It’s time to party like it’s 1999.
The Mall of Georgia, the state’s largest, opened its doors 25 years ago in Buford, and its management has several festivities planned Thursday to celebrate the anniversary. From 5-8 p.m., the mall will feature vendors, live music, family activities and a ribbon-cutting to honor the 25th anniversary.
The 1.7-million-square-foot shopping district was codeveloped by Scott Hudgens and the late Ben Carter, who died last month. The mall sits along I-85 about 35 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta. Nick Masino, president and CEO of the Gwinnett Chamber, called the mall’s 2½ decades of operations a “milestone achievement.”
“Mall of Georgia is a vital part of the growth that our region experiences,” he said in a news release. “And we are excited to see what the next 25 years will bring.”
The mall is owned and operated by Simon Property Group, the nation’s largest mall operator; the company also runs Buckhead’s well-known sister malls: Lenox Square and Phipps Plaza.
Many traditional malls have struggled to compete after the e-commerce boom, forcing some to pivot to other uses or become ghost towns more famous as filming sites than for shopping. North DeKalb Mall recently was demolished to make way for a new mixed-use development, while the struggling Mall West End was acquired by the city of Atlanta after multiple redevelopment efforts failed to launch.
Simon’s properties have remained steadfast. At the end of June, the publicly traded company disclosed its portfolio’s occupancy was 95.6%, a nearly 1% increase from a year before. It did not reveal the occupancy of individual properties, such as the Mall of Georgia.
Erika Bridges, director of marketing and business development at Mall of Georgia, said the property features more than 200 stores across various local, national and international brands.
“From our gorgeous outdoor village to the tasteful nods to Georgia history and architecture, Mall of Georgia has been an institution and only continues to thrive,” Bridges said in the news release. “We are incredibly grateful for the support we have received from customers, employees, and tenants, and we look forward to celebrating all that is to come.”
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