The story of an abandoned mall's reincarnation
Old Lakeland Mall, 1972
*This image is not owned by me, it was borrowed from another blog. I was not born yet in 1972.
Until about 1993, old Lakeland Mall was filled with shoppers
Milling about looking at current fashions
in stores such as Jean Nicole.
Then, because of the larger Lakeland Square Mall’s opening in 1988,
The little mall met its demise.
It was sliding downhill quickly after that mall opened.
My only memory of it is very vague.
I was 5 years old, it was 1992, and my parents and I
Were sitting in one of the main areas by a fountain.
Everything was dark.
I was actually frightened a bit by all the shuttered, dark stores.
It was closed permanently less than 2 years later.
Unlike most other malls that die, however,
Lakeland Mall didn’t get bulldozed
and replaced with a super Wal-Mart or a lifestyle center.
Instead, renovations took place and its doors opened once again, in 1999.
Seemingly resurrected, its halls were filled with people once again.
There was one major difference though.
In the past, the residents of Lakeland were here to find items they desired.
Now, they were here to find spiritual enrichment.
Lakeland Mall had become “First Baptist Church at the Mall”.
Now, the old Montgomery Ward was a stadium-style sanctuary fit
For a few hundred church goers.
The old Sam’s Club was now an auxiliary fellowship hall.
The many store fronts were various ministries, classes and a nursery.
The old 2-screen theater was the college ministry,
Later to become the men’s ministry.
A former restaurant became a coffee bar.
This monolith church that had formerly been a tiny mall
Was there for several years before I even realized
My affinity for malls,
And it was not until it’s 10th anniversary in 2009
That I was invited to attend by a friend
Who was a member there at the time.
I had only been inside the mall when it was still a mall
Just a few times when I was very little,
But I recognized it right away.
It felt familiar, and it was hard to believe it was actually a church.
It still looks just like a mall. The only major renovation
Was to that old Montgomery Ward.
In fact, I was looking for a bathroom and I found one in
The old Sam’s club-turned-worship-hall.
It was in a hallway behind the store, a hallway with old
Janitorial closets that would have only been accessible
By mall staff in the past.
The bathroom I found still looked like it was stuck in the 1970’s.
It was freaky.
Little hidden nooks and crannies of this place weren’t even
Addressed when it was updated.
I enjoyed my visit to the church.
People seemed friendly and welcoming.
I enjoyed the fact that it was a mall
As much as I enjoyed worshipping.
In college, the term for when an old structure
Is still put to use but for something new is called
“Gentrification”.
Normally, it happens with old warehouses being
Remodeled to become apartments
Or old barns becoming restaurants
Or old churches becoming a school.
First Baptist Church at the Mall was a rare occurrence
Where an entire mall was repurposed for worship.
It speaks volumes not just for creativity,
But also for Christianity.
Inspired Vision for a Dead Mall
When I moved to St. Augustine in 2005,
I was here for college and with no car,
When I wanted to shop it had to be if I could bum a ride
To a place nearby.
I was thrilled to find out there was a mall, called
Ponce De Leon Mall.
I was dismayed to find out it was a dead mall.
And that was in 2005.
Though St. Augustine does have two outlet malls,
One of which underwent some hefty renovations in 2008,
It doesn’t have a standard shopping mall that is fully equipped
Like the Avenues Mall in Jacksonville.
Ponce De Leon Mall has only slipped further downhill since then.
In less than a decade, it lost its surviving fashion stores
To the refaced outlet mall.
It lost its movie theater to the new 20-screen Epic Theater.
It lost a one-of-a-kind nerdy joke and novelty shop to the economy.
It lost a few tiny restaurants the same way.
And after Blockbuster shutdown its entire franchise,
Thus killing the video store outside the mall,
The Hallmark realized how much everything slowed down
and saw fit to close as well.
In 2009, Ponce had a minor renovation of its tiny center court area
And the two short corridors.
It did gain a sewing lounge, a florist, a women’s fitness room,
A church and it still has GNC and its two-and-a-half (because Sears
Is only an appliance store) surviving anchors.
One store space is used for meetings.
There is no food court.
It has nearly 30 store fronts, and maybe
6 of them are occupied.
After spending time on the First Baptist Church at the Mall
In Lakeland,
That same thought occurred to me about Ponce Mall.
After the 6-screen Regal cinema was vacated,
Anchor Faith bought it.
Anchor faith is a word-based non denominational contemporary
family church that’s been growing rapidly in the past few years.
It once occupied just a single store front in a strip mall.
Now it fills out all of the movie theater space and has a little playground
For the nursery, outside in the back.
It was founded 10 years ago in 2004,
Here in St. Augustine,
And by 2011 or 2012 had grown so rapidly
it needed the cinema space.
It has also put out church plants in
Georgia, Puerto Rico and Nicaragua.
Could the local congregation
double in size again in less than another decade?
It isn’t my church of membership.
I am a proud member of Good News, a PCA church.
However, I do know that
Anchor Faith does teach the Word of God,
Encourage prayer, worship and ministry,
And instills a love for Christ.
So as a Christian,
I think it would be
a positive development if their organization
were to completely overtake the struggling Ponce Mall.
Residents of St. Augustine who want to see
The structure be preserved would most likely be relieved.
Christians in the community would benefit,
As would the specific ministry.
I tried contacting Anchor Faith through email.
I asked if an expanse that would take up
A large part of Ponce Mall has ever been considered.
The response I got was actually not unexpected
For a Christian organization.
The pastor himself wrote back
And stated basically that
“If it is God’s will for us to expand,
we will.”
To those of my readers who are new to Christianity-
Basically it means that idea might have crossed their mind,
But they won’t actively pursue it unless a large amount
Of signs pointed to such a large undertaking
Being an act of divine intervention.
Suppose Anchor Faith saw fit to expand in or before 2024.
2024 would be its 20th anniversary.
I of course have little/no knowledge of what an organization
Must do to legally undertake this.
But suppose they were able to afford to buy the entire building.
They had no issues with taxes, legal matters, or anyone petitioning
Against them.
Based on my tour of First Baptist Church at the Mall
And what I know of Ponce Mall,
I could see the repurposing effort going like this:
Belk and JCPenney could stay since they are on either end.
It is just as likely that they could move to fill in
recently vacated spots in the general area,
like the old Ross and Staples buildings, left over when
Seabridge Square strip mall built over the old Kmart site.
Sears could go to one of these or a new building that is going up now.
The little stores like the florist, the GNC and the sewing lounge
Could easily find a new home in the updated Seabridge Square
Or in Cobblestone plaza.
The women’s fitness room and the dance studio
(if it is still there now) could move into the strip mall
Where we have the Sav-A-Lot.
Any number of combinations seem possible in my mind,
But like I said,
The little businesses and the chain businesses alike
Know what they should and shouldn’t do for their budgets
And regular clients.
Once the Ponce Mall is empty,
save for Anchor Faith in its little 6-theater cinema,
The church could branch out to turn each of the
30 or so store fronts into class rooms and multi-purpose spaces.
Youth ministry.
College ministry.
Singles ministry.
Marriage ministry.
Grief and loss care.
Recovery services.
Mission trip planning.
Nursery.
Media center.
Gift shop.
There is a space that looks like it was a café of some kind.
That could become a little restaurant where church goers
Can purchase coffee, sandwiches and other snacks.
The Belk and JCPenney could become
additional fellowship halls.
One for a larger Sunday service
And one for when guest speakers come to town
And draw a crowd.
These hefty spaces could be renovated and
put to use for other events.
Plays.
Christian concerts.
Easter and Christmas services.
VBS.
Christian middle school dances.
Weddings.
The old Sears could become something for youth services.
Facing outward to the main parking lot
With an extra door leading directly outside,
It would be easy for parents
To drop their children off here.
Since this is a mall,
There is ample parking on all sides.
Could my idea be a possible option for Ponce Mall in the future?
