Tri-State Mall

The Tri-State Mall consisted of two distinct sections, an enclosed mall and a connected strip mall. The enclosed mall was a single-level building arranged in a cross shape. A movie theater was located on the northern end of the cross, while department stores anchored the eastern and western ends. A covered, exterior staircase on the building's eastern end led to an adjacent strip mall on a lower level of the property. An additional anchor tenant occupied a stand-alone building in the lower-level parking lot.

A mall was first proposed at this location in 1964 by Wilmington Dry Goods Co., a local department store. The property was chosen due to its location near a future I-95 interchange, with the intention of drawing residents of Pennsylvania and New Jersey.{{Cite book |last=Kipp |first=Rachel |title=Lost Delaware |last2=Shortridge |first2=Dan |date= |publisher=The History Press |year=2024 |isbn=978-1-4671-5642-4 |series=Lost Series |location=Charleston, SC |pages=27–29}}

The mall was developed by A.A.R. Realty, who remained the owners of the mall through its entire existence.{{Cite news |last=Milford |first=Maureen |date=February 19, 2006 |title=Tri-State Mall is on the mend |work=The News Journal |location=Wilmington, DE |page=F1}} By 1967, the mall had signed its most important tenants—Wilmington Dry Goods and W.T. Grant to anchor the enclosed portion of the mall, a Pantry Pride grocery store to anchor the lower-level strip mall, and a free-standing Levitz Furniture. Construction began in March 1968, with the cost estimated at $10 million.{{Cite news |date=March 16, 1968 |title=2 Shop Centers Begin Rising Next Week |work=Evening Journal |location=Wilmington, DE |page=3}}

Later in 1968, Sameric Theatres unveiled a proposal to build a 1,400-seat single-screen movie theater at the new mall. Before the mall opened, however, plans changed and the theater would instead open as a twin-screen cinema, making it Delaware's first multiplex.{{Cite book |last=Nazarewycz |first=Michael J. |title=Historic Movie Theaters of Delaware |publisher=The History Press |year=2019 |isbn=9781625858474 |location=Charleston, SC |pages=145, 180–181}}

The strip shopping center opened first, with Levitz Furniture and a Silo appliance store opening by the fall of 1969.{{Cite news |date=October 2, 1969 |title=Silo to Open Store in Tri-State Mall |work=The News Journal |location=Wilmington, DE |pages=6}}{{Cite news |date=February 27, 1970 |title=Delco shopping center boom continues |work=Delaware County Daily Times |location=Chester, Pennsylvania |pages=43}} Wilmington Dry Goods followed, opening on November 5, 1969.{{Cite news |date=November 5, 1969 |title=Early Birds Catch Bargains |work=Evening Journal |location=Wilmington, DE |page=55}} The Pantry Pride supermarket opened on March 10, 1970.{{Cite news |date=March 9, 1970 |title=Pantry Pride opens store on Tuesday |work=Delaware County Daily Times |location=Chester, Pennsylvania |pages=14}} W.T. Grant (known as Grants) opened on May 14, 1970, complete with an in-store restaurant called the Bradford Room.{{Cite news |date=May 13, 1970 |title=W.T. Grant to open new store in Claymont |work=Delaware County Daily Times |location=Chester, Pennsylvania |pages=19}}

The enclosed mall officially opened on August 19, 1970. Designed by Seymour Seiler and Associates of New York, the interior was described by a local newspaper: "Its center has carpeted rest areas with comfortable seating amid artificial plantings. Ceilings of the mall area and the adjacent stores are designed with almost imperceptible curves, so that they make play of light and shadow."{{Cite news |date=August 18, 1970 |title=Tri-State Mall Opens Officially Tomorrow |work=Evening Journal |location=Wilmington, Delaware |pages=28}} An opening-week ad promised "a delightful experience in a year-round controlled climate, maintained at a constant 72° by electric heat and air conditioning. The largest enclosed shopping mall in Delaware, Tri-State is also the most modern{{nbsp}}..."{{Cite news |date=August 18, 1970 |title=All Electric Tri-State Mall Opening Wed. Aug. 19 |work=The News Journal |location=Wilmington, DE |page=6 |type=Advertisement from Delmarva Power & Light Company}}

The mall's first movie theater, called the Eric I, opened three months later on November 11, 1970. It included several high-end features for its era, including both 35- and 70-millimeter projectors, a {{convert|60|ft|m|adj=on}} screen, and "1,200 rocker-lounger seats, so spaced to eliminate having to get up to let other patrons into the row."{{Cite news |date=November 6, 1970 |title=Eric I Tri-State Mall Theater Seating 1,200 Opens Wednesday |work=Evening Journal |location=Wilmington, DE |pages=26}} A second and smaller theater, the Eric II, opened six weeks later with 650 seats. The theater would eventually expand to five screens.

The mall housed numerous specialty shops, eateries, and service businesses from the 1970s through the 1990s, catering mostly to blue-collar customers. The mall was well-positioned to draw both locals and Pennsylvanians seeking tax-free shopping, as it specialized in value-oriented discount stores.{{Cite news |last=Hardy |first=Lawrence |date=June 25, 1996 |title=In an ostentatious age, a no-frills mall endures |work=The News Journal |location=Wilmington, DE |pages=B1-B2}}

W.T. Grant closed due to the chain's bankruptcy in 1976,{{Cite news |last=Barmash |first=Isadore |date=February 13, 1976 |title=Judge Signs Order to Liquidate Grant Company Within 60 Days |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/02/13/archives/judge-signs-order-to-liquidate-grant-company-within-60-days.html |access-date=January 13, 2025 |work=The New York Times |pages=1 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} and was replaced by K-Mart on August 18, 1976.{{Cite news |date=August 13, 1976 |title=New K-Mart to open at Tri-State Mall |work=Delaware County Daily Times |location=Chester, Pennsylvania |pages=8}}

Wilmington Dry Goods entered bankruptcy protection in 1988. In May 1989, Schottenstein Stores bought five of the seven Dry Goods stores for $13.8 million as part of a court-ordered auction. The company announced that the stores, including the Tri-State Mall location, would be renovated and reopened as Value City department stores.{{Cite news |last=Milford |first=Maureen |date=June 1, 1989 |title=Dry Goods soon to be Value City |work=The News Journal |location=Wilmington, Delaware |page=12B}} The Dry Goods store closed in July 1989{{Cite news |last=Milford |first=Maureen |date=July 15, 1989 |title=Dry Goods closes doors, ringing out retailing era |work=The News Journal |location=Wilmington, Delaware |pages=1}} and reopened as Value City in October of the same year.{{Cite news |last=Milford |first=Maureen |date=September 15, 1989 |title=Chain bargains for Delaware |work=The News Journal |location=Wilmington, Delaware |page=B12}}

In 1991, Delaware became one of the original states offering the Powerball lottery game. Prior to the Pennsylvania and New Jersey lotteries joining Powerball, out-of-state residents would often travel to the Tri-State Mall for lottery tickets. This created a significant "windfall" for mall merchants when jackpots were high.{{Cite news |last=Parmley |first=Suzette |date=July 19, 1998 |title=Only $95 million? Big deal |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |page=B2}}{{Cite news |last=Taylor |first=Leon |date=July 27, 1998 |title=$250M is a powerful draw to Delaware |work=Philadelphia Daily News |page=6}}

The mall completed some minor renovations in the mid-1990s, changing the mall's paint scheme and replacing dated signage.

The mall frequently struggled with an unsafe reputation. At least two major crimes occurred at the mall. In a 1981 case, a woman who worked at the mall was raped and murdered as she was trying to leave the building. A decade later, a man was killed at the mall during a drug deal gone bad.

The movie theater was renamed the Cinemagic 5 in 1994, before becoming a second-run discount theater. It permanently closed {{Circa|1999}}, but the theater was briefly revived as a live comedy club, beginning in 2005. The Levitz furniture store closed in 2006,{{Cite news |last=Holveck |first=Brandon |date=March 8, 2023 |title=Demolition of Tri-State Mall underway, a sign of retail's changing tides in north Delaware |url=https://www.delawareonline.com/story/money/business/2023/03/08/tri-state-mall-demolition-underway-in-claymont-warehouse-approved/69967147007/ |access-date=January 12, 2025 |work=The News Journal |location=Wilmington, DE}} while Value City closed in February 2008 due to the chain's impending bankruptcy.{{Cite news |last=Emery |first=Chelsea |date=October 27, 2008 |title=Value City declares bankruptcy, to liquidate stores |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyle/value-city-declares-bankruptcy-to-liquidate-stores-idUSN27316150/ |access-date=January 12, 2025 |work=Reuters}}

In the fall of 2008, the Value City space was replaced by Burlington Coat Factory, after Value City's parent company agreed to hand over two dozen locations to the rival chain.{{Cite news |last=Milford |first=Maureen |date=February 8, 2008 |title=Value City store at Tri-State Mall closes its doors |work=The News Journal |location=Wilmington, Delaware |page=B6}} The opening of Burlington would be the last major high point for the mall. According to the Wilmington, DE News Journal, "the mall's fortunes began to turn around the turn of the century as national brick-and-mortar retailers started to struggle and the mall suffered from a dangerous reputation." The closure of the Evraz Claymont steel mill in 2013 also hurt the mall.

The Kmart store closed in early December 2014.{{cite news |last=Rainey |first=Doug |date=February 6, 2015 |title=Sears Newark store closes after shuttering of Claymont Kmart |url=http://delawarebusinessdaily.com/2015/02/claymont-kmart-close-early-december/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150215152242/http://delawarebusinessdaily.com/2015/02/claymont-kmart-close-early-december |archive-date=February 15, 2015 |accessdate=August 29, 2015 |work=Delaware Business Daily}}{{cite web |last=Mordock |first=Jeff |date=November 13, 2015 |title=A 'game-changer' for Claymont |url=http://www.delawareonline.com/story/money/2015/11/13/renaissance-claymont/75671072/ |access-date=January 12, 2025 |website=The News Journal |publisher= |publication-place=Wilmington, DE}} The enclosed portion of the mall closed in 2015. By June 2016, Claymont residents were considering ideas for redevelopment of the area, including the mall, at community workshops.{{cite web |last=Canavan |first=Kathy |date=June 21, 2016 |title=Residents weigh in on Claymont renewal project |url=http://www.delawarebusinesstimes.com/residents-weigh-claymont-renewal-project/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160702172647/http://www.delawarebusinesstimes.com/residents-weigh-claymont-renewal-project |archive-date=July 2, 2016 |website=Delaware Business Times |publisher=}}{{Cite news |last=Wilson |first=Xerxes |date=August 31, 2016 |title=Tri-State Mall could see residential, retail future |url=https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/2016/08/31/plans-emerge-redevelop-tri-state-mall/89603644/ |access-date=January 12, 2015 |work=The News Journal |location=Wilmington, DE}}

The last remaining anchor tenant, Burlington Coat Factory, closed its store at the mall in 2017 and relocated to Route 202 (Concord Pike) in North Wilmington.{{Cite web |last=Dallabrida |first=Eileen Smith |date=July 16, 2021 |title=Tri-State Mall site to get a long-needed makeover |url=https://www.delawarepublic.org/business/2021-07-16/tri-state-mall-site-to-get-a-long-needed-makeover |access-date=January 13, 2025 |website=Delaware Public Media |language=en}} In 2019, the enclosed mall and upper-level parking lot were taken over by New Hudson Facades, an architectural company that used the space for storage. After the enclosed mall was shuttered, the lower-level strip mall remained open, with tenants including Dollar General and Save-A-Lot. By 2023, however, all the remaining stores had closed, with the exception of Tri-State Liquors.

The entire {{Convert|41|acre|ha|adj=on}} property was purchased in 2021 by KPR Centers for $12.5 million. The mall and its surrounding buildings were razed in phases between 2021 and 2024, starting with the Levitz Furniture building.

Tri-State Liquors, which had been a tenant at the mall since 1984, was the last remaining business in the lower-level strip center. Thanks to a long-term lease agreement, the property owners constructed a new building for the store on the site of the previous Levitz Furniture building.{{Cite web |last=Mammarella |first=Ken |date=January 23, 2023 |title=One Store’s Still Standing At Tri-State Mall |url=https://townsquaredelaware.com/one-stores-still-standing-at-tri-state-mall/ |access-date=January 12, 2025 |website=Town Square Delaware |language=en-US}} Tri-State Liquors opened in their new stand-alone facility on January 11, 2024.{{Cite web |date=January 11, 2024 |title=New Tri-State Liquors store in Claymont |url=https://www.delawareonline.com/picture-gallery/money/business/2024/01/11/tri-state-liquors/72180747007/ |access-date=January 12, 2025 |website=The News Journal |language=en-US |publication-place=Wilmington, DE}}

The owners of the Tri-State Mall property have unveiled a plan to construct a {{convert|525,000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} logistics warehouse on the remainder of the site. The property is considered a good fit for a warehouse or fulfillment center due to its proximity to I-95.

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{{Shopping malls in Delaware}}

{{Philadelphia Malls}}

Category:Shopping malls in Delaware

Category:Defunct shopping malls in the United States

Category:Shopping malls established in 1970

Category:Buildings and structures in New Castle County, Delaware