Jonesboro, AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – July 17, 2024 – If you’ve been anywhere except under a rock over the last 4 years, you know that the Mall at Turtle Creek was “blown away” by a tornado on March 28, 2020.
Since then, the site at 3000 E Highland Dr has sat mostly empty, save a few anchor stores. Dillard’s, JC Penney, and Target sustained damage after the tornado, but rebuilt and reopened several months later.
Over four years after the tornado, the site has started to come alive again. The hum of construction equipment can be heard at the site, with new parking lots being laid, a new greenspace completed, and a large dirt area being prepped for a building.
Site plans were submitted to the City of Jonesboro Planning Department for approval in 2023.
The first set of plans shows the state of the mall after the tornado-affected area was torn down. The remaining half of the mall was also reportedly damaged and notes state that it was to be removed.
With removal of the remaining mall completed in early 2024, dirt work started early this summer. The second set of plans includes new parking lots, a large green space, and a proposed building at almost 100,000 sq ft.
The property owner is responsible for only a part of the “Turtle Creek Mall” area (in red below). Dillard’s, JC Penney, and Target own or lease their own properties, as well as several outlying restaurants.
The previous owner of the mall, Brookfield Properties, reportedly stopped paying for the properties on site that were affected by the tornado during COVID. They eventually stopped renewing leases for businesses inside the closed mall, and wouldn’t allow business owners inside to get their remaining inventory.
The mortgage on the property was reportedly close to 70 Million at the time. Spinoso Real Estate Group was contracted to manage the defunct mall. According to their website and press releases, their original plan was to take the “leftover” part of the mall, update it, and reopen a smaller mall.
Those plans changed and the entire mall was torn down, save three anchor stores.
The future of the “proposed building” listed on the plans is unknown, and attempts to reach the construction company or building owner have been unsuccessful.