Back When the Mall Was the Main Event
In 1999, Arbor Place opened in Douglasville, Georgia. The timing mattered. Retail was still local, still tactile, still built around the idea that people might spend a few hours walking between stores just to see what was new.
Douglas County had never seen anything on this scale before. Over one million square feet. Anchors with national reach. A movie theater with stadium seating.
People came for something new. Some are still coming. Most malls don’t get that sentence…