renters; 18.6% vacant units; 0.0% commute by transitACS 2023 5-year
Walkability (EPA, block group)	index 7.8 of 20; 43 intersections per sq mi; no transit stop within the EPA search radius; land-use mix 0.68; 6,549 jobs within 45 min by car; 13% of households without a carEPA Smart Location
Within a 10–15 minute walk (800 m)	4 of 6 daily needs: 3 grocers, 0 schools, 0 parks or playgrounds, 1 health, 3 civic, 11 food and drink; 0 cycleway segments, 19 sidewalk-tagged segmentsOpenStreetMap
Opportunity Zone	yes, tract 51520020100 (rural)HUD
Housing permits, Bristol (Independent City) (VA), 2024	0 units in 5+ unit buildings, 4 in 2–4, 1 single-family; 2023: 0 in 5+Census BPS
Social vulnerability (CDC SVI 2022, tract)	overall percentile 0.82; socioeconomic 0.75; housing and transport 0.90; 43% below 150% of poverty; 10% of households with no vehicleCDC/ATSDR
Overture Maps	place Bristol Mall (shopping_mall, confidence 0.92, from Foursquare, Overture, Overture-signals); building footprint 1,627 m², 4.396411895751953 mOverture (CDLA-Permissive 2.0)
Website and social	bristolmall.com (alive); archived 2001–2025 (Wayback)Overture / Internet Archive
Attention: Wikipedia page views	52,515 since 2015; 2,671 in the last 12 months (-17% vs the prior 12); peak 2017-01 with 1,353Wikimedia
Tract change 2013–2023	population -21% (3,951 → 3,137); median income -7% ($37,854 → $35,073); renters 50% → 46%; median home value +33% ($79,100 → $105,400)Census ACS 5-year
Natural hazard risk (FEMA National Risk Index, tract)	relatively low overall (score 22.4); expected annual loss $531,777; high: strong wind, lightning; community resilience relatively lowFEMA NRI
Tax-credit housing within 1 km	noneHUD LIHTC
Retail trade in the county, 2025 (BLS QCEW)	1,229 jobs in 129 establishments; average annual pay $30,576; employment location quotient 1.15; employment -12.1% on the yearBLS QCEW 2025, NAICS 44-45, private
Jobs located in the tract, 2022	1,707 jobs; 295 in retail trade, 74 in accommodation and food (workplace blocks summed to tract 51520020100)Census LEHD LODES8 WAC 2022
Upward mobility (Opportunity Atlas, 2010 tract)	children of low-income (25th percentile) families reached the 36th income percentile as adults; 1.0% incarcerated at the 2010 count (567 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; 3% of residents more than 1 mile from a supermarket; poverty rate 21.6%; median family income $38,551; 474 SNAP householdsUSDA ERS
Schools	Bristol City Public Schools (PK-12); 1 public school within 1 mile: Stonewall Jackson ElementaryNCES EDGE
Elevation	1,786 ft above sea level at the site pointUSGS 3DEP
Storm events in the county, 2016-2025	7 county-logged events: 4 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail, 1 flood, 1 flash flood; no property damage reported; forecast-zone events (most flood, winter and heat) not countedNOAA Storm Events
Homes for sale in ZIP 24201, 2026-09	median list price $249,900 (+9.0% on the year); 110 active listings; median 58 days on market; 25% with a price cutRealtor.com Research
Retail trade in the county, 2012 to 2023	128 establishments (-17%); 1,266 jobs (-27%)Census CBP
Housing market in the county	typical home value $177,856 (-3% 1 yr, +34% 5 yr); typical rent $1,382/mo, 2026-09Zillow Research
House price index, tract, 2025	267 (2000 = 100); -0.9% 1 yr, +74% 5 yr, +83% 10 yrFHFA
Traffic on the busiest road within 600 m (2024)	9,699 vehicles a day on 421 (principal arterial, 4 lanes); 146 trucks; 31 counted segmentsFHWA HPMS

Summary, model-written

Bristol Mall opened in 1975 as the regional shopping center for Bristol, Virginia, with anchors Sears, Belk, JCPenney and a movie theater, and hosted a country‑music museum. Over time it changed ownership multiple times (Urban Retail Properties, Aronov Realty Management, Bristol Mall Acquisitions LLC, Sunstar Keshav LLC) before entering foreclosure in 2015 and closing after the last store left in 2017. In 2018 Par Ventures purchased the property for $2.9 million, renamed it Bristol Industrial Mall, and proposed a reinhabit strategy for hotel and entertainment use.

Why. The record shows financial distress leading to a 2015 foreclosure and a 2017 closure, followed by a 2018 sale to Par Ventures for redevelopment; explicit causes such as anchor loss or competition are not stated.

Where it stands. The site is currently proposed for redevelopment as a hotel/entertainment complex under Par Ventures, which has owned the property since its 2018 purchase.

For a planner

Reinhabit strategy noted with planned new uses of hotel and entertainment.
No explicit policy tools or incentives are recorded in the data.
Open questions include the timeline for construction, financing details, and community impact assessments.

For a developer

Control: Par Ventures has owned the site since 2018.
Entitlement stage: status is 'proposed' with a retrofit year of 2018.
Site size, flood risk, transit access, environmental constraints, and tract‑level market signals are not provided in the record.

What we do not know yet

Site dimensions and parcel layout are unknown.
Zoning, floodplain, transit proximity, and environmental conditions are not recorded.
Current construction progress or detailed development schedule is missing.
Financial terms beyond the 2018 sale price are unspecified.
Verification status is 'draft', indicating the data may be unreviewed.
The opportunity score is 0.0 with reason 'already in play: under construction, approved, or sold to a developer with housing plans', suggesting potential duplication of effort.

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

Highland Mall, Austin, TX · Malls · opened 1971; closed 2015; same strategy: reinhabit
Summit Park Mall, Wheatfield, NY · Malls · opened 1972; closed 2018; same strategy: reinhabit
Hickory Hollow Mall, Nashville, TN · Malls · opened 1978; closed 2019; same strategy: reinhabit
Newmarket North Mall, Hampton, VA · Malls · opened 1975; same strategy: reinhabit; also in VA

Elsewhere on the web

Pages with photos

Bristol Mall Bristol, VA August 2015 | Flickr flickr.com
Bristol Mall Bristol, VA - 35447966371 commons.wikimedia.org
Sky City: Retail History: Bristol Mall: Bristol, VA skycity2.blogspot.com
Bristol Mall - Alchetron, The Free Social Encyclopedia alchetron.com
Bristol Mall heraldcourier.com

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

Multifamily screen

already in play: under construction, approved, or sold to a developer with housing plans

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

Opened	1976Wikidata
Closed	2017extracted, unreviewed documented The mall closed again on August 31, 2017, after the last remaining store closed. en.wikipedia.org
Anchors	JCPenney, Sears, Belk, movie theater, Parks-Belk, Miller's
County	Bristol city
Census division	5 · South Atlantic
Notes	Wikipedia categories: Defunct shopping malls in the United States

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

Background

Bristol Mall was the only regional shopping mall serving Bristol, Virginia. It opened in 1975. Former anchors included Sears, Belk, JCPenney, and a movie theater. With Bristol being the home of country music, long before Knoxville or Nashville, for many years there had been a museum at the mall, showcasing the legacy this left to the area.

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

Timeline

1975 opened
1976 Opened (Wikidata)
1999 sold to Aronov Realty Management for $25 million
2006 sold to Bristol Mall Acquisitions LLC for $18.3 million
2015 went into foreclosure
2017 mall closed after last store closed
2018 listed for $2.9 million
2018 Par Ventures finalized purchase, property renamed Bristol Industrial Mall
2021 Hard Rock announced plans for hotel/casino

Sources

Wikipedia: Bristol Mall · supports: after notes, status, strategy, year closed
12 quoted sentences
The mall closed again on August 31, 2017, after the last remaining store closed.
The property name changed to 'Bristol Industrial Mall.'
In December 2021, Hard Rock International announced plans to reuse the existing mall facility for the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol, opening in 2024.
In December 2021, Hard Rock International announced plans to reuse the existing mall facility for the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol, opening in 2024.

Cite

Retrofit Atlas (2026). "Bristol Mall, Bristol, VA." Record m-4d2e32ac93, imported, unreviewed. Built on the public Retrofitting Suburbia map (Dunham-Jones and Williamson) and the sources listed. https://retrofitatlas.org/malls/va/bristol-bristol-mall/ (accessed 2026-10-20).

BibTeX

@misc{retrofitatlas_bristolbristolmall,
  title = {Bristol Mall, Bristol, VA},
  author = {{Retrofit Atlas}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://retrofitatlas.org/malls/va/bristol-bristol-mall/}},
  year = {2026},
  note = {Record m-4d2e32ac93, release 2026-10-20, tier: draft. Built on the Retrofitting Suburbia map (Dunham-Jones and Williamson) and the sources listed on the record. Accessed 2026-10-20}
}

How to cite, versioning