North Shore Square Mall, Slidell, LA: What’s Happening to the Old Mall?

Introduction to North Shore Square

North Shore Square opened its doors in 1985 in Slidell, Louisiana, becoming a retail hub for the area. Developed by Homart Development Company, the mall quickly grew in popularity, attracting both locals and visitors from the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain.

At the time, it was one of the largest malls in the region, boasting over 621,000 square feet of retail space. Its strategic location made it a key player in the retail scene in southeastern Louisiana.

During its peak, North Shore Square was home to several well-known anchor stores. Dillard’s had two separate locations within the mall, a unique setup with one space originally occupied by D. H. Holmes and the other by Maison Blanche, which opened in 1990.

Mervyn’s also served as an anchor tenant, though it would later close after the brand exited Louisiana. Shoppers had plenty of other options, from local boutiques to national chains, making the mall a bustling destination.

Another highlight for visitors was the food court, which, at its height, had as many as ten different options. Local favorites like Dante’s Pizza joined popular chains like Chick-fil-A, Subway, and Auntie Anne’s.

Shoppers could easily spend hours at the mall, with plenty of dining choices to complement their retail experience.

For many years, North Shore Square stood as a cornerstone of retail in Slidell, even surviving Hurricane Katrina without major flooding or structural damage.

However, over time, the landscape of shopping began to change, and the rise of online retail posed challenges for traditional malls like North Shore Square.

Still, it maintained its legacy as a key location for things to do in Slidell, LA, providing a place for shopping, dining, and socializing for over thirty years.

Decline in Retail and Competition from Open-Air Malls

By the early 2000s, North Shore Square began to experience a slow decline. One of the major blows to the mall came with the closure of Mervyn’s after the retailer left the Louisiana market following Hurricane Katrina.

Burlington Coat Factory took over the space for a few years, but even that tenant eventually downsized. Sears, another anchor, closed its doors in 2014 as part of a broader corporate strategy, and JCPenney followed suit in 2017.

The departure of these long-standing tenants left large gaps in the mall’s lineup, making it difficult to attract shoppers.

Additionally, the emergence of Fremaux Town Center, an open-air shopping complex just a few miles away, posed direct competition to North Shore Square.

Offering a more modern shopping experience with large retailers like Target, Kohl’s, and Dick’s Sporting Goods, Fremaux Town Center quickly became the preferred choice for many shoppers.

The combination of newer shopping destinations and declining interest in enclosed malls led to a steady decline in North Shore Square’s business.

Closure and Transition to New Retail Concepts

In 2019, North Shore Square’s interior mall space officially closed its doors. Morguard Corporation, which had owned the mall since 2006, decided to shutter the interior after years of declining sales and vacant spaces.

At the time of the closure, the mall had only a few stores left, including Conn’s, At Home, and Dillard’s, which had since been converted into a clearance center. The once-busy corridors that had hosted shoppers for over thirty years now stood largely empty.

Morguard announced plans to convert the mall into an open-air shopping center, a format that had proven more successful in other parts of the country.

While the concept seemed promising, redevelopment work has been slow. As of 2024, the mall had still not been converted to the planned open-air configuration.

Recent Developments and Cultural Impact (2022-2024)

Though the mall’s retail days are largely behind it, North Shore Square still made an appearance in pop culture.

In 2022, it served as a filming location for the TV series Twisted Metal, a live-action adaptation of the popular video game franchise.

The empty mall provided a perfect backdrop for a post-apocalyptic car chase scene, showcasing how the once-thriving retail space had now become a relic of another era. The mall was renamed “RidgePointe Centre” for the show, a nod to its fictional role in the series.

Slidell residents still have a connection to North Shore Square, remembering it as a key part of their town’s history. The mall’s closure marks a larger shift in how people shop, with more focus on online retail and open-air centers, but the legacy of North Shore Square lingers.

As of 2024, no major progress has been reported regarding the open-air project, and the future of the property remains uncertain. For now, it serves as a reminder of the changing nature of retail and the challenges that traditional malls face in the modern era.

In 2024, Conn’s HomePlus, one of the last remaining stores in North Shore Square, announced closure as part of a national bankruptcy. This will leave the mall with only two operational anchors: At Home and Dillard’s Clearance Center. The rest of the mall remains largely vacant and closed.

Local officials, however, see potential in the mall’s location near I-12 and Northshore Boulevard. Although no plans have been finalized, the area is considered ripe for redevelopment, potentially as a mixed-use space combining residential, corporate, and retail elements.

North Shore Square has struggled in part due to nearby competitors like Fremaux Town Center, which continues to thrive. Other malls, such as Clearview Mall in Metairie, have adapted by integrating living spaces and services, providing a more modern shopping experience.

Despite the current vacancy, North Shore Square’s proximity to infrastructure like hotels and the airport makes it a promising site for future development.