Spotsylvania Towne Centre
Spotsylvania Towne Centre is a regional shopping mall and mixed-use retail destination in Spotsylvania County, Virginia.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Spotsylvania Towne Centre is a regional shopping mall in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, located on Virginia State Route 3 less than a mile west of Interstate 95 and opposite the Central Park shopping and dining complex. The property is owned and developed by Cafaro Company and serves the Fredericksburg-area market through a combination of department stores, warehouse retail, sporting-goods retail, entertainment, restaurants, and specialty shops. The center opened in 1980 as Spotsylvania Mall. Its original anchor lineup included Leggett, which later became Belk, JCPenney, Sears, and Montgomery Ward, with an F. W. Woolworth store serving as a junior anchor. The tenant mix changed substantially over time as traditional department-store operators exited or consolidated. Hecht's joined the center in 1993, the same year Woolworth closed, and JCPenney subsequently expanded into the former Woolworth location. Montgomery Ward closed in 2001, and its former building was demolished to support the development of a Costco store in 2002. Dick's Sporting Goods was also added in 2002. At the beginning of a major redevelopment program, the property adopted the name Spotsylvania Towne Centre. The renovation, completed in 2009, involved extensive interior and exterior remodeling and was reported as a $12 million project. The redevelopment broadened the center beyond a conventional enclosed mall by adding an outdoor lifestyle component known as The Village. Plans for The Village called for approximately 200,000 square feet of retail space on adjoining vacant land, with multiple tenants and an entertainment-oriented environment. Entertainment became an important part of the destination through Hooky Entertainment Fredericksburg, located behind the main mall area. The complex combines a 16-lane bowling facility with a 12-screen movie theater. Earlier development plans referred to a Muviville Entertainment Complex and contemplated a theater, bowling, restaurant, and electronic gaming uses. Those plans encountered uncertainty after the proposed theater developer, Muvico Theaters, experienced difficulty servicing reported debt, but the site ultimately operated as Hooky Entertainment Fredericksburg. The center's anchor and major tenants have continued to evolve. The mall's listed anchors include Guitar Center, Dick's Sporting Goods, Belk, Costco, JCPenney, and Macy's. Sears announced in November 2019 that its Spotsylvania location would close as part of a nationwide store-reduction program; the store closed on February 2, 2020. The former Sears building was demolished in October 2020 to make way for Attain at Towne Center, a luxury apartment development, reflecting the property's broader shift toward mixed-use placemaking. With more than 150 specialty stores and restaurants reported in reference material, Spotsylvania Towne Centre functions as both a shopping center and an entertainment destination. Its positioning is based on serving a broad regional catchment area with accessible national retailers, department stores, dining, leisure activities, and adjacent residential development rather than on a narrow luxury or specialty retail identity.
History
Spotsylvania Towne Centre began operations in 1980 as Spotsylvania Mall in Spotsylvania County, Virginia. It was developed as a conventional regional enclosed mall serving the Fredericksburg area, with Leggett, JCPenney, Sears, and Montgomery Ward as its original principal anchors. F. W. Woolworth operated as a junior anchor. The mall's early tenant structure reflected the department-store-centered format common to American regional shopping centers of the period. The first major changes to the anchor lineup occurred in the 1990s. Hecht's was added in 1993, while Woolworth closed that same year as the national variety-store chain retreated from its traditional retail model. JCPenney later opened an auxiliary store in the former Woolworth space, expanding its presence within the property. The center subsequently experienced further anchor turnover as department-store companies reorganized or exited the market. Montgomery Ward closed in 2001. Its former building was demolished, and Costco was added to the property in 2002. Dick's Sporting Goods also joined the center in 2002, adding a large-format sporting-goods tenant to the existing department-store mix. These changes helped diversify the destination beyond traditional apparel and general-merchandise anchors. Cafaro Company later undertook a significant repositioning of the property. At the start of an approximately $12 million renovation program, the mall was renamed Spotsylvania Towne Centre. The work was completed in 2009 and included substantial improvements to the interior and exterior. Alongside the renovation, Cafaro began developing The Village, an outdoor lifestyle-center component on vacant land adjoining the enclosed mall. The plans called for roughly 200,000 square feet of outdoor retail space and were intended to create a more varied shopping and dining environment. The redevelopment also included plans for an entertainment complex. Early concepts associated with Muviville Entertainment Complex envisioned a movie theater, bowling alley, restaurant, and electronic gaming facilities. The theater component became uncertain after Muvico Theaters encountered difficulty making payments on reported debt. The entertainment offering nevertheless emerged as Hooky Entertainment Fredericksburg, combining a 16-lane bowling alley and a 12-screen cinema behind the principal mall structure. Over time, the property developed into a hybrid retail and leisure destination. Reference material identifies Guitar Center, Dick's Sporting Goods, Belk, Costco, JCPenney, and Macy's among its anchor stores, alongside more than 150 specialty stores and restaurants. The presence of both enclosed and outdoor retail areas, entertainment venues, and restaurant uses broadened the center's role within the local commercial landscape. Sears became the next significant departing anchor. On November 7, 2019, Sears announced that its Spotsylvania location would close as part of a nationwide program affecting 96 stores. The store ceased operations on February 2, 2020. Its building was demolished in October 2020, and the site was designated for Attain at Towne Center luxury apartments. This redevelopment indicated a continuing transition from a single-purpose shopping mall toward a mixed-use center incorporating residential uses. The property remains an active commercial destination under Cafaro ownership. Its history illustrates the evolution of a regional American mall from a department-store-led format into a more diversified center combining national retail chains, warehouse retail, dining, entertainment, outdoor lifestyle space, and adjacent residential development.
- 2020
Sears closes and its building is demolished
[1]The Sears store closes in February, and the former building is demolished in October for the planned Attain at Towne Center apartment project.
- 2019
Sears closure is announced
[1]Sears announces that its store at the center will close as part of a nationwide store-closing program.
- 2009
Renovation and rebranding are completed
[1]A major interior and exterior renovation is completed, and the property operates under the Spotsylvania Towne Centre name.
- 2008
The Village leasing is announced
[1]Cafaro announces that eight tenants have signed agreements for the planned outdoor lifestyle-center component.
- 2002
Costco and Dick's Sporting Goods are added
[1]The former Montgomery Ward site is replaced by Costco, and Dick's Sporting Goods is also added to the center.
- 2001
Montgomery Ward closes
[1]Montgomery Ward exits the property, creating space for a later redevelopment of its former anchor site.
- 1993
Hecht's joins the mall and Woolworth closes
[1]Hecht's is added as an anchor while F. W. Woolworth closes; JCPenney later uses the former Woolworth space for an auxiliary store.
- 1980
Spotsylvania Mall opens
[1]The regional mall opens in Spotsylvania County with Leggett, JCPenney, Sears, and Montgomery Ward as principal anchors, plus an F. W. Woolworth junior-anchor store.
Products and positioning
A regional, family-oriented shopping and entertainment destination combining enclosed-mall retail, major department and specialty anchors, outdoor lifestyle-center space, restaurants, cinema, bowling, and nearby mixed-use development.
Shopping mall services · 1980
Enclosed mall retail
The core offering is an enclosed regional shopping environment with department stores, specialty retailers, restaurants, and customer services. The center provides a broad general-merchandise mix rather than focusing on one retail category.
Outdoor lifestyle center · 2009
The Village
The Village is the property's adjoining outdoor retail component, planned as approximately 200,000 square feet of lifestyle-oriented retail and dining space. It was developed alongside the mall's 2009 renovation to extend the destination beyond the enclosed building.
Entertainment
Hooky Entertainment Fredericksburg
Hooky Entertainment Fredericksburg is an entertainment complex behind the main mall area. Its reported format combines a 16-lane bowling alley with a 12-screen movie theater, supporting the center's role as an evening and family leisure destination.
Retail · 1980
Anchor and large-format retail
The center's reported anchor lineup includes Belk, Costco, Dick's Sporting Goods, Guitar Center, JCPenney, and Macy's. These stores span department-store apparel and home merchandise, warehouse retail, sporting goods, music equipment, and general merchandise.
Brand decisions
2020
Redevelop the former Sears site for residential useStrategyBackground
Sears closed its store at the center in February 2020 following the retailer's nationwide store-reduction program.
Action taken
The former Sears building was demolished in October 2020 to make way for Attain at Towne Center luxury apartments.
Aftermath
The site became part of the property's transition toward a mixed-use environment that includes residential development alongside retail and entertainment.
2009
Rename and renovate the mallStrategyBackground
Cafaro sought to reposition the established regional mall and expand its commercial appeal beyond a conventional enclosed-mall format.
Action taken
The property was renamed Spotsylvania Towne Centre and underwent extensive interior and exterior remodeling. The redevelopment was paired with plans for the outdoor lifestyle center known as The Village.
Aftermath
The center gained a more mixed retail, dining, and entertainment-oriented identity, with outdoor development complementing the enclosed mall.
Renovation investment. $12 million (Renovation completed in 2009)
Sources2 sources
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