Rock Hill-based firm buys Galleria and plans to revitalize, improve mall
The Rock Hill Galleria came full circle, bought by the same company that sold the land for its development three decades ago.
The 28-year-old mall’s new owner, the Warren Norman Company of Rock Hill, plans to revitalize the mall.
“The Rock Hill Galleria property fits perfectly into the footprint of Warren Norman Company’s other holdings in the Galleria Boulevard area,” said Warren Norman, development director and broker in charge.
Warren Norman Company bought the mall from Bank OZK. Plans are still being formed for possible changes.
“Formulating our redevelopment plan will take some time, and we intend to carefully assess a wide variety of possibilities, all of which will be aimed at revitalizing and improving the mall itself and the surrounding area,” Norman said.
He said the Galleria has “had its run as an enclosed mall.”
“We’ll see what we can do to transition to something that’s more modern,” he said.
County records show the mall sold Dec. 13 for $11 million. Records show the almost 56-acre site now belongs to Galleria Rock Hill LLC based in Rock Hill. That company has the same listed address as the Warren Norman Company.
Warren Norman Company sold land for the mall decades ago and has been involved with numerous development sites surrounding it in recent years. Current stores Kohl’s, Hobby Lobby, Lowe’s Home Improvement and Food Lion either were developed by the company, or sit on land sold by it. Hotels, car dealerships and apartments near the mall have company ties, as does funding for a road behind the mall.
Rock Hill Galleria opened in 1991. Major stores moved from what was the Rock Hill Mall on Cherry Road.
The sold property sits between Galleria and Meeting boulevards, with access off Dave Lyle.
The sale doesn’t include the following property:
▪ Four parcels at the mall site, including the Walmart and a gas station.
▪ Six parcels that front Dave Lyle Boulevard with restaurants and businesses.
▪ A significant chunk of land behind the mall and south of Galleria Boulevard, part of an almost 119-acre parcel belonging to Galleria Land LLC.
County records list the market value of the recent sale site at more than $30 million.
“Our roots are here in Rock Hill, and we are excited to explore the redevelopment possibilities that just build on all of the great things going on in Rock Hill,” Norman said.
Norman said no immediate changes are forthcoming.
“We’ve been working on this a really long time, and have stayed in constant contact with the mall owners for a long time,” he said. “Virtually every year.”
He added the sale provides an opportunity to see what the future of the mall might be.
“The malls are changing all over the country,” Norman said. “The old-school mall concept has kind of gone away. We have to see what we can do to make it more desirable.”
A picture in the company conference room, he said, shows the area decades ago. It spans out to show parcels since sold and developed.
“Which, back in the day, was nothing,” Norman said. “There was nothing out there.”
The company notes a shift from residential to mostly commercial construction construction coinciding with the mall land sale decades ago. Founder R. Warren Norman Sr. had a vision for the property even before the interstate came through and changed the area.
“That’s a credit to my grandfather,” Norman said. “It’s a funny story. The guy who sold them that land — and this dates back to the 60s — he sold it to them and told (Norman’s grandfather) it wasn’t good for anything but to hold the world together.”
The company could tie more of the area together with development projects. The Warren Norman Company website lists 10 acres of I-77 frontage, an almost two-acre retail pad beside Holiday Inn and the 87-acre Gateways to the Galleria retail project for sale either beside or near the mall.
Owning the mall allows the company to get in and take a closer look at how to transition the commercial hub area.
“It is something that we’re going to start to assessing immediately,” Norman said. “We already have.”
This story was originally published December 19, 2019 at 12:02 PM with the headline "Rock Hill-based firm buys Galleria and plans to revitalize, improve mall."
