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Hampton Towne Centre
	Interior of Hampton Towne Centre, March 2003
Location	Essexville, Michigan, U.S.
Coordinates	43°35′34″N 83°50′03″W / 43.5927°N 83.8343°W
Address	1465 West Center Road
Opening date	1975
Closing date	September 15, 2010
Previous names	Hampton Square Mall
Developer	Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust
Architect	Charles N. Agree
No. of stores and services	37
No. of anchor tenants	4
Total retail floor area	350,000 square feet (33,000 m2)
No. of floors	1

Hampton Towne Centre, formerly Hampton Square Mall, was an enclosed shopping mall in Hampton Township, Michigan, just outside the city of Essexville, Michigan, United States. Built in 1975, the property featured Kmart and William C. Wiechmann Company as its anchor stores, with JCPenney being added on in 1989. It became a dead mall following the closure of its anchor stores, and ultimately closed in 2010. The building, vacant except for a thrift store, an intermediate school district, and a Michigan Department of Human Services office, was last owned by Art Dore until his death in 2022.

History

The mall was developed by Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust of Southfield, Michigan, with Charles N. Agree as the architect. Original anchors were Kmart^[2] and William C. Wiechmann Company of Saginaw.^[3] Both anchors represented changes for their respective chains: the Kmart (opened in 1974, a year before the remainder of the center) was among its first mall-attached stores,^[4] and it was the first Wiechmann's location away from Saginaw.^[5] An A&P supermarket was also attached. The mall also included a Perry pharmacy and an MC Sports.^[1] In 1981, a customer was charged for murdering his wife while she was working at the Lerner New York store in the mall.^[6] In October 1989, the mall expanded with the addition of a JCPenney store, which moved from downtown.^[7]^[1] The mall's main customer base was residents of The Thumb.

The mall became increasingly vacant in the 1990s and early 2000s, particularly after the opening of Bay City Mall in 1991 and the closure of all three anchor stores; JCPenney defected to the new mall in 1993,^[7] and Kmart closed in 2002. At this point, the mall complex was largely used for non-retail purposes, including a Michigan Department of Human Services office, the Bay-Arenac intermediate school district, and yearly use for the Bay County library's book sales. The mall ultimately closed in September 2010.^[8] One of the last remaining tenants, Mandarin House Chinese restaurant, moved to a new location.^[9]

Local businessman Art Dore purchased the mall in August 2011 and announced plans to reopen it as a mixed-use property featuring offices and retail.^[10]^[11] At the time of his purchase, the mall was vacant except for three businesses: Michigan Department of Human Services, Bay-Arenac Intermediate School District, and a thrift store called Cat's Meow. Dore announced in 2017 a financial incentive for any prospective businesses within the mall.^[12] However, the mall never reopened, and Dore died in November 2022.^[13]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Directory of major malls. MJJTM Publications Corp. 1990. pp. 323–324.
^ "Michigan". CSA Super Markets. Lebhar-Friedman. 1973.
^ Gross, Stuart D. (1980). Saginaw, a history of the land and the city. Greater Saginaw Chamber of Commerce. p. 193. ISBN 9780897810166.
^ "Years Past". Bay City Times. October 2, 2004. p. A4.
^ "Years Past". Bay City Times. November 5, 2005. p. A4.
^ "Wife shot". Ludington Daily News. 15 May 1981. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
^ ^a ^b "Drained from Downtown". Bay City Times. August 16, 2005. p. A9. J.C. Penney Co. Inc. ... Moved to the Hampton Square Mall in October 1989 after 30 years downtown at the corner of Center Avenue and Adams Street. In February 1993, it moved from the Hampton Square Mall to the Bay City Mall, its present location.
^ Wayland, Michael (28 August 2010). "After 35 years, Hampton Towne Centre in Hampton Township to close Sept. 15, according to tenant". mlive.com. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
^ White, Sue (23 December 2010). "Mandarin House stays true to its roots". mlive.com. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
^ Setter, Holly (9 August 2011). "Hampton Township hoping for a boost from mall purchase". mlive.com. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
^ Setter, Holly (3 August 2011). "Art Dore adds Hampton Towne Center to property portfolio, plans to restore it to former glory". mlive.com. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
^ "Hampton mall offering free first year's rent on retail space". Mlive.com. March 28, 2017. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
^ "Bay City businessman Art Dore dies at 86". November 3, 2022. Mlive.com. Retrieved August 31, 2024.