Lufkin Mall update September 2021

Here is a quick in person update on the Lufkin Mall in September of 2021. I will also include some more recent developments in the comments as we go.

The former Sears was used as a Spirit Halloween in 2021 and 2022.

Here is a look inside of the former Sears.

Behind one of the curtains of the backrooms, we see the former housewares department and the auto department in the dark corner.

The store did not open up into the mall, but you can see right into the mall corridor.

The front part of the store near the mall entrance that was the clothing departments in the former Sears.

Former electronics department.

Part of the former appliance department.

Another look through a different set of curtains reveals the tool and appliance departments of the past.

Now we will enter the mall corridor.

The former Sears mall entrance.

The mall looks very different with the carpeted floors. The tile that was replaced a couple of years back was in poor condition with lots of uneven spots.

The mall directory. The anchors in 2023 are still the same.

Chik Fil A was closed on this Sunday. The mall location did permanently close about a year ago. AMC still runs the movie theater on the right side of this photo.

Bealls which was converted into a Stage store in the last few years of business is closed along with the rest of the chain. The Bealls name is back in Lufkin with the rebranding of Burkes Outlet into Bealls nationwide. That store is located across the street at the old Kmart center.

JCPenney nearly closed in 2020 with the bankruptcy of the company. This was one of the stores that was saved by negotiations with the landlords. Lufkin Mall would have really been in trouble if this store would have closed. The mall lost Bealls in 2020 and Sears in 2018. In addition to losing these department stores a couple of nearby big box stores closed, Kmart in 2017 and Best Buy in 2021.

For some odd reason, this entrance to the store is no longer used which makes the store seem closed even though the other two exterior entrances are used. This is the mostly visible entrance from the business corridor.

A quick trip across the street to the former Kmart center. The old Kmart is undergoing renovations in mid 2023 to become an Atwoods location.

I actually walked to the back of the shopping center through the entire road back there and around. I didn't take any photos because there wasn't anything of interest back there.

The former Kmart location was a spot for people to nap on the bench in front of the store. Every time I have visited this site since then someone or multiple people have been sleeping there.

Now back to the mall, the walk to the former Kmart in the 90+ degree afternoon was tiring.

The JCPenney mall entrance.

More of the mall as we walk back to the former Sears.

Even though the mall has some vacancies, there are a lot of chain stores still left to shop at.

The closed Footaction store on the right, all Footaction stores were closed in 2022, but this one closed long before. Hibbett Sports and Shoe Department are the only athletic shoe stores left. Foot Locker closed a few years back and the other large shoe chains haven't stepped in yet.

The tall road sign of the mall has two notable absences. Sears and Stage, who knows when these vacant anchors will be replaced. 

As the sun sets, we head back to Houston.

More to come, stay tuned.

 

Valley View Center mall May 2019 update

Here we are at one of the most unusual redevelopment mall projects. The Valley View Center Mall was in the process of demolition while one holdout was keeping a portion of the mall open for business. The AMC was still operating on the third level of the mall while the entire remainder of the mall was abandoned or in the process of demolition. AMC was added in 2004 to boost mall traffic, but was unable to reach an agreement to relocate the theater for the mall redevelopment. AMC still has a lease until 2021 at the mall. The location of the theater requires the center of the mall along with 3 corridors to remain in place until the theater vacates the property. Even though the AMC is temporarily closed, it may possibly reopen in the near future. 

Check out my short YouTube video of the mall as well, click here.

Sears was in the early stages of demolition. The store closed in July 2017.

Dillard's was in the beginning of the demolition process as well.

JCPenney was mostly down to the metal skeleton.

The closed off entrance near the former Macy's.

You can see the wall separating the mall from the now demolished Macy's. The store that was demolished had some awesome murals that could not be saved.

Now the Macy's is just a slab.

This road sign was still intact.

There were a lot of cars in the lot, but where were the people?

So this entrance was locked, here is what the inside looked like.

This entrance was reopened just a few weeks after our visit. The entrance and corridor by Sears was closed off when this entrance was reopened.

The entrance to the right next to the former Sears pictured here was open.

Here is how the mall looked as we walked inside.

All of the businesses except AMC were evicted in February just before our May visit.

I have to wonder how the sign was broken up like this.

The ceiling had multiple leaks, you can see the various efforts to paint spots.

The directory was very outdated. Only the AMC was still in business at this point.

The Sears mall entrance.

No A/C, barely any lights, and no stores to speak of. This is the most uninviting place to go to the movies.

The first puff of cool air from the AMC above.

As we arrive to the center court, we start to see the boards and sheetrock blocking off access to the majority of the mall. I was able to take photos either above or around the blockades. Climbing on old trash cans to get photos like this one was worth the effort.

Looking back at the corridor we walked through.

The construction bags were also blocking access and dust. The mall was still pretty dusty.

A different view from around the wall.

The escalators were on, so let's take the ride.

We can see more of the closed off sections of the mall up above.

That trash can on the left was sturdy 😉.

Hard to believe this area is in the same mall. The air conditioning, smell of popcorn, and people moving around is completely different than the rest of the property. 

Now we head back down the other set of escalators for more views over the barricades.

The food court is mostly hidden since the barricades are blocking the views.

There was enough room around the barricade to put my hand around to get this photo.

Here is the other exit that was still open to the public.

An old leasing sign still in place.

I took this walk and focused on the vacant stores. The lighting in this part of the mall was much better here. I am glad that I did this because a month later the stores were covered up with sheetrock. Yes for some odd reason the open corridors of the mall are now just walls of sheetrock leading to the AMC. Check out this video from Dead Malls with Jeff and Company showing the change just a month after our visit.

Ace's Adventures also made a visit to this mall, click here for the video.

There was still a person cleaning up the mall, security was also driving around outside.

Yeah this sign did not age well.

Not many mall exits tell you what exit you are at, but this mall had specific road locations at the exits.

More store fronts.

I was pretty hungry after looking at this menu.

Some random items inside of this former store. Remember when fidget spinners were the hot toy? Someone made millions off of this toy idea.

In the Houston area tornado shelter signs are non-existent, even though our area gets tornados as well. It is good to see these up even as the mall was nearly empty at this point. 

This part of the mall appeared to still be active when the tenants were evicted. I remember this corridor was nearly full when I last visited this mall.

Back to the Sears corridor.

El Mercado was never as successful here as I have seen at other malls. 

Waldenbooks Bookstore, the flash really reflected on this photo.

I found a hole in the wall to put my phone inside to see how the inside of Sears looked. Looks like something out of a nightmare. 

This side of the Sears mall entrance was not open.

I was able to get this photo of the Sears entrance that had been busted through at that mall entrance.

The red tiles surrounding the mall entrance of Sears. That area towards the left side of the store looks like it had been accidentally broken through and covered up. 

The Sears court.

More of the red brick.

More of the Sears court.

Water damage was all over the place if you looked up in the mall.

The other side of the Sears entrance with the red tile.

More outside views, Sears pictured here.

Sears again.

The other road sign had been covered up by this advertisement for the new development at the mall. Sadly as of July 2020, the mall redevelopment is stalled yet again. The anchors except for AMC have been demolished, but nothing new has been built yet.

Dillard's is open!

More stuff coming soon!