Marshalls is leaving Marshalls Plaza to open in The Exchange at Hammond.
Marshalls will leave their namesake center and move about a mile south to The Exchange at Hammond. (Both centers are operated by Atlanta-based Mimms Enterprises.) Rumor has it Mimms is looking at going vertical in place of Marshalls and may consider using their space for apartments or condos.
The current Marshalls store is quite old and outdated in many ways including, but not limited to, its carts, store design and size. The store opened in 1980 and has received minimal renovations, possible a result of Marshalls plans to close or relocate the store.
No official date for the closure and reopening but I'd expect both to happen before year end.
I noticed on a recent visit that the store was actively using three different generations of shopping carts, none of which were the current models.
Marshalls will open in place of a shuttered ROSS Dress For Less at the center anchored by Whole Foods Market and Office Depot. ROSS Dress For Less closed this past January before which Yoforia had also closed in the center in December. (The former Yoforia later reopened as another froyo joint.) The center is also home to Petco, Dollar Tree and Hearth Pizza Tavern, among others.
Marshalls is owned by Framingham, Massachusetts-based TJX Companies. TJX is the parent company of domestic off-price retailers such as T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods as well as a handful of similar retailers abroad. TJX has a history of relocating older stores to better, newer real estate when possible.
Last month the company relocated a HomeGoods store in Kennesaw to Town Center Plaza, and in doing so joined sister brands Marshalls and T.J. Maxx. In 2011, Marshalls "relocated" what I believe to have been one of their first, if not their very first. metro Atlanta store from Plaza Fiesta to TOWN Brookhaven. Marshalls opened in Plaza Fiesta, then known as Buford-Clairmont Mall, in 1978, and though the store closed, the "relocated" Brookhaven store adopted their opening date as its own and displays it to shoppers.
Are you a fan of Marshalls "shopportunities?" Do you think this move makes sense? Do you think a adding a residential component to Marshalls Plaza would be a good idea?
