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Location | Bessemer, Alabama |
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Coordinates | 33°23′43″N 86°58′21″W / 33.3952°N 86.9725°W |
Opening date | 1969 |
Closing date | 2009 |
Owner | Anthony Underwood |
No. of anchor tenants | 3 |
Total retail floor area | 300,000 square feet (28,000 m2) |
No. of floors | 1 |
The Mall at Westlake, almost always referred to as Westlake Mall is a vacant and closed community mall in Bessemer, Alabama.
Westlake Mall was built on a former lake bed, along US Highway 11. The mall opened in 1969 with three anchors, Sears, Grant's, and Loveman's.
In 1970, former Governor George Wallace held a campaign event for re-election at the mall that was estimated to be attended by 10,000 people, one of the biggest turnouts during his last gubernatorial race. [1] [2]
In the late 1970s and 1980s, the mall saw decline. In November 1983, an 18 year old female was raped after being kidnapped near the mall by masked abductors. [3] All three original anchors closed by 1989, making it a dead mall or deserted mall. Continuing urban sprawl southwestward toward the Tuscaloosa County line and increased crime and poverty in the city of Bessemer all contributed to the mall's demise.[ citation needed]
During the mid 1980s, there was an effort to turn the mall into a factory outlet center, though many regular stores were still open. [4]
In 1994, Bruno's Supermarkets opened a flagship store in the former Sears anchor location. It was the company's largest store. The mall continued to operate with a small assortment of stores, including a Goody's Family Clothing store in the former Loveman's anchor location.
The Goody's store relocated elsewhere in the late 2000s, and Bruno's filed bankruptcy in 2009, closing its store at the mall. [5]
The center was sold to Bessemer used-car dealership owner Anthony Underwood, who wants to revive the center once again as an outlet mall. As of 2013 [update], the mall sits vacant and sealed, with several of its entrances blocked.