Century Plaza

Century Plaza opened in 1975 on the eastern side of Birmingham, Alabama, on U. S. Route 78 (Crestwood Blvd.) near Interstate 20, across from the existing Eastwood Mall. The mall's original anchor stores included Sears (which opened in 1974), Rich's, Loveman's of Alabama and JCPenney. Loveman's later was replaced by Pizitz, which in turn became McRae's in 1987.

Rich's was dual-branded as Rich's-Macy's in 2003 when Macy's acquired the Rich's chain. The Rich's-Macy's store at Century Plaza, however, closed after only one year in operation and was never rechristened as "Macy's". A Piccadilly Cafeteria in the mall also closed that same year.

When plans were announced to demolish Eastwood Mall across the street in 2004, two of the mall's tenants (Books-A-Million and Parisian) had announced preliminary plans to relocate to Century Plaza, with the latter taking over the McRae's space. McRae's was eventually converted to Belk in 2006 when the chain was acquired, but closed later that same year. JCPenney also closed in 2006, and many inline tenants began to close as well. In February 2009, it was announced that Sears, the last remaining anchor, would close its store by May 31.{{Cite news|date=2009-03-01|title=Birmingham mall to lose its final anchor store|pages=11|work=The Anniston Star|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/65834445/sears-closes-at-century-plaza/|access-date=2020-12-22}}

North Anchor: JC Penney (1975 - 2006)

East Anchor: Loveman's (1975 - 1980), Pizitz (1980 - 1987), McRaes (1987 - 2006), Belk (2006 - 2006)

South Anchor: Rich's (1975 - 2004)

West Anchor: Sears (1974 - 2009)

Century Plaza closed at the end of business on May 31, 2009. At the time of its closing, fewer than 40 stores, including Foot Locker, Champs Sports, Finish Line and RadioShack remained open in the mall. General Growth Properties announced that Sears would remain open through June 14 to complete the liquidation of the store.

In December 2017, the Howard Hughes Corporation sold the mall for $3 million to Lumpkin Development, a real estate company based in Pelham, Alabama. Lumpkin said that the Sears store would be converted into a self-storage facility, and that the rest of the mall was available for rent.

In May 2020, it was reported that the site was being considered for development as a last-mile delivery center by Amazon.{{Cite web|title=BBJ: Amazon a potential new client for the old Century Plaza|url=https://www.wbrc.com/2020/05/08/bbj-amazon-potential-new-client-old-century-plaza/|website=wbrc.com|date=May 8, 2020 |language=en-US|access-date=May 9, 2020}}

As of November 12, 2020, the mall has begun demolition for the Amazon last mile delivery center. {{Cite web|date=2020-11-12|title=Demolition begins at Birmingham's Century Plaza|url=https://www.al.com/business/2020/11/last-call-for-birminghams-century-plaza-as-demolition-begins.html|access-date=2020-12-22|website=al|language=en}}

{{Reflist|refs=

{{cite web |publisher=Century Plaza official website |title=Store directory |url=http://www.centuryplaza.com/mallmap.asp?mallid=400 |access-date=June 1, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061103190522/http://www.centuryplaza.com/mallmap.asp?mallid=400 |archive-date=November 3, 2006 }}

{{cite web|publisher=International Council of Shopping Centers |title=Century Plaza |url=http://www.icsc.org/apps/dmmdisp.php?dispid=AL0080 |access-date=May 23, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606032050/http://www.icsc.org/apps/dmmdisp.php?dispid=AL0080 |archive-date=June 6, 2011 }}

{{cite web |first=Gilbert |last=Nicholson |work=Birmingham Business Journal |title=Rich's-Macy's at Century Plaza to close |url=http://birmingham.bizjournals.com/birmingham/stories/2004/01/12/daily31.html |date=January 16, 2004 |access-date=May 23, 2009}}

{{cite news |first=Lauren B. |last=Cooper |work=Birmingham Business Journal |title=Sears in Century Plaza to close |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/birmingham/stories/2009/02/23/daily51.html |date=February 27, 2009 |access-date=May 23, 2009}}

{{cite web |first=Gilbert |last=Nicholson |work=Birmingham Business Journal |title=Are Eastwood retailers targeting Century Plaza? |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/birmingham/stories/2004/03/01/story2.html |date=February 27, 2004 |access-date=May 23, 2009}}

{{cite news |first=Dawn |last=Kent |work=The Birmingham News |title=Birmingham's Century Plaza Mall shuttered; Sears remains open 2 more weeks for liquidation sale. |url=http://blog.al.com/businessnews/2009/06/birminghams_century_plaza_mall.html |date=June 1, 2009 |access-date=June 1, 2009}}

{{cite news|first=Erin|last=Edgemon|work=The Birmingham News|title=Birmingham's Century Plaza sells for $3 million|url=http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2018/01/birminghams_century_plaza_sell.html|date=January 30, 2018|access-date=February 26, 2018}}

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• [https://web.archive.org/web/20040212015925/http://www.centuryplaza.com/html/ Century Plaza archived website from 2004]

{{Birmingham malls and shopping centers}}

{{Shopping malls in Alabama}}

Category:Buildings and structures in Birmingham, Alabama

Category:Shopping malls established in 1975

Category:Shopping malls disestablished in 2009

Category:Shopping malls in the Birmingham, Alabama metro area

Category:Defunct shopping malls in the United States

Category:Demolished shopping malls in the United States

Category:Demolished buildings and structures in Alabama

Category:Buildings and structures demolished in 2020