The Southern Park Mall was named after the Southern Park Race Track; a historic horse racing facility that was about 1+1⁄2 miles (2.4 km) miles south of the mall's present position.[1][2] The horse track was bounded by Washington Boulevard, Southern Boulevard, and McClurg Road. One of the only remaining structures, the Southern Park Stable, was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 10, 1986.[3]
Originally planned as a joint venture with fellow Youngstown-based developer William M. Cafaro, the DeBartolo Corporation bought out the Cafaro Company's interest in the project in 1968. The mall originally had three anchor stores and totaled 905,600 square feet (84,133 m2). Sears opened in October 1969 along with the Sears wing that included junior anchor Woolworth. JCPenney and the Youngstown-based Strouss both opened in April 1970. JCPenney and Strouss' relocated from DeBartolo's Greater Boardman Plaza, located approximately one mile west of Southern Park Mall. Other initial stores included Gray Drugs, Kroger, and Southern Park Theater. The Pittsburgh-based Joseph Horne Company began construction on a fourth anchor unit in July 1972 and opened in July 1973.
Dillard's acquired Joseph Horne Company with Horne's closing in July 1992 and Dillard's opening the following month. Dillard's bought their store and adjoining land in October 1993. In 1997, the mall went under an extensive renovation, shortly after the DeBartolo Corporation merged with Simon Property Group. Simon spent $19 million making improvements to the interiors, adding a food court and a Cinemark Tinseltown USA 7 movie theater at the southeastern edge of the mall's property. It opened in 1997 and has 7 screens. Jillian's, a bowling alley, arcade, and bar, was a tenant from 1999 to 2011.[5] Jillian's, along with Lady Footlocker, Kids Footlocker, and Men's Footlocker replaced Woolworth at this time.
2000s to present
In February 2005, it was announced that Cachè would be opening in center court.[6] In 2006, Kaufmann's was re-branded to Macy's following the latter's acquisition. In 2007, there was talk of demolishing and expanding a portion of the Sears wing to bring outdoor shopping, dining, and entertainment to the mall. Simon instead filled the space with Shoe Dept. Encore in 2011.[citation needed] In October of the same year, Fox Head opened in center court.[citation needed]
In April 2014, Simon Property Group announced the sale of Southern Park Mall to its spinoff, Washington Prime Group.[7] On April 30, 2015 H&M opened a location at the mall.[8] In October 2015, Bath & Body Works announced they would be expanding and remodeling their store at the mall.[9] In January 2016, Zumiez and Vanity announced they would be coming to the shopping center. Zumiez opened in February next to Crazy 8 in the former Coach New York space. In mid-April, Vanity opened in the former Wet Seal space, next to American Eagle Outfitters.[10] In April 2018, Sears announced that they would be closing their location at the mall in July after nearly 49 years at the mall.[11] In February 2019, Dillard's announced that they would also be closing in May of that year, leaving JCPenney and Macy's as the only remaining anchors.[12] That same week, the Dillard's building was sold to a Cafaro Company subsidiary, Boardman SC LLC.[13][14] The Cafaro Company being the owner of nearby competitor, The Eastwood Mall has not announced any redevelopment plans for their site.
In redevelopment efforts, Washington Prime Group tore down the Sears building in late 2019 and replaced it with the DeBartolo Commons, which added some smaller exterior storefronts whilst decreasing the overall square footage of the mall.[15] DeBartolo Commons opened in 2021, adding recreational spaces and restaurants to the complex. Earlier in 2021, a Planet Fitness relocated to the mall, combining former tenant locations and creating a new junior anchor space on the mall's east side.[16] In August 2023, Windsor officially opened in the former Aeropostale space.[17] As of May 2, 2023 the mall has an occupancy rate of 76%.[citation needed] On August 27, 2024 it was announced that Chick-Fil-A would be closing on the 31 of August, after 44 years of business at the mall.
In October of 2024, it was announced that Kohan Retain Investment Group was in talks with Washington Prime Group to purchase Southern Park. Currently, the transaction is still ongoing.[18]
