Selma Mall’s new owner says its future is uncertain and could include demolition.
Brian Gallagher, who also owns the Amazon store where Belk used to be, purchased the entire 316,000-square-foot mall in March and says the near-empty retail facility on Highway 80 is aging and renovation may not be worth it.
“This property needs a lot of work,” Gallagher said, adding because of its poor condition, “it’s not worth investing to put retail stores in here. Not at this time.”
Gallagher said it will be a year or two before he makes a decision and had originally planned to build “semi parking, like a Buc-ee’s, and have a place for semi-trucks to park, but we don’t have any solid plans.”
New businesses coming to the area may influence what ultimately is built on the site on Highland Avenue, Gallagher said. A truck shop is supposedly coming to the former Turner Chevrolet site nearby, and a Mavis Tire and Brake store is being constructed in the mall’s parking lot, he said.
Future plans also depend “on what the city (of Selma) will allow me to do,” Gallagher said.
The Selma Mall opened in 1971 with Sears, Britt’s and H.S. Kress as anchors. A sharp decline began in the mid 1990s as the economy and the rise of online shopping took their toll on shopping malls nationwide, including Selma.
Hibbett’s Sporting Goods moved across the street in 2022, and Belk’s closed in June 2023. Today, the Amazon Store, The Treasure Box Flea and Antique Mall and a smattering of businesses are all that remain in Selma Mall. Previous owner Kenny Tran offered tenants free rent every other month to attract businesses to the mall, to no avail.
Gallagher came to Selma to liquidate Dwell & Decor Outdoor at Craig Field. He used the former Belk’s space to store pillows and cushions, and he began using the building as a central storage facility for merchandise he was selling in stores throughout the Southeast. He eventually opened the Amazon Store.
When the previous owner of the mall wanted to sell, “we came to an agreement. For the price of real estate here, it made sense to me,” Gallagher said.
Family lived in Selma 1969-1975, we were ‘Corporate Nomads’ , this was the longest in any one place. Can remember the opening as apparently, it was behind schedule & the asphalt laid down didn’t have enough time to ‘cure’ properly’. It resulted in black footprints all over the inside & in stores. Spent quite a few dollars for 45 rpm singles & was always a tough decision as to which one to get as the others one wanted might not be there on the next trip.
Sadly, so much can be found online, visits to the Mall is just to lay hands or eyeballs on what you want, then order online from home.
Little League baseball, the team I played for was sponsored by Turner Chevrolet, white w/green numbers & lettering. My Parents bought an Impala from Turner when it was downtown.
Keep want to come back & spend a day driving around the old haunts & places, etc…
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Family lived in Selma 1969-1975, we were ‘Corporate Nomads’ , this was the longest in any one place. Can remember the opening as apparently, it was behind schedule & the asphalt laid down didn’t have enough time to ‘cure’ properly’. It resulted in black footprints all over the inside & in stores. Spent quite a few dollars for 45 rpm singles & was always a tough decision as to which one to get as the others one wanted might not be there on the next trip.
Sadly, so much can be found online, visits to the Mall is just to lay hands or eyeballs on what you want, then order online from home.
Little League baseball, the team I played for was sponsored by Turner Chevrolet, white w/green numbers & lettering. My Parents bought an Impala from Turner when it was downtown.
Keep want to come back & spend a day driving around the old haunts & places, etc…
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