Dover Mall

The Dover Mall is a shopping mall located on U.S. Route 13 in Dover, Delaware. The anchor stores are Boscov's, Old Navy, Dick's Sporting Goods, and JCPenney. There are 3 additional anchor spaces, with one serving as a Macy's fulfillment center since the 2020 holiday season and vacant anchor spots last occupied by Sears and AMC Theatres. It is a one-level, enclosed regional mall that is managed by Simon Property Group, who owns 68.1% of it. At 927414 sqft, it is the third biggest mall in Delaware, boasting 83 shops and a food court.

Location
The Dover Mall is located along U.S. Route 13 (North Dupont Highway) in the northern part of the city of Dover in Kent County, Delaware, and serves as the only enclosed mall in the Dover area. The mall is situated in a retail corridor and is located just northwest of Dover Motor Speedway and Bally's Dover and across the street from Delaware State University. The Dover Mall is located a short distance south of an interchange with Delaware Route 1. Dover Mall is served by DART First State bus routes 108, 109, and 112, which provide local bus service to points in Dover and Kent County.

Description
The Dover Mall is a one-level shopping mall that has a gross leasable area of 927414 sqft and contains 79 stores. The mall is anchored by JCPenney, a Macy's fulfillment center, Boscov's, Dick's Sporting Goods, Old Navy, and vacant anchor spots last occupied by Sears and a 14-screen AMC Classic. The Dover Mall also has a food court. The Dover Mall complex also includes a strip mall called Dover Commons. The Dover Mall offers tax-free shopping and has a trade area that covers the city of Dover and much of Kent County, while also attracting tourists who visit the Dover area.

History
Built in 1982, the Dover Mall was the second climate-controlled enclosed mall in Dover, following the Blue Hen Mall (now the Blue Hen Corporate Center) a few miles south on Bay Road. The Dover Mall was built as a second mall for the Dover area for Sears and other department stores after Sears was unable to come to an agreement to build a store at the Blue Hen Mall. The opening of the Dover Mall led to the subsequent decline of the Blue Hen Mall. The mall was originally anchored by Boscov's, Leggett, and Sears. The Boscov's store at Dover Mall was the first Boscov's location outside Pennsylvania.

The mall was renovated in 1992. JCPenney became the mall's fourth department store when it opened in August 1993, relocating from the Blue Hen Mall. Later that year, the Dover Mall became the first shopping mall in the state to ban smoking. Leggett closed its store at the mall on March 15, 1997. It was replaced by Strawbridge's, which opened on November 21, 1997. During the same time period, Boscov's underwent a substantial renovation and expansion, and Sears completed an interior renovation. In 1999, Carmike Cinemas expanded from six screens to fourteen, and the mall food court was enlarged and renovated. Carmike Cinemas was converted to AMC Classic in 2017.

The Mills Corporation acquired the mall in 2003 from Cadillac Fairview. At the time of the purchase, the Mills Corporation announced a preliminary proposal to add approximately 500000 sqft. of new stores and entertainment venues. The mall's Strawbridge's store was converted to Macy's on September 9, 2006 after Federated Department Stores purchased May Department Stores, the owner of Strawbridge's. In April 2007, Simon Property Group acquired the mall along with the other Mills Corp. malls. It is Simon's only Delaware property and at least the third owner since 2000. In 2013, the Dover Mall added several new stores, including a new 53183 sqft Dick's Sporting Goods that opened on November 10, 2013.

On May 3, 2018, it was announced that the Sears at Dover Mall would be closing as part of a plan to close 42 stores nationwide. Liquidation sales began on May 18, 2018 and the store closed in August 2018. The Sears Auto Center closed by the end of 2018. Furniture & More will open in the former Sears location by the end of April 2024.

On October 15, 2020, Macy's parent company, Macy's, Inc., announced that they would convert the Southwest Plaza in Littleton, Colorado and the Dover Mall Macy's stores into fulfillment centers as online orders spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On March 12, 2024, it was announced the AMC Classic is closing on March 17 as part of the company closing multiple movie theaters across the United States. It was the only movie theater in Dover. Among the challenges the theater faced was competition from Westown Movies in Middletown, which opened in 2013, and Milford Movies 9 in Milford, which opened at the end of 2020.