Inlet Square Mall

Inlet Square Mall is a 434,482-square-foot (40,364.7 m2) single-level regional shopping center in Garden City, South Carolina, United States. Belk is the last major anchor with junior anchor Planet Fitness and with two vacant major anchors last occupied by Kmart, JCPenney, and vacant junior anchors last occupied by Stein Mart and Books-A-Million.

Inlet Square Mall
Entrance to Inlet Square Mall, August 2011
LocationGarden City, South Carolina, United States
Coordinates
Address10125 Hwy 17 Bypass
Garden City, SC 29576
Opening date1990
DeveloperCBL Properties
OwnerRait Partnership, LP - Rait Financial Trust Philadelphia
No. of stores and services2 (formerly 45)
No. of anchor tenants3 (1 open, 2 vacant)
Total retail floor area434,482 sq ft (40,364.7 m2)
No. of floors1
Websitehttp://www.inletsquaremall.com

After the opening of a Walmart Supercenter in Garden City, Kmart closed in late April 2014.[1] On January 7, 2015, it was announced that one of the mall's two main anchor stores, JCPenney, would be closing in March of that year.[2] A Planet Fitness opened in place of the former Ladies Choice fitness center in May 2015.[3] The mall's Stein Mart location closed in September 2015[4] so it can relocate to the South Strand Commons shopping center near Surfside Beach, the new location opened in October 2015.[5]

History

Inlet Square was built in 1990 by CBL Properties. It was the area's largest mall, slightly larger than the now demolished Myrtle Square Mall. The mall was bought in the early 2000s. It was originally going to be redesigned similarly to the successful Broadway at the Beach. With those plans falling through, a $4.5 million remodeling project began in 2007. This was the first renovation in the mall's history, and had been much needed since the massive 1.3 million square-foot (120,000 m2) Coastal Grand Mall opened in 2004. The renovations weren't complete until 2011 due to financial hardships and loss of foot traffic. During this time, the mall lost most of its long time tenants, including the 12-screen Regal Cinemas, in 2010. In 2011, Franks Cinebowl and Grill opened a new complex in the former Regal Cinemas, bringing new life to the mall. In 2014, the mall lost Kmart, which opened with the original mall in 1990, and also gained a Planet Fitness location in the former Ladies Choice location. In 2015, the mall was hit with two more tenant losses, with the closures of JC Penney and Stein Mart. This leaves Belk, Planet Fitness, and Books-A-Million as the only stores left in the mall.

On October 13, 2013, it was reported that the owners of Inlet Square Mall, Murrells Retail Associates was suing Frank Theaters for failing to make lease payments on time on several occasions. It was reported that the theater chain owes the mall $201,363 in unpaid rent and is asking a judge to accelerate nearly $24 million worth of payments which is due under a 20-year lease agreement that was signed in 2011.[6] The Frank Theaters and CineBowl that were located in the Inlet Square closed suddenly at midnight on May 14, 2016 with no notice to the public after being in business for five years.[7][8]

On March 31, 2018 Rait Partnership defaulted on their lease by not paying their five year Overage Payment of $328,000 to the landlord. Rait refused to pay the landlord its monthly rent of $45,000 in June and July. The landlord hired a litigation attorney immediately since Rait was pocketing all the tenant rents. During this time of waiting on a rule by the SC judge, Rait remained in Inlet Square Mall now owing four months rent to the landlord. The landlord won in court and a court summons was ruled for RAIT to be evicted even though it said they left voluntarily. Rait was never planning to leave voluntarily and planned to stay for an additional two years making the original landowners suffer losses. With the win in court, the landowners can now feel relief of the Philadelphia group and the SC landowners can continue to regain the ability to make Inlet Square Mall a great place again. The landlord and all the original land owners are now trying to redevelop the mall.

On May 13 2020, WBTW News reported that Books-A-Million had recently closed.[9]

Current Stores

Belk, Planet Fitness

Reconstruction

F + F Development began reconstruction on the mall in 2012 in an attempt to make it similar to the popular outdoor shopping center Broadway at the Beach. The construction caused F + F Development to go into bankruptcy, and Urban Retail Properties purchased the mall in late 2014.

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-02-21. Retrieved 2014-02-10.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. Bryant, Dawn. "J.C. Penney to close store in Inlet Square Mall". The Sun News. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  3. "Planet Fitness to open at Inlet Square Mall". WMBF-TV. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  4. "South Strand job fair Thursday, revitalization plans for the future". www.wmbfnews.com. Retrieved 2015-10-30.
  5. "Newly opened Stein Mart brings more growth to South Strand". www.wmbfnews.com. Retrieved 2015-10-30.
  6. "Inlet Square Mall owners suing theater chain over unpaid rent". myrtlebeachonline. Retrieved 2018-02-08.
  7. "Frank Theatres, entertainment center shut down at Inlet Square Mall". myrtlebeachonline. Retrieved 2018-02-08.
  8. Roberson, Ian Cross, Josh. "Frank Theatres in Murrells Inlet closes permanently". Retrieved 2018-02-08.
  9. "Inlet Square Mall businesses hopeful for new plans after COVID-19". WBTW. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
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