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OMG!!.. I went there in february and it was so sad to see that mall from what it was to what it is now..
AIKEN --- More changes are coming to Aiken Mall: Belk will shrink from two storefronts to one this summer.
The leases for both -- the main store and one that offers home furnishings -- are up for renewal in October, said Ralph Pitts, a spokesman for Belk. He said Belk plans to renew its main store lease for five years but will consolidate the home store into its main location.
"We took that space a few years ago to expand a little bit and have now determined that we probably don't need the space that we thought maybe we did," Mr. Pitts said.
This year, the mall has lost two tenants, Kirkland's and Gap.
"We're moving from a mall location for our stores to an off-mall plan," said Chelsea Swab, a Kirkland's spokeswoman. She said the company has no plan to open another store in Aiken.
On Tuesday, 12 store entrances -- nine of which appeared vacant -- had gates down. The mall has about 40 spaces. By Friday afternoon, Aiken Mall's management hadn't returned three messages left since Tuesday.
Erin Hershkowitz, a spokeswoman for the International Council of Shopping Centers, said retailers -- not including discount and wholesale stores -- are taking a hit. The ICSC reports an estimated 148,000 retail establishments closed last year while about 115,000 opened.
She said Aiken Mall could be experiencing competition from Augusta Mall, which opened an outdoor addition in November 2007.
Some shoppers seem to agree.
"It's worth it to just drive to Augusta," said Aiken County resident Brandon Abbott.
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