Stones River Mall Is A Retail Center On a Roll
Published Jun 12, 2009
A $52 million renovation has given Stones River Mall in Murfreesboro more stores and restaurants.
Stones River Mall in Murfreesboro has undergone a multimillion dollar upgrade that gives the retail center the best of both worlds – a sheltered modern interior combined with an outdoor shopping promenade styled with classic lampposts, shade trees and a fountain.
“We’ve made it a better place to be and a better place to shop,” says Heather Rose, the mall’s marketing manager.
About 320,000 people live in the mall’s trade area, with an average household income of $57,000.
The mall, built in 1992, underwent its last major upgrade in 1997. The latest upgrade added 200,000 square feet and transformed the center’s feel with Tuscan-inspired features that include Italian tile floors, arched ceilings and entrances trimmed with stack stone.
As part of construction, J.C. Penney demolished its anchor store and built a new location from the ground up that is nearly twice the size of its former store. A 400-seat food court with wireless Internet opened on Penney’s old site.
Dillard’s, the mall’s other anchor along with Sears, razed its old location, building a 146,000-square-foot replacement that is nearly 50 percent larger than its previous quarters.
Dillard’s old home was then turned into the Shops at Stones River, a chic outdoor shopping promenade that features national retailers, including C.J. Banks, Shoe Carnival, Gap, Forever 21 and clothing retailer A’GACI. The additions increase the number of shopfronts in the mall to nearly 50, Rose says. One of the biggest newcomers to the mall is Books-A-Million, which arrived in fall 2008.
Kids can enjoy the mall’s “old-time Tennessee” themed play area, which gives a nod to local history. The site includes state facts and replicas of a log cabin, a rowboat and native animals.
“We have spoken to our consumers and, hopefully, we have given them what they want,” Rose says.
Story by Sam Scott
Photo by Brian McCord
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