Who Purchased Northlake Mall?

The struggling, nearly 1 million square foot property has been sold.

The struggling, nearly 1 million square foot property has been sold.

[UPDATE (2/4/2016): A member of the Northlake Business Association told What Now Atlanta (WNA) Wednesday that ATR Corinth Partners out of Dallas, Texas is the group that purchased the property. The commercial property group has history redeveloping declining shopping malls, such as Nashville’s 100 Oaks Mall. ATR Corinth received an award from the Urban Land Institute for the project.]

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WP Glimcher, a national REIT developing enclosed regional and super-regional malls and community shopping centers, in a press release Monday announced the completed sale of Northlake Mall.

Along with Forest Mall in Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin, Northlake was sold for an aggregate purchase price of $30.0 million to private real estate investors that have not been disclosed.

In 2014 when Simon decided to unload the property, the ownership of Northlake Mall was transferred to Washington Prime Group, a newly-formed real estate investment trust. In 2015, the group acquired Glimcher Realty Trust, and formed WP Glimcher.

The sale of the property was part of an effort by Simon to focus on the real estate developer’s larger malls and outlet centers. The company also unloaded Gwinnett Place Mall in 2012.

Northlake Mall, built in 1971, is almost 1 million square feet. The mall’s fate is unknown.

Northlake Mall
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Northlake Mall via Simon

What do you hope ATR Corinth’s plans for Northlake Mall will include? Tell us below…

Julia Sirb

Julia Sirb

Julia studied Urban Planning and Economic Development at GSU's School of Policy Studies. She is interested in the way a city's built environment, policy decisions, and economy work together to shape its culture. When not typing, she's writing calligraphy or looking for the next great shot through the lens of her medium format film camera.
Julia Sirb

Julia Sirb

Julia studied Urban Planning and Economic Development at GSU's School of Policy Studies. She is interested in the way a city's built environment, policy decisions, and economy work together to shape its culture. When not typing, she's writing calligraphy or looking for the next great shot through the lens of her medium format film camera.

49 Responses

        1. I have not seen N. DeKalb Mall on the list of future Costco stores. This would be great news. Where did you find out this information?

    1. We have a ton of condos/apartments etc. coming up between N. Decatur Rd and N. Lake area we don’t need another

    2. No,no,no…we need, high end restaurants, stores, we have no good mall close by and the people and money here are ready to revive this mall

  1. Outdoor shopping & restaurants like the Forum or Avalon. We have nice neighborhoods nearby who would love to be closer but go to Phipps, Brookhaven Town Center or Perimeter because Northlake got so bad.

    1. Simon sticks with profitable winner locations. Had they seen any promise they would have held tight and worked it into profitability. Alas Simon bailed. Northlake was doomed for the past decade for the obviously declining area surrounding it. A mall that caters to a target audience which has proven time and time again to fail to support anything worthwhile.

      Congrats. My area has run another success story into the ground only to fall to the high bred claims and ultimate failed plans of developers who will profit on the decline and write off the tax loss for the next victim.

      1. Now that Tucker’s a city, that area should reverse the decline, although they replaced the nearby Dollar General at Oak Grove with another Dollar store, and Goodwill is putting in another store on Lawrenceville Hwy.

        Putting some destination chain restaurants in there would bring in the kind of shoppers who have disposable income. Cheesecake Factory, Maggiano’s, PF Chang’s. Service at Red Lobster has been so awful for the past 20 years it’s a wonder it’s still open. Yes we have some great local restaurants, but they don’t pull in folks from outside the area, and we need folks to come in and spend money here.

      2. You omit the fact that there was no incentive for Simon to update this mall. They own Lenox, Phipps and the Mall of Georgia, where we all headed to do our shopping anyway, so why invest millions of dollars into an update? This is great news for our growing community!

  2. Get some better shops in there and some good cafes/restaurants. A mixed development wouldn’t be a bad idea or outdoor shopping if you were planning to raze the mall. Tucker is far enough from Lenox and Perimeter to be difficult to get to, especially with traffic. Unfortunately Northlake mall has gotten a terrible reputation over the years, which was not made any better by Simon. Simon not only did NOTHING to improve the mall, or the tenants, but they NEVER advertised Northlake along with their precious Lenox/Perimeter malls. We definately don’t need an overpriced swanky mall like Phipps, but something more in line with Perimeter would be huge to our area. Bon courage!

  3. I live right up the street from the mall.I remember when the mall use to have an arcade back in the 80’s.I would like to see some local bissnesses in the mall instead of highend stores.

  4. I am all for a mixed use development. The footprint of the lot, including parking, is large enough for some single family housing, condos, apartments, retail, including Trader Joe’s, and restaurants. We can only pray for such a good outcome.

  5. Live work play community with play being the purchase of the closed Chinese restaurant behind the Mall. Bulldoze the restaurant to open the view to the actual North Lake since that restaurant was always facing the wrong way. The kitchen staff had the lake view; the diners had the parking lot. Town houses/ condos along Henderson Mill Road where the elevation allows this readily. Retail and restaurants and life enjoyment studios [tai chi, yoga, hands-on art skill classes].
    That said, doesn’t Macy’s still own the Macy’s building?
    Does Kohl’s own the Kohl building?
    Any other out parcels?

  6. I think an open air mall with Trader Joe’s, restaurants and shops like Emory Point (it has Earthfare). I live in Decatur and would definitely rather go to the Northlake area rather than go to other larger shopping areas further away and endure major traffic. I strongly disagree with this area being in decline. The Emory, Lavista, Lakeside, Tucker community is made up of affluent, educated homeowners. Have you seen the large homes being constructed ?? Many work on the Emory or Midtown area. I promise this developer will not be disappointed by the throngs of shoppers who have been waiting for a decent retail/dining experience!

  7. This mall isn’t in bad condition physically, and would really just need a remodel and for better stores to go in to it to fix the issues. I live in this area, and people don’t want to go to this mall since it’s so bad, but that’s honestly just the quality of the stores. The location for the mall is very good for families and businesses, they just have to make sure they have the right anchor retailers and smaller stores in there. Across the street in the Publix shopping center is doing very well, so this is clearly not a location issue. Just needs to be remodeled with new stores.

  8. I agree with Jane, We are an affluent , educated area that needs a decent retail shopping center, with good, medium & high end restaurants which will bring in the surrounding areas to participate in both shopping & dining. The LAST thing we need are more apartments or condos which they are now building all along Briarcliff & LaVista Roads.

    HELP us satisfy our cravings to upgrade our dining & shopping areas to meet the upgrade of the beautiful new homes they are building in our area.

  9. This mall needs to be renovated. No more condos and apartments PLEASE! It’s a shame that because Nlake and N. DeKalb Malls are so run down and attracting elements that make people feel unsafe to shop there, especially at night, we all have to shop at Perimeter Mall, Lenox, Phipps Plaza (and I’m not thrilled about shopping at Lenox). I remember the glory days when Nlake Mall had Parisian, Merle Norman, and other upscale stores. Over the years, mall management has leased to any Tom, Dick or Harry that comes in off the street wanting to open a little store or kiosk. The stores there now are sub-standard and that’s why my neighbors and I are forced to shop elsewhere in town where we feel safer. So, I blame mall management more than anything for allowing those types of kiosks and stores to operate and running off and alienating the people who actually live in the community.

    1. I lived in that area for over 20 yrs till 2010 & saw the all the changes over time .I agree with Linda (above) & Len (below). Undesirable elements crept in & the atmosphere both at the mall & surrounding neighborhoods changed..I remember 15-20 yrs ago Pennys & Sears thrived.(((Remember-Riches, Davidsons,,Penrods/sports authority & Commodity Exchange/Panera bread,,Uptons,ACE Hardware?))) Now you can hear a penny drop on the other side of the store. Gentrification in the area over time may be a small issue, But Len is right as well w/commenting on “online business” as well .Thats the convenience factor which hurts smaller businesses too.,keeping folks on their bum. Someone mentioned at the size of homes being built on teardowns. TRUE there is still big-good money in the area.. lil Oak Grove is hangin tough-. Now they (N’Lake)want better shopping as in years past! >> Best Wishes N’Lake area !!,,,,i headed(moved) back to Emory/Toco .,.,.

  10. We have to remember the impact that on-line shopping has had on all brick and mortar retail. Even Best Buy is reducing it’s square footage.
    I wish the cityhood efforts of Lavista Hills had been successful. We would have been able to exert much more influence on the future of this property.

  11. People don’t just randomly open stores – they do a whole bunch of market research. That research has never supported the kinds of stores people say they want. There just aren’t enough customers in the area – especially customers who actually spend money. Northlake mall is not in bad shape. It used to be a very busy community supported place. The arrival of Santa was a very big deal and very fun. It used to have wonderful stores – but the stores couldn’t make ends meet so they either left, or became some kind of clearance type center (Macy’s). In addition, the good restaurants in and outside of the mall have closed. I recall several years ago, people tried desperately to get Trader Joe’s to open a store in the area. But Trader Joe’s market research didn’t come close to showing profitability in the area so they didn’t open a store here regardless of the pleas of a few. It’s not a ‘build it and they will come’ scenario. You have to really, fully support these new stores, if built, or they too will close.

  12. Our area can definitely support a high end mall, we have OakGrove, LaVista,Decatur …close to Emory, there is money in this area. Before Belk bought out Parisians and left, the mall area thrived…we need upscale retailers…something like the Forum would be nice. A bookstore such as Barnes and Noble is needed. We are biting at the bit for a great mall here!

  13. With the new redevelopment of Embry Hills (The Kroger and surrounding stores) in the planning stages, this area continues to have a lot of potential. Such a great location – and i really hope there’s enough of an anchor to draw more folks in. (Trador Joes gets my vote too)

  14. We would like to see Belks, JC Penney, Macy, Kohls, and/or Dillards stay to anchor some family clothing shopping. We would also like there to be an upper end choice like Nordstroms, Neiman Marcus, or Bloomingdales. It seriously needs better children’s toy selections, better food court options and better beauty product retailers. This is not just an African American community. It has upper middle class Asian, Indian and Caucasian constituents who work in the medicine, technology, and higher education. There is a current trend in this North Dekalb County area of tearing down older homes and reconstructing new homes in the $500K-$1M range. Many families are moving into the area because of the schools and the desire to live within the perimeter of Atlanta.

  15. Dynamite the place, get rid of all of the rats, mice, pollutants, garbage, and crooks and this would be a wonderful place to expand and regroup into something much better. No auto dealerships, recycling businesses, cheap furniture outlets, massage parlors, strip joints, etc.

    Something exciting, down to earth, with a touch of beauty and modern architecture.

  16. I think you put something for kids in this mall thay would generate plenty of moolah. One of the thing u can do a gym for kids, playing area. The biggest recreational activity event place ever for kids.

  17. So, the North Lake Mall is closing soon. I think the nearby stores such as where the nearest Publix and Kroger are there will grow a lot than at present. So, Guys the stores at Kroger is not hot/crowded as we compare to stores at Publix. What do you think about the stores at Kroger after Mall will be closed?

    Thanks

  18. What about some classroom space for a State Technical College or even a daycare? There are restrooms there and also plenty of parking and a very accessible locatioh. It doesn’t have to be all retail!

  19. I think the dying malls are important. the seniors love to walk there. you could rehab it and have a grocery store, drug store and medical facilities for them. they do have money. the larger stores turn into apartments. they would be welling to sell their homes to keep for having the upkeep. the old malls are their life.

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