Arbor Place Mall

Arbor Place Mall is a regional shopping center in Douglasville, Georgia, United States. Developed by CBL & Associates Properties, now known as CBL Properties, it opened in 1999 as the first major retail development in Douglas County. At opening, the property contained more than 1 million square feet of retail space and was designed to serve Douglasville and surrounding communities in the western Atlanta metropolitan area. The mall originally combined conventional department-store anchors, specialty retail, books, home furnishings, and dining-oriented shopping traffic. Its initial anchor lineup included Bed Bath & Beyond, Old Navy, Parisian, Sears, and Borders Books & Music. A space intended for Uptons was never occupied by that chain because Uptons ceased operations before the mall opened. The vacant space instead became Dekor, a home-furnishings retailer, in 2001. Dekor lasted only a few months before liquidating, and the space later became home to JCPenney, which joined Arbor Place in 2003. Rich's was also added to the center in 2002; the Rich's department-store business subsequently became part of Macy's through broader retail consolidation. Over time, Arbor Place's tenant mix changed in response to department-store retrenchment, specialty-retail closures, and the growth of value-oriented and service-based tenants. The mall's current or recently reported anchors include Macy's, Dillard's, JCPenney, Belk Outlet, and Regal Cinemas. Old Navy and Planet Fitness function as junior anchors. These tenants give the property a combination of department-store shopping, apparel, entertainment, and recurring fitness visits rather than relying solely on traditional enclosed-mall specialty retail. Several major spaces have been repurposed. Sears announced the closure of its Arbor Place location in 2019, and Conn's HomePlus subsequently opened on the first floor of the former Sears space in 2023. Conn's later filed for bankruptcy in 2024 and closed that location. Bed Bath & Beyond closed its store in December 2020, and Planet Fitness opened in the former Bed Bath & Beyond space in December 2024. Belk converted its anchor store to a one-floor Belk Outlet format in 2023, with the outlet opening on April 8 of that year. Arbor Place remains an active retail and entertainment destination, although its tenant history reflects the structural changes affecting large enclosed shopping centers in the United States. Its ongoing identity is based on serving a local and regional catchment area through department stores, outlet retail, cinema, apparel, dining, and service uses.

Arbor Place was developed by CBL & Associates Properties, now CBL Properties, and opened in 1999 in Douglasville, Georgia. It was the first major retail development in Douglas County and opened with more than 1 million square feet of retail space. The project established Douglasville as a significant regional shopping destination for communities west of Atlanta. The original anchor lineup included Bed Bath & Beyond, Old Navy, Parisian, Sears, and Borders Books & Music. A further anchor space had been planned for Uptons, but Uptons went out of business before the mall opened. The unused space was subsequently occupied by Dekor, a home-furnishings retailer, in 2001. Dekor liquidated after only several months. In 2002, Rich's was added to the mall, and in 2003 JCPenney moved into the space formerly associated with Dekor. Rich's later became part of Macy's as department-store consolidation reshaped the American retail sector. The property has since experienced the tenant turnover typical of large enclosed shopping centers. Sears announced in November 2019 that its Arbor Place store would close. Bed Bath & Beyond, one of the original anchors, closed in December 2020. The former Sears space was partly reused by Conn's HomePlus, which opened there in 2023. Belk changed its format in 2023 by converting its anchor to a one-floor Belk Outlet, opening the revised store on April 8. Conn's HomePlus later filed for bankruptcy and closed its Arbor Place location in April 2024. Planet Fitness opened in December 2024 in the former Bed Bath & Beyond space. The mall's reported anchor and junior-anchor lineup includes Macy's, Dillard's, JCPenney, Belk Outlet, Regal Cinemas, Old Navy, and Planet Fitness. This mix shows Arbor Place's evolution from a conventional department-store and specialty-retail center toward a more varied property combining value retail, apparel, entertainment, and service businesses. Arbor Place continues to operate as a local and regional shopping destination, but its history is also a record of retail-sector changes, including chain failures, department-store closures, store-format conversions, and adaptive reuse of large anchor spaces.

• 2024

  Conn's HomePlus closes

  [1]Arbor Placeen.wikipedia.org

  Following Conn's bankruptcy filing, its Arbor Place anchor location closes.

• 2024

  Planet Fitness opens

  [1]Arbor Placeen.wikipedia.org

  Planet Fitness opens in the former Bed Bath & Beyond space in December.

• 2023

  Belk Outlet opens

  [1]Arbor Placeen.wikipedia.org

  Belk completes the conversion of its anchor to a one-floor outlet store, opening the new format on April 8.

• 2023

  Conn's HomePlus opens

  [1]Arbor Placeen.wikipedia.org

  Conn's HomePlus opens on the first floor of the former Sears space.

• 2020

  Bed Bath & Beyond closes

  [1]Arbor Placeen.wikipedia.org

  Bed Bath & Beyond closes its Arbor Place store in December.

• 2019

  Sears closure announced

  [1]Arbor Placeen.wikipedia.org

  The Sears anchor is announced for closure.

• 2003

  JCPenney opens at Arbor Place

  [1]Arbor Placeen.wikipedia.org

  JCPenney takes the space previously occupied by Dekor.

• 2002

  Rich's joins the mall

  [1]Arbor Placeen.wikipedia.org

  Rich's is added as a department-store tenant.

• 2001

  Dekor occupies the planned Uptons space

  [1]Arbor Placeen.wikipedia.org

  The space intended for Uptons becomes the home-furnishings retailer Dekor after Uptons ceases operations before the mall's opening.

• 1999

  Arbor Place opens

  [1]Arbor Placeen.wikipedia.org

  The mall opens in Douglasville as the first major retail development in Douglas County, with more than 1 million square feet of retail space.

A regional enclosed shopping center serving Douglasville and nearby West Georgia communities through department stores, outlet retail, entertainment, apparel, and service-oriented tenants.

• Retail category · 1999

  Department-store retail

  Arbor Place's department-store offering has included Macy's, Dillard's, JCPenney, Belk, Sears, Parisian, and Rich's at different points in the mall's history. The current or recently reported lineup emphasizes Macy's, Dillard's, JCPenney, and Belk Outlet, providing apparel, accessories, beauty, home, and general merchandise.

• Retail category · 1999

  Apparel and specialty retail

  Specialty tenants such as Old Navy complement the department stores with value-oriented apparel and accessories. Arbor Place has also historically included books, home furnishings, and other specialty retail categories as tenant demand and national-chain availability changed.

• Entertainment

  Regal Cinemas

  Regal Cinemas provides the mall's principal reported cinema and entertainment component. Its presence broadens Arbor Place's role beyond daytime shopping and supports evening and leisure visits to the property.

• Fitness services · 2024

  Planet Fitness

  Planet Fitness opened in December 2024 in the former Bed Bath & Beyond space. The fitness club represents the mall's shift toward service-oriented uses that can generate repeat visits and help reuse a large former anchor footprint.

• 2024

  Former Bed Bath & Beyond space is reused for fitnessStrategy

  Background

  Bed Bath & Beyond's closure in 2020 left a large anchor space available for redevelopment or re-leasing.

  Action taken

  Planet Fitness opened in the former Bed Bath & Beyond location in December 2024.

  Aftermath

  The replacement introduced a recurring service tenant and diversified the mall's use beyond traditional retail.

  Source

• 2023

  Belk converts its anchor to an outlet formatGeneration change

  Background

  Belk's conventional Arbor Place anchor was converted into a one-floor outlet store as the mall adjusted its department-store mix.

  Action taken

  The Belk Outlet opened on April 8, 2023.

  Aftermath

  The conversion preserved a Belk presence while repositioning the space toward outlet and value retail.

  Source

• 2023

  Former Sears space is re-tenanted by Conn's HomePlusStrategy

  Background

  Sears's announced closure created a major vacant anchor at the property.

  Action taken

  Conn's HomePlus opened on the first floor of the former Sears space.

  Aftermath

  Conn's later filed for bankruptcy and closed the location in 2024.

  Source

1. 1Arbor Placeen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Arbor Place Mall official websitearborplace.com