Regency Square Mall

Regency Square Mall

"becoming a piece of Jacksonville history" 

9501 Arlington Expy #100  Jacksonville, FL 32225
(904) 725-3830

Found in the Arlington district of Jacksonville, Regency Square Mall dates back to 1967.  At the time of its construction, it was the idyllic middle class suburban shopping experience. Over time, as Jacksonville developed and shifted, the neighborhood became predominantly lower income. The mall’s decline reflects it. The mall’s unusual layout consists not only of a few anchors on each end, but a Belk in the middle with exits back into the mall on both sides. One side of the mall consisted mostly of stores found in every mall such as Aeropostale or Old Navy (now closed) and one side consisted mostly of independently owned and operated stores. Present day, the longer wing of the mall on the opposite side of the Belk from the food court is almost completely vacant.

For the historians: nearly 50 years old, Regency Square has changed quite drastically from what it was. In March of 1967, it opened as a highly anticipated experience in choice retail. Some of the most popular department stores, shoe stores, apparel stores and menswear stores debuted at Regency.
This was also an era that fully enclosed, climate-controlled shopping malls were still a fairly new concept.

All articles were found at the Jacksonville Public Library 

and are owned by The Florida Times-Union

The mall's glory days as the original structure were in the 1970's. The success lead to the mall having an entire wing added to it in 1981, on the other side of what was May-Cohen's (now Belk). This is how a department store ended up being in the middle of the mall, giving it entrances to the mall on both sides.

It continued to shine through the 1980's, even doing fairly well in the 1990's. The opening of the Jacksonville Landing in 1987 took some of its business, but department stores continued to merge and upgrade, a movie theater was opened on the premises, and Old Navy came on board in the later 1990's.

It was not until the turn of the millenium that the growing crime rate in the area began to affect that mall more and more noticeably.

Who it’s for: As stated above, the mall mostly entertains the African American neighborhood around it and some other ethnicities as well. About 75% of the guests are other ethnicities then Caucasian. The mall does offer stores that are favored by all types of people though.

It’s best assets: A Dillard’s Outlet store with major clearances on once full-retail-price Dillard’s goods. This mall also has an arcade for children and teens to enjoy.

Other great retail: Anchors Belk, JCPenney, Sears, Dillard's clearance. Smaller stores Express, Victoria’s Secret, Aeropostale, Pacsun and several more. There is a food court with several eateries to choose from as well. 

What it lacks: This mall has seen much decline in the past two decades. The wing that was added in 1981 is now almost completely empty. Nearly 2/3 of this entire shopping center is vacant, classifying it as a burgeoning dead mall. Many of the vacancies used to be locally owned stores for African-American interests, however. There are still a few popular corporately-owned stores and most of the anchors are in tact, but you would no longer find Old Navy, Forever XXI and many others that you can find in the more lively Avenues Mall.
Regency is also noted for its crime rate. It is not a particularly safe area for a single white female to venture alone, especially at night.

Signs of decline: major

Rating: 2/5

www.regencysquaremall.com