Greenspoint Mall Retailers Cling To Its Last Signs Of Life
Despite widespread news that Houston’s storied Greenspoint Mall would officially close after nearly 50 years, the mall’s management company says it has leased a portion of the building to longtime retailers and will remain at least somewhat operational.
The mall’s owners allowed remaining tenants to move their property and inventory to 33,500 SF that was once a Palais Royal department store, Los Angeles-based Triyar Realty Group told the Houston Business Journal. Triyar manages the mall for the property’s five owners, the main one being GPM Houston Properties Ltd., according to the report.
This contradicts reports from last month that the mall would officially lock its doors Aug. 31 and the property would go up for sale, meaning all remaining tenants would need to leave.
The mall opened to great popularity in August 1976 but faced significant competition as more malls opened north of Houston, including Willowbrook, Deerbrook and The Woodlands Mall. Greenspoint lost all of its major retailers and earned a reputation for crime, leading many locals to call it by the nickname “Gunspoint.”
Tenants were reportedly notified the mall would close last month.
“The owners of Greenspoint Mall made the difficult decision to permanently close the mall,” a letter from Triyar Management said, according to the Houston Chronicle. “We appreciate your tenancy and wish you the best.”
But Rita Tumlinson, senior vice president of management and administration at Triyar, told the HBJ that an undisclosed number of tenants have now moved to the former Palais Royal store, which was more recently Uniform Superstore, signing a one-year lease with a 60-day termination option.
The remaining tenants include jewelers and a cellphone store that have stayed in the mall for decades because their chances to find spots in other malls are slim, according to the HBJ. The retailers approached Triyar to ask if they could move to a different part of the mall after Triyar sent them a termination notice. That worked out when the Uniform Superstore space became available at the end of July.
“This is what they wanted to do,” Tumlinson told the HBJ. “And it's an opportunity for them to see if they can make it work.”
The retailers plan to make a new door sign saying “Greens Mini Mall,” and they hope customers will come once they learn about it.
Despite some padlocked entrances and a lack of air conditioning, two other tenants, a Fitness Connection gym and CDM Youth and Wellness boxing gym, remain operational in Greenspoint Mall. Fitness Connection employees told the HBJ there are no plans to close the gym. Bisnow previously reported it has a lease through 2030.
CDM owner Chris Powell told the outlet he hasn't been told to leave. Powell wants to find another location in the area, one where he wouldn't have to file insurance claims due to the landlord not fixing a leaky roof. But it’s hard to find another place with affordable rent, according to the HBJ.
Meanwhile, an affordable housing complex called The Summit at Renaissance Park is under construction at the southeastern portion of the mall that was a Sears. The Zieben Group is developing the 325-unit multifamily community with the help of a $14.9M subsidy from Houston’s Hurricane Harvey Multifamily Program.
The complex is expected to be completed this year.
