Panama City Mall

Shopping mall in Florida, United States

Panama City Mall

The Panama City Mall Entrance Sign

Location| Panama City, Florida, United States
Coordinates| 30°11′13″N 85°38′51″W﻿ / ﻿30.187°N 85.6476°W﻿ / 30.187; -85.6476
Address| 2150 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Opening date| August 10, 1976
Closing date| December 5, 2018
Developer| Charles N. Agree
Owner| Hendon Properties
No. of stores and services| 13
No. of anchor tenants| 2
Total retail floor area| 608,339 square feet (57,000 m2)
No. of floors| 1
Website| www.panamacity-mall.com

Panama City Mall was a single story enclosed shopping mall in Panama City, Florida. Opened in 1976, it featured J. C. Penney, Gayfers, and Sears as its anchor stores. It is owned and managed by Hendon Properties of Atlanta as of September 2013, purchased from CBL & Associates Properties. The mall closed due to Hurricane Michael and received major damages. It will not be reopening. However, a possible redevelopment of the site was proposed in July 2020 for a potential redevelopment for an open-air retail center with a hotel, residential apartments, and office space, much like Pier Park to the west in Panama City Beach[1]

## History

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The mall, built by Charles N. Agree, opened in August 1976 with Sears and Gayfers as its anchor stores.[2][3]

An East Wing and J.C. Penney anchor store were completed in November 1982. The Gayfers store was rebranded by Dillard's in 1999.

Cost Plus World Market and Linens 'n Things were both added to the mall in the late 2000s, resulting in the relocation of existing stores.[4] Linens 'n Things became Bed Bath & Beyond, while Cost Plus World Market has since moved to Pier Park at Panama City Beach, Florida. Planet Fitness opened next to Dillard's

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

On October 15, 2018, Sears announced that it would be closing its location at the mall in the future after Sears declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy.[6]

On December 5, 2018, owner Hendon Properties announced the mall's permanent closure, citing rebuilding costs as the primary factor after catastrophic damage from Hurricane Michael. Dillard's and JCPenney announced their locations would be repaired and reopened as stand-alone stores in 2019.[7] Dillard’s reopened in October 2018, with reduced store hours, and has since returned to normal hours. On August 30, 2019, J.C. Penney reopened for business, Bed Bath & Beyond has closed and consolidated to its Pier Park North location as of Spring 2019.[citation needed]

On July 31, 2020, JCPenney put 21 stores up for sale, this one included.[8] On Saturday, December 17, 2022, Planet Fitness relocated next to Kohl’s near Target and Denny’s on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

## Anchors

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### Current anchors

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* Dillard's (1999–present)
* JCPenney (November 1982 – present)
* VIP PC Cinemas, Inc. (2017-present)

### Former anchors

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* Bed Bath & Beyond (2008-2019)
* Cost Plus World Market
* Gayfers (August 10, 1976 – 1999)
* Linens 'n Things (until 2008)
* Sears (August 10, 1976- October 15, 2018)
* Planet Fitness (open from 2015-2022, closed in December 2022 and relocated next to Kohl’s on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard near Target and Denny’s

## References

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1. ^ "Panama City Mall to Close". December 5, 2018.
2. ^ "Florida". Engineering News Record: 50. 1974.
3. ^ "Mall ground breaking today". Panama City News-Herald. 9 May 1975. p. 8B.
4. ^ Carson, Daniel (4 May 2007). "Mall has changes in store". Panama City News-Herald. Archived from the original on 10 April 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
5. ^ "At Panama City Mall | Seritage". seritage.com.
6. ^ Tyko, Nathan Bomey and Kelly. "Sears store closing list: 142 more Sears, Kmart locations closing in Chapter 11 bankruptcy". USA TODAY.
7. ^ "Panama City Mall to close for the "foreseeable future"". www.wjhg.com. 5 December 2018.
8. ^ http://www.jcpenneyportfolio.com/uploads/1/3/2/3/132304625/jcpenney_-_phase_i-surplus_stores_for_sale.pdf [bare URL PDF]

## External links

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* Panama City Mall