Peachtree Mall looks to fill cluster of empty store spaces in JCPenney wing

Columbus-area shoppers venturing into the JCPenney wing of Peachtree Mall in recent days likely have noticed several dark and empty store spaces seemingly beckoning to be filled with a new retailer.

TaVida Rice, general manager of the 3131 Manchester Expressway shopping center, said Tuesday that help is on the way in the form of new tenants in most of the vacant storefronts. In one of the larger moves, she said a lease is nearly signed for an 11,000-square-foot retailer just outside of JCPenney.

“When you walk out of JCPenneys, to the left, it’s going to take up everything from JCPenney around the corner to the back of Ruby Tuesday,” said Rice, who will soon name the tenant, which she said will be a well-known brand that should generate some excitement for shoppers.

“We have a lot of leases that are being signed for those spaces,” she said of the eight or so empty storefronts in the wing, which is punctuated by a large carousel in its center area. “The two (spaces) that are closer to Lids, the leases are out. The only space in the building that I don’t have a lease for is when you walk out of JCPenneys, the space to your right. Every other space is under final revisions of a lease.”

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Peachtree Mall has not been impacted by most of the announced nationwide store closings in recent weeks. Those include the shuttering of roughly 170 stores carrying the Kay, Jared and Zales brands by its owner, the elimination of 110 Foot Locker outlets and the departures of about 60 Abercrombie & Fitch locations. The mall has a Hollister Co. store, which is operated by A&F.

And while bankrupt jewelry and accessory retailer Claire’s remains open at Peachtree Mall, the location at the AAFES shopping center on Fort Benning’s Marne Road shut its doors for good on Monday.

Peachtree Mall will be losing the Best Buy Mobile store that is being folded into the full-size Best Buy store atop the hill adjacent to the mall. That location is next to the food court.

“There’s a lot of movement going on,” Rice said of the comings and goings at Peachtree Mall and elsewhere in the retail industry. “Leasing is never ending. It’s about paying attention to the sales and the retail mix and what your customers are looking for. That’s why shifting is always ongoing.”

That movement and shifting is occurring in other areas of the city as well, and in other business sectors. Bankrupt Toys R Us began its national going-out-of-business sale last Friday, which included its Columbus Park Crossing store. Florida-based Southeastern Grocers recently announced it was shutting nearly 100 stores, including the Winn-Dixie supermarket on Milgen Road in Columbus.

The closings have garnered the feel of an annual rite of spring. It was a year ago that Sears Holdings closed its large Sears Department store on Whittlesey Road at Columbus Park, along with the remaining Kmart discount outlets in the market. Electronics chain hhgregg went bankrupt, then closed all of its stores, including the Columbus Park location, last May.

This story was originally published March 28, 2018 at 9:21 AM with the headline "Peachtree Mall looks to fill cluster of empty store spaces in JCPenney wing."