The Oaks Mall

The Oaks Mall is an enclosed shopping center in Gainesville, Florida. It is largest shopping center in the Central Florida region.

For the mall in Thousand Oaks, California, see The Oaks (Thousand Oaks, California).

The Oaks Mall
Aerial view of the mall in 2010
LocationGainesville, Florida
Address6419 W. Newberry Road
Opening dateFebruary 1978 (1978-02)
DeveloperAlan Squitieri & David Hocker
ManagementBrookfield Properties Retail Group
OwnerBrookfield Properties Retail Group (51%), Ivanhoe Cambridge (49%)
No. of stores and services119
No. of anchor tenants5 (4 open, 1 vacant)
Total retail floor area906,104 sq ft (84,179.8 m2)
No. of floors1 (2 in Belk and both Dillard's locations)
Websitewww.theoaksmall.com
[1]
Exterior view of The Oaks Mall, June 2018

Its anchors include Belk, two Dillard's stores, J. C. Penney, and the University of Florida Health.

The mall interior is one floor, but Belk and both Dillard's stores have two floors.

The mall serves an extremely large trade area stretching into 11 counties with a population growth rate nearly double the national average. The center also benefits from its close proximity to over 64,000 students attending the nearby University of Florida and Santa Fe College. In 2017, mall occupancy was at 96%. Improvements continue to be made, including the installation of roof-top solar panels, and LED lighting fixtures.[2]

History

The mall was announced in 1974 with JCPenney and Belk-Lindsey (both are still there today) being the first major tenants to lease space.[3]

The mall opened in February 1978. Burdines, Sears, and Ivey's all opened in 1983 as part of the second and third stages.[4]

In 2015, Sears Holdings spun off 235 of its properties, including the Sears at The Oaks Mall, into Seritage Growth Properties.[5]

On January 4, 2018, Macy's announced it would be closing its location at the mall as part of a plan to close 11 stores nationwide. A liquidation sale began on January 8 and lasted until March 2018.[6] Dillard's announced plans to expand into the former Macy's space while retaining its existing anchor location (former Ivey's) at the mall in order to offer a wider range of merchandise with plans to open in November 2018.[7]

On April 20, 2018, it was announced that Sears will close its store as part of a plan to close 42 stores nationwide. The store closed in July 2018.[8]

In June 2018, UF Health announced plans for a 20 year lease and renovation of the space to contain its ophthalmology and otolaryngology departments. The clinics had their grand opening on January 25th, 2020. [9][10]

References
  1. "The Oaks Mall". Brookfield Properties Retail Group.
  2. Smithson, Daniel (August 13, 2017). "Oaks Mall weathers broad trends". Gainesville Sun.
  3. "Belk-Lindsey and JC Penny Relocated First". Gainesville Sun. August 1, 1984.
  4. "Oaks Phase Three is Completed; Another Store is Planned". Gainesville Sun. August 1, 1984.
  5. http://www.seritage.com/retail/property/6201-w-newberry-rd/3312496/landing
  6. "Macy's store at Oaks Mall will be closing". WCJB-TV. January 4, 2018.
  7. Tinker, Cleveland (January 12, 2018). "Dillard's to buy larger space, double its size". Gainesville Sun.
  8. "Sears in Gainesville closing their doors at Oaks Mall". WCJB-TV. April 23, 2018.
  9. Smithson, Daniel; Strange, Deborah (June 7, 2018). "Two UF Health offices may move into Sears". Gainesville Sun.
  10. "UF Health Facilities Moving Into The Oaks Mall". WCJB-TV. June 8, 2018.
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