The new owner of the defunct former Shannon Mall appears to be putting in motion its plan to raze the mall and redevelop the property into a business park.
Union City and Atlanta-based industrial developer Rooker filed paperwork this week with a regional planning agency stating that the company wants to build a distribution center at the Union City site. The filing states that plans also call for office space and restaurants.
The Development of Regional Impact filing is a first step in the planning process, Union City Mayor Vince Williams said Wednesday. No tenants have been announced, Williams said, but Rooker and the city are working on crafting a plan to create an economic hub and a new residential center.
“We’re excited about this opportunity for this rebranding, rebirth and re-emergence for this area,” which Williams called the “front door of Union City.”
The property is zoned under the city’s town center mixed-use designation, which permits more creativity from developers.
Rooker’s plan to re-imagine Shannon Mall is the latest example of developers in metro Atlanta attempting to either re-energize a tired mall with new offerings or leveling a property and starting over as something else.
The owners of North DeKalb Mall have announced plans to redevelop the property into a mixed-use shopping and residential community. Greenbriar Mall has sought unconventional tenants such as a college and medical facilities, and a former anchor department store in Southlake Mall in Morrow will be home to a call center operation that’ll employ more than 1,000 people.
Shannon Mall, about 20 miles southwest of downtown Atlanta, opened in 1980 and was a regional shopping hub for south Fulton County and surrounding communities. But the property, like several regional malls in metro Atlanta, had trouble keeping tenants and engaging shoppers as newer outlets opened, online retailing surged and then the recession sapped consumer spending.
The property closed in late 2010 and was known at the time as Union Station Mall. The property went into receivership in 2011.
It was once owned by Lee Najjar, a developer and commercial landlord and reputedly the “Big Poppa” of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” reality television series.
A Rooker executive did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
Rooker told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in February that the company planned to market 1.2 million square feet of space to consumer products, e-commerce, technology and other businesses. The company has said it could eventually include retail, hotel and residential space.
The Development of Regional Impact filing labels the project as industrial and states that it will be built in two phases, one to be completed by December 2015 and a second by the end of 2018.
The existing mall structure will be demolished as part of the project, the filing states.
