Regency Square, Arlington, FL

A dead mall

-UPDATE BELOW-

30 November 2024

(Source)

It was late 1984 and we were still living in Hawai'i, but, as with all good things, our time there was coming to an end. They would be transferring my father to a different Naval base early the following year. Exactly where, we didn't know at first. My dad's definite top choice also seemed the most likely at the time; Mayport Naval Station just outside of Jacksonville, Florida.

-UPDATE- Inside and outside of Regency Square not long after its 1967 opening.  (Source for all)

My father had grown up just to the southwest of that location, in Orlando, and much of his family still resided within an hour or two of Florida's largest city. Alas, it wasn't meant to be. In the end, we were actually moved to the Norfolk area of Virginia. But, who knows, had things been different, Regency Square in the Jacksonville suburb of Arlington could have been a Mall of My Youth.

-UPDATE- Regency Square lease plan ca. 1967. View the full PDF version here.

And what could have been one of my childhood homes ended up only being one of the big cities we whizzed through during the long drive down I-95 between Virginia Beach and Winter Park. Besides those quick treks, a school field trip to Saint Augustine and a stop at their airport, Jacksonville just really never registered on my radar. Strange how fate works. And I would have never known about this mall's existence had we once not stopped at a welcome center just past the Georgia state line where I managed to get my hands on this mallmanac. Unfortunately, this is one of those malls to which I've never been.

-UPDATE- 1 to 3- Construction on Regency Square’s expansion during the early eighties.  4- Black Friday 1981, just after the opening of the expansion.  5 & 6- Ivey’s and Sears new mall entrances in the expansion.  (Source for all)

Regency Square opened in 1967 in Jacksonville's then fast growing eastern suburb of Arlington. It debuted with four anchors, Ivey's, JCPenney and May Cohen's. In 1981, an expansion called the West Mall was added to the open end of May Cohen's, effectively doubling the size of Regency. Along with it, a Sears and an expanded and relocated Ivey's joined the mix.

Regency Square Mallmanac, ca. 1999. View the full PDF version here.

Over time, the May Cohen's became a Maison-Blanche, then Gayfer's and is presently a Belk. Dillard's took over the Ivey's nameplate before moving to their present location, while the older pad was eventually occupied by Montgomery Ward. That location was shuttered with the chain's liquidation, and, besides a transient tenant or two, remains dark today. As is the usual case, Sears and JCPenney remain the same.

-UPDATE- Regency Square in the nineties. (Source for all)

Regency Square is the metro area's oldest shopping mall still functioning as originally intended. But as the surrounding demographics have changed, so has its success. Despite being the sole enclosed retail destination on the city's eastern flank, it seems to be running into trouble that has only been exacerbated by its age and reputation. I surely hope it does manage to survive, but reality may soon dictate that I include this mall under the heading Dead Mall.

-UPDATE- Regency Square lease plan ca. 2011. View the full PDF version here.

-UPDATE-

-30 November 2024

(Source)

Perhaps the inevitable happened when, during the 2010s, Regency Square’s fate was accelerated.  Belk shut their doors in 2015 while Sears soon followed suit the following year.  At this point, JCPenney and a Dillard’s Clearance Center remained as the only anchors.  That is until 2020 when JCPenney called it quits.  Surprisingly enough, Dillard’s remains to this day.

Regency Square’s decay.  (Source for 1 to 3)  (Source for 4 to 6)

Joining Dillard’s are just a handful of inline stores with precarious futures as the physical condition of the building deteriorates.  Other non-traditional tenants such as churches and private schools have also moved in, but the end game, though near, is still unclear.  Regency Square will never regain success in its present state, so hopefully one of the many proposals for the site will help to improve the area.

Regency Square Pamphlet ca. 2024.  View the full PDF version here.

Regency Square official website