3800 US Highway 98 N Lakeland, Florida 33809
863-859-5414
This is the mall that I grew up with. It was opened in 1988 as the main shopping mall for Lakeland, Florida. Its best years were the 1990's and early 2000's, when it was almost always full and flourishing. It was one of my popular hangouts with my friends when I was a teen, as it was for many teens. It is a family friendly mall for the most part. Its leviathan competitors in Orlando and Tampa began their rise to glory in the 1990's and 2000's as well, but they did not have as large an impact on this mall as Lakeland's opening of the Lakeside Village in 2005. Belk moved there and some duplicate stores opened there as well. The mall has been on a steady decline ever since, but has some new hope on the horizon. Construction is under way for a Sports Authority and a special movie theater.
Who its for: Originally the ideal middle class family shopping experience for Lakeland, it is now shifting to accommodate a lower income crowd and also a bit of an ethnic melting pot. New suburbs are cropping up around the mall's campus but the mall is still very near to some low income African-American and Latino neighborhoods. As a result, when the mall began to decline and stores such as the Gap left, some were replaced by generic bargain teen fashion and accessory stores with names like "Styles for Less" "$5Fashions" "Nova" and "Crush". These stores offer bags, shoes and jewelry that appear to be brand names but they are knock-offs and are literally only a few dollars in most cases.
There are still many stores for the middle class shoppers as well, and four of the six standard middle class anchors are open for business. The fifth is a popular bargain store for people seeking a good deal on fashion and home decor.
Its best assets: The standard Anchors, most of which have been there since the mall opened, are Sears, JCPenney, Macy's and Dillard's. The bargain anchor is a Burlington Coat Factory. The once shuttered sixth anchor is soon to be a Sports Authority. The mall has a Barnies Coffee, which is becoming uncommon. There is a hands-on pet store that has been open since the mall was born. It offers many kinds of pets including puppies, kittens, birds, lizards, small animals, fish and a tarantula. Most all of the pets can be handled and played with by the shoppers making it a fun interactive experience for children and families. Also, despite the shaky economy, the mall has managed to house a Hollister since 2007.
Other Great Retail: American Eagle, Lane Bryant, Victoria's Secret, Old Navy, Tilly's and several more.
What it lacks: There is a Best Buy across the street, as well as a Target, home decor and office supply stores and Toys R Us, but the Barnes and Noble vacated the premises a few years ago, leaving Books A Million to be Lakeland's only bookstore and it is on the south side. The Waldenbooks vacated the mall interior several years before. This mall is in a middle to lower income area so there is no higher fashion. Someone shopping for designer brands like Lucky Brand or Coach would not find them here.
Signs of Decline: Moderate. About 25% of the stores, mostly the ones near the anchor stores, are shuttered. Several more stores that had been shuttered were filled in by bargain generic fashion stores for teens. These types of stores are often family owned and operated and come and go quickly.
Overall Rating: 3/5
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