Sunshine Mall

Sunshine Mall was a single-level, enclosed shopping mall located in Clearwater, Florida, U.S.[3] It was anchored by Phar-Mor and Office Depot.[4] It was owned by New Haven, Connecticut based Fusco Property Management.[5]

Sunshine Mall
LocationClearwater, FL, US
Address1200 Missouri Avenue
Opening dateSeptember 26, 1968
Closing date1998
DeveloperGambest Associates[1]
No. of stores and services72[2]
No. of anchor tenants2
Total retail floor area310,000 square feet (29,000 m2)[1]
No. of floors1

History

The Sunshine Mall opened on September 26, 1968, with 175,000 square feet (16,300 m2) of mall space and a 135,000-square-foot (12,500 m2) J. C. Penney[6] as an anchor, which replaced a store in downtown Clearwater.[7][8] The mall was the first enclosed shopping center in Pinellas County, Florida.[9]

It was at one time the largest climate-controlled mall on Florida's west coast.[10] It was also the first in the Southern United States to offer valet parking.[2]

The mall also featured a Trans-Lux single screen theater, Pantry Pride, SupeRx Drugs, and McCrory's.[11][12][13][14] A second anchor, J Byrons, was confirmed in 1970.[15] The theater was "twinned" into a two-screen theater in 1977, reopening in December; the theater had expanded to 5 screens by the time of closing.[16] Pantry Pride closed at the mall in February 1979, and was replaced by Mr C's Warehouse Grocery by late 1979.[17]

Office Depot opened in the former Sports Unlimited space in 1990.[4] J Byrons closed at the mall in 1991, to be replaced by Phar-Mor, which was relocating from a nearby plaza.[18] By July 1994, McCrory's had closed its doors and J. C. Penney had announced intentions to leave by January, and the mall had stopped signing new leases for interior tenants, keeping existing tenants on month-to-month leases.[19] A US$10 million rebuild of the mall was announced in 1995, which was to transform the mall into a strip mall power center, retaining an interior corridor, however this never came to pass.[5] The mall was demolished beginning in July 1998 by Terra Excavating Inc of Largo, FL in order to make way for a 600-apartment complex.[20][21]

References
  1. "Sunshine Mall looms larger". Tampa Bay Times. October 16, 1966. pp. 7B. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
  2. Earl Emmons (August 18, 1968). "State's longest mall nears completion". The Tampa Tribune. pp. 9E. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
  3. "Pinellas County Historic Preservation Board Agenda, 9:30 AM - 11:30 AM, June 20, 2018" (PDF). Pinellas County Historic Preservation Board Agenda. 20 June 2018.
  4. Damske, Jim (10 December 1990). "Tampa Bay Times". Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  5. Riley, Jim (12 January 1995). "Plaza could boast string of superstores". The Tampa Tribune. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  6. Albury, Chuck (19 January 1969). "Clearwater Beach Reaches For The Sky". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  7. Albury, Chuck (16 October 1966). "Sunshine Mall Looms Larger". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  8. "Thursday, 26 years of shoes will be no more". Tampa Bay Times. 14 December 1994. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  9. "Challenges of Buildout in Pinellas County" (PDF).
  10. "Virgina Taylor Roberts". Englewood Sun. 1996-10-13. p. 8.
  11. Talbot, Patrick (7 August 1968). "4 Stores To Start Discount Operation". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  12. "9¢ Sale - SupeRx Drugs". Tampa Bay Times. 10 October 1968. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  13. "McCrory's Leases Mall Space". Tampa Bay Times. 15 January 1967. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  14. "Clearwater To Get Another Theatre". Tampa Bay Times. 6 July 1967. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  15. Albury, Chuck (29 May 1970). "Good Morning". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  16. moviefanaticfan. "Sunshine Mall 5". Cinema Treasures. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  17. "Mr. C's Warehouse Grocery leases spot in Sunshine Mall". Tampa Bay Times. 2 November 1979. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  18. Burney, Teresa (12 April 1991). "J Byrons leaving, Phar-Mor moving in". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  19. Rigsby, G. G. (19 July 1994). "Stuarts joins migration from Sunshine Mall". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  20. "Demolition site creates classroom for rescuers". Tampa Bay Times. 22 August 1998. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  21. Rigsby (8 November 1998). "Clearwater businesswoman believes in recycling in a big way". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 19 January 2020.

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