Piedmont Mall Opens with Familiar Names
Piedmont Mall opened in 1984 with two levels, over 700,000 square feet, and four major anchor stores ready to serve the Danville market.
Shoppers entered through wide concourses where JCPenney, Hills, Globman's, and Belk-Leggett marked the mall's original corner points.
Globman's, already known locally, set up across from Hills, while Belk-Leggett brought over staff from older branches and stocked standard inventory.
A central corridor ran between them, wide enough for strollers and shopping bags.
Over fifty units filled in along the stretch, most of them national chains.
The address was 325 Piedmont Drive, a cleared and leveled tract set aside for the project.
Parking wrapped around the structure.
The layout followed the same enclosed model rising in other mid-sized cities: everything under one roof, built for repeat traffic. Sears came later.
By then, the anchors had settled into their lanes: Hills drew the bulk shoppers, Belk handled formal and seasonal wear, and Globman's stayed on until 1990, holding its corner as the chains spread.
Anchor Shifts and Empty Corners, 1990–2010
Globman's shut its doors in 1990 after six years at Piedmont Mall.
The store held its corner near Belk-Leggett until the lease ended, then Belk absorbed the space into its own footprint.
Hills didn't last the decade either. The anchor was sold to Ames, a regional discounter with wide aisles of general goods.
The sign changed, but the floor plan stayed in place.
Ames ran the store until 2001, pulling out when the chain closed down locations across the country.
That left the anchor dark until Boscov's took over.
In November 2005, Boscov's opened its first Virginia store in the former Hills/Ames space.
The retailer brought in furniture, appliances, and private-label clothing, hoping to build a customer base outside Pennsylvania.
The expansion stalled. Boscov's filed for Chapter 11 in 2008 and shut down ten locations, including Danville's.
Three years later, the corner still sat empty.
Smaller tenants inside the mall turned over regularly, but the anchor shifts set the pace.
Stores came and went, logos swapped out, but the square footage never changed.
Hull Storey Gibson and the Danville Mall Rebrand
General Growth Properties had controlled Piedmont Mall since 1995.
When the company went bankrupt, smaller holdings slipped away, and Danville's mall was among them.
Hull Storey Gibson bought the property in 2012 and invested in visible repairs.
The carpet was torn out. New lighting went in overhead. Signs on the outside were swapped.
One Belk location closed, and the surviving one was remodeled. The second anchor slot, once Globman's and later Belk overflow, went dark.
That same year, the mall picked up a new name: Danville Mall. The change wasn't a rollout campaign, just block letters mounted on the facade.
By the mid-2010s, three anchors were still open: Belk, JCPenney, and Sears.
In November 2015, Dunham's Sports moved into the lower level of the old Boscov's.
The space was stocked with outdoor gear, athletic clothing, and clearance racks.
The upper floor stayed vacant. The full square footage was still on the books, but only parts of it stayed active.
Foot traffic moved, but it thinned near the dead zones. The mall stayed open, even as whole wings got quiet.
Anchor Losses and Quieting Corridors, 2018–2021
Sears shut down in August 2018, three months after announcing it would be one of 42 stores closing nationwide.
The Danville Mall location had lasted more than twenty years, but when the lease ended, the doors closed.
JCPenney followed in 2020. The chain, 154 stores, is closing, including Danville's.
Operations wound down through the summer, and the store was gone by October.
That left only Belk and Dunham's Sports still active.
The concourse continued to serve smaller tenants, but the flow of people shifted.
Without Sears or JCPenney, the wings tied to them went quiet.
Sears' shell stayed boarded. JCPenney's space was locked, its glass dark.
The former Boscov's upstairs was still vacant. Three of the five anchor boxes sat empty.
By 2021, the mall still opened on time each morning, but the sound inside was thinner.
Fewer carts rolled on the floor. Vacancy signs stacked up on the glass.
Active Tenants and Vacant Space, 2025
By summer 2025, Danville Mall listed just over thirty tenants. Belk remained in its longtime anchor slot, operating the corner it has held since 1984.
Dunham's Sports continued in the lower level of the former Boscov's. The upper floor above it stayed closed.
Three other anchor bays, once Sears, JCPenney, and the main level of Boscov's, were still empty.
Inline space carried a mix of national and specialty stores. American Eagle, Aéropostale, and Bath & Body Works held mid-sized units.
Hot Topic, Claire's, Spencer's, and Karen's Hallmark filled smaller storefronts.
Local retailers like Suit City and City Cap worked off steady neighborhood traffic.
Wireless carriers, including T-Mobile and Cell Fashion, clustered near entrances.
Service tenants added to the lineup: U.S. military recruiting offices, Deluxe Spa & Nails, and Aspen Dental.
Food was anchored by Chick-fil-A and China Shuttle inside, while Firehouse Subs, Texas Roadhouse, Chipotle, and Starbucks operated on the outparcels.
Seasonal programming continued. Santa's visit in late 2024 ran for nearly a month.
A Danville Fashion Week casting call was staged in June 2025. Events like these were meant to keep foot traffic from slipping.
The mall opens each day with lights on and music playing, but half the square footage sits unused.
Vacant anchors and dark corridors outweigh new leases. The property functions on what's left.