Grocery store, apartments, brewery and more slated for massive Richland Mall site overhaul

Details started to emerge Wednesday on what will be a more than $100 million redevelopment of the long-struggling Richland Mall property in Forest Acres.

While there have long been talks about overhauling the 32-acre mall property, and Richland County Council recently approved tax incentives to make such a deal happen, greater details had been scarce. But the city of Forest Acres and Georgia development firm Southeastern said in a Wednesday release that the mixed-use project would include a 100,000-square-foot grocery store, more than 500 apartments, a public park, a brewery or taproom and more.

It’s billed as the largest economic development investment in the small city just outside of the state capital in nearly four decades, with Forest Acres Mayor Frank Brunson saying in a Wednesday statement that it is “a historic day in Forest Acres and Richland County.”

Southeastern has a contract to buy the mall property, though the sale has not yet closed. After the deal closes, architects will begin drawing up site plans for the project, a process that could take six months, according to the news release. While some elements on site will be rehabilitated, the bulk of the concrete mall structure will be demolished.

Officials noted Belk, one of the last national retailers left at the current mall, will move into the former Parisian space at the site. That part of the project will likely take 12 to 18 months, officials said. After that, demolition will begin on the rest of the mall, a process that will likely take another 12 to 18 months. The mall is nearly 1 million square feet. In the end, the footprint of the new development is expected to be about a third the size of the old mall, officials said.

In all, the first phase of the project could take four to five years to complete.

An anchor grocery store tenant has not yet been named for the project, though developers are in talks with one, the release said.

Wednesday’s release did not specify whether Barnes and Noble bookstore, currently located at the mall site, would be a part of the project as the property is overhauled.

Richland Mall initially opened in 1961 as an open-air shopping center. It was converted to an indoor mall in the late 1980s. It has for years struggled mightily to retain national tenants.

“We’ve seen the potential in the property for years, the location is a huge appeal,” Southeastern vice president Jason Long said in a statement. “Ultimately, an enclosed mall redevelopment of this magnitude cannot get off the ground in our opinion without a public-private partnership. Forest Acres and Richland County shared our vision of taking this functionally obsolete mall, demolish the majority of the structures, and redevelop the property into a mixed-use development that offers retail, restaurants, living space, and outdoor public space cohesively on the site.”

Forest Acres City Councilman Thomas Andrews echoed the significance of the redevelopment, noting a demolition and complete overhaul of the property is necessary.

“We wanted a long-term solution for the mall property,” Andrews said in a statement. “Over two-and-a-half years of working on this project, we’ve come to learn to be successful, the mall property has to be completely reimagined to deliver a thriving commercial space.”

Southeastern is no stranger to major developments. The company has numerous retail, residential, hospitality and other business developments in its portfolio, with projects across the South. Among their developments is the mixed-use Shelter Cove Towne Centre in Hilton Head

There will likely be more than 500 apartments as part of the redevelopment, built across two phases, the city said in a release.

The first phase of those apartments will wrap around the parking garage that is along Forest Drive. The first floor of that parking deck will be used for retail customers, while the top floors will be used by apartment tenants. The release said the “curb appeal” of the parking deck will be improved.

A specific brewery partner has not been named for the project, but Forest Acres Councilman John Barnes said it would be a welcome addition.

“We need a brewery or tap room in The Acres,” Barnes said in a statement. “Period. I think what Southeastern is offering of a brewery overlooking the (public park) greenspace is exactly what we envisioned from the start of this deal.”

As for the public park, it would feature a large greenspace, and give the city a place to hold major events, potentially even a return of the Jamming on Forest concert series.

Brunson said residents in Forest Acres have long desired revitalization at the mostly-empty mall site. And he said the time to act was now.

“For 15 to 20 years our citizens have continually expressed their desire to redevelop the property and bring it back to life,” Brunson said. “Southeastern had the track record to get this done – and that was important to us. We couldn’t risk this sitting another 15-20 years at the gateway to our city.”