You might think malls are relics of another era—relics that blinked out with cassette tapes and landlines. But Jamestown Mall in Florissant, Missouri, had a story worth keeping.
Opened in 1973, this mall contained more than 100 stores, an arcade, and even a movie theater. It hummed with sneakers scuffing linoleum and shoppers clutching bags from The Limited and Camelot Music.
Today, as redevelopment plans push forward and the last bricks vanish into memory, it feels right to take a step back and look at how this space once shaped part of the north St. Louis suburbs.
For those chasing things to do in Florissant, MO, Jamestown Mall was once the heart of the list.
Inception and Early Years: Retail Launchpad for North County
Construction on Jamestown Mall kicked off in 1972 under the guidance of the Richard E. Jacobs Group.
The builders set their sights on Florissant, carving out a massive enclosed shopping destination.
By October 10, 1973, the doors swung open, welcoming a flood of customers into over 900,000 square feet of retail space.
Two anchor stores, Sears and Stix Baer & Fuller, took center stage right from the start.
Early shoppers wandered through outlets like Forum Cafeteria, Walgreens Drug, and Baskin-Robbins Ice Cream.
Camelot Music spun vinyl in the aisles while Pass Pets charmed kids a few steps away.
Aladdin’s Castle arcade buzzed with the sound of coins dropping and pinballs clattering.
Entertainment quickly became part of the scene, too.
On July 12, 1974, the General Cinema Corporation opened a movie theater inside the mall, giving weekend crowds another reason to stay longer.
The mall’s anchor landscape started shifting a decade later.
In 1984, after acquiring the chain, Dillard’s moved into the Stix Baer & Fuller location.
It was the first of several big changes that would set the tone for Jamestown Mall’s next two decades—an early glimpse at how retail ambitions in north St. Louis County would continue expanding, contracting, and trying new moves.
Expansion and Peak Years: Jamestown Mall’s Retail Boom
By the late 1980s, Jamestown Mall had started carving out a louder voice in north St. Louis County’s retail scene.
The addition of Famous-Barr, announced in April 1992, pushed the mall’s footprint even wider.
Construction on the new two-level, 164,500-square-foot Famous-Barr store began later that year, with a grand opening on July 30, 1994.
The move replaced their earlier site at Northland Center, a dated shopping center closer to Jennings.
JCPenney was not far behind. Their relocation into Jamestown Mall happened on April 29, 1995, bringing another heavyweight tenant to the mix.
By the mid-1990s, Jamestown Mall buzzed with full parking lots, food court crowds, and steady business at names like The Limited, Waldenbooks, and Foot Locker.
Entertainment also weighed more.
In the 1990s, the mall’s original General Cinema theater gave way to a new one operated by Wehrenberg Theatres at the front of the complex.
The previous cinema space didn’t stay vacant long—it transitioned into a food court, packing in fast-casual spots and giving shoppers a place to rest between stores.
By 1999, though, early signs of shifting tides appeared.
JCPenney converted its full-line store into an outlet model, a move that often hints at dropping sales performance.
Still, to everyday visitors in the late 90s, Jamestown Mall looked busy enough.
It had four anchors operating simultaneously: Sears, Dillard’s, Famous-Barr, and JCPenney.
Few could have guessed that this period would be the mall’s peak, not its new baseline.
Decline and Ownership Changes: When the Deals Started Drying Up
By the early 2000s, things at Jamestown Mall were no longer moving upward.
In 2003, the Richard E. Jacobs Group sold the property to the Carlyle Development Group.
At that point, vacancy rates were already hovering around 30 percent, a tough number to work against in the crowded St. Louis retail market.
In April 2006, Dillard’s announced it would shutter its store at Jamestown Mall.
The loss of a longtime anchor left a hollow gap that even a handful of new tenants could not plug.
The Famous-Barr store was rebranded as Macy’s in September 2006.
Carlyle Development floated ideas for redevelopment in 2008, suggesting a bold pivot – offices in the former Dillard’s space and closing off that entire wing from retail traffic.
Sears, another original anchor, closed in early 2009.
That same year, the Urban Land Institute conducted a study for St. Louis County.
It issued a blunt report: Jamestown Mall had too much overlap with other area shopping centers to stay viable.
That was not an easy message for developers or city officials to hear.
Meanwhile, ownership turned even murkier. Kohan Retail Investment Group bought the mall in 2009 for $3.3 million, but financial issues followed quickly.
In 2011, Kohan lost Jamestown Mall to foreclosure, though by late 2012, they still retained a partial ownership interest.
Bankruptcy filings, gas shut-offs, and piecemeal leasing deals with tenants like Central States Liquidation filled the headlines, not new store openings.
Every few months, another bold plan emerged: Demolish parts of the mall, save only Macy’s and JCPenney, and convert it to a mixed-use site. None of it stuck.
Jamestown Mall entered the 2010s as a shell of its earlier self, missing the foot traffic, anchor strength, and leasing energy that had once made it a north county powerhouse.
Closure and Abandonment: When the Doors Finally Shut at Jamestown Mall
JC’s 5 Star Outlet, formerly the JCPenney Outlet at Jamestown Mall, closed in late 2013.
Thanksgiving Eve in November 2013 hit Jamestown Mall harder than any Black Friday rush could have.
That day, with heat systems turned off and the winter cold creeping into the vacant wings, St. Louis County officials made the call—it was time to shut it down.
By January 2014, Macy’s confirmed it would close its store, removing the last anchor holding any weight.
Without Sears, Dillard’s, JCPenney, or Macy’s, there wasn’t much left for shoppers to come for.
A few smaller names like Foot Locker and LensCrafters clung to their leases, but the writing was on the wall.
Jamestown Mall officially closed for good on July 1, 2014.
The property changed hands again in December 2017 when the St. Louis County Port Authority bought it, hoping to spark redevelopment.
Expectations were high at first. Demolition crews and new blueprints were floated. In reality, no heavy machinery showed up.
Instead, scrappers stripped anything of value, and rain, rodents, and fire took their turns, wearing down what was left.
In June 2020, firefighters responded to a call that revealed a fire inside the shell of the former Dillard’s and Macy’s stores.
Charred furniture piles and water-damaged tiles left no doubt: the building was more hazardous than an asset.
Another blow came in October 2021, when burst pipes flooded the abandoned Sears building, leaving standing water sloshing across cracked tiles and mold creeping up drywall.
Every season, after the mall’s closure carried a little more decay, a little less chance that the property could bounce back without serious intervention.
Demolition and Future Prospects: Clearing the Way for New Retail Dreams
By April 2022, after years of delays, stalled plans, and empty promises, St. Louis County had approved a $6 million demolition plan.
At long last, something concrete – or rather, the removal of a lot of it – was on the schedule.
The first real step forward came on September 26, 2023.
A ceremony at the mall site kicked off the start of demolition, an event that had been nearly a decade in the making.
By March 2024, every structure had been razed. No more Dillard’s shell, no more food court echoes, no more tilted signage dangling against gray skies.
Still, the job wasn’t quite as simple as swinging wrecking balls.
Instead of hauling debris to landfills, St. Louis County opted to recycle a large portion of the rubble, extending the timeline into early 2025.
In March 2024, the “Imagine Jamestown Mall” Market Analysis and Feasibility Study won an Outstanding Plan Award from the Missouri Chapter of the American Planning Association.
One of the strongest ideas floated was an Agriculture-Food Technology campus mixed with senior housing and retail—a pivot designed to create jobs without falling back into the old suburban shopping center mold.
As of spring 2025, St. Louis County continues reviewing proposals for redevelopment.
The empty land in Florissant no longer holds a hint of foot lockers or ice cream counters.
Still, new blueprints promise that fresh commercial life could eventually fill the footprint Jamestown Mall left behind.
🍀
Jamestown Mall was never successful, and it’s actually at least two miles out of Florissant. When I moved here, it was 6 years old, and still had real stores in it, but it wasn’t that busy. I occasionally picked things up at JCP and Sears until they both disappeared.
Thank you for sharing your memories of Jamestown Mall. It’s fascinating yet poignant to hear about its trajectory over the years. The loss of key stores like JCP and Sears marked the end of an era.
I disagree with the previous commenter. Jamestown Mall was ALWAYS filled with laughter, great deals and value. Front the front door to the corner stores of Macys, Sears and Penny’s. My daughter had a job during High school at Penny’s Outlet and it was always bustling as well. The food court was awesome as well and after the cinema was added it was top notch! I have so many great memories there. Before we moved to Florissant in 1991 from Normandy, we use to get so excited about going to Jamestown to shop. It was easily a 4 hour visit. We would have to circle the parking lot looking for a place to park. It was awesome! Always a place for family. At holidays especially Christmas, the decor was enchanting to say the least! It was always filled with people until the last few (5) years before it closed. Then it was as the above commenter described.
Thank you for sharing your memories of Jamestown Mall. It’s beautiful to hear how vibrant and lively it was, especially during the holidays. Those memories of bustling stores and a full parking lot bring the mall’s heyday to life.
the mall was very busy during the 80’s but management/store owners got stupid. “thousands of kids cruise here on the weekend, but never buy anything! we must get them out so the real shoppers can come in!” well dummies, the kids WERE the real shoppers, on the weekends they looked, they didn’t buy cause there were looking, walking, having fun. during the week they. or their parents came and bought the stuff they wanted. you got rid of the looking, you lost the buying too.
Thanks for your insight! It’s a valuable reminder of how important it is to understand consumer behavior. The 80s were indeed a different time for malls, and the youth were a significant part of the shopping culture.