Major Changes To Macon Mall Before Upcoming Holiday Season

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – The Macon Mall is going through major renovations before the upcoming holiday season to bring in more shoppers.

New owners bought out the Macon Mall two years ago.

“The mall had declined a great deal and almost to the bottom,” Macon Mall owner John Gibson said.

The Hull Storey Gibson Companies is slowly bring the mall back to life.

“We have certainly invested our money,” Gibson said. “We had a lot of confidence in the idea that the people of Macon would enjoy a closed mall venue.”

Construction crews are fixing up the outside of the mall. The owners demolished parts of it to make it smaller and more manageable. There are also major improvements to the inside of the mall, including new carpets, lights and open walkways for shoppers.

The mall lost three major department stores, Belk, Sears, and Dillards. Gibson says they are looking to add a new store to bring in more business.

“I think once we have three anchor stores, this mall will be successful and we will rebuild our occupancy,” he said.

Gibson hopes all the renovations inside and outside of the mall will bring in more traffic. Some shoppers say it is working, while others say it is a dying mall.

“Couple of years ago it didn’t have the nice scenery and the look that will bring people in,” Kevin Wynn said. “Now it is much, much better.”

“The mall used to be huge and now we’re steadily losing stores left and right,” Brittany Sryock said. “All our traffic basically went to River Crossing.”

“Traffic is down, but traffic is down at every single mall,” Rico Hatcher said. “Now with the mall and the new look, it’s picking up some. It’s slow, it’s still in progress.”

Gibson says two new stores are opening in October. B. Turner’s is a family clothing store and Dry Falls will sell outdoor clothing. The mall is also getting ready for the upcoming holiday shopping season. It will host several holiday events and Santa Claus will be there.