Melbourne Square (mall)

Melbourne Square
Mall, December 2019
LocationMelbourne, Florida, United States
Coordinates28°04′54″N 80°39′00″W / 28.0817°N 80.65°W / 28.0817; -80.65
Address1700 W. New Haven Avenue
Opening date1982
DeveloperEdward J. DeBartolo Corporation
OwnerSecond Horizon Capital
Anchor tenants5
Floor area703,000 sq ft (65,300 m2)[1]
Floors1
Public transit SCAT bus: 20, 21, 24, 25, 28
Websitemelbournesquare.com

Melbourne Square is an enclosed shopping mall in Melbourne, Florida. Opened in 1982, it is anchored by two Dillard's stores, J. C. Penney, Macy's, and Dick's Sporting Goods.

History

The mall was built on what had formerly been an orange grove.[2] It was the second mall in Melbourne, after Brevard Mall in 1962.

The first store to open at Melbourne Square in 1982 was Ivey's. The other anchors that opened later are Jordan Marsh, Burdine's, JCPenney, and Belk.

In 1990, Ivey's became the mall's first Dillard's. Jordan Marsh closed in 1991 and became the first Florida location for Mervyn's the following year.[3] The Mervyn's store closed and became a second Dillard's in 1997.[4] The mall is currently managed by Second Horizon Capital.

In 2003, Macy's took over the mall's Burdine's store, which became Burdines-Macy's until 2005 when it became Macy's. Belk moved to The Avenue in Viera in 2004.[5] The former Belk building was torn down in 2006 for Dick's Sporting Goods and Circuit City, the latter of which went out of business in 2009.[6] The former Circuit City space operated as a World Of Decor store before becoming LA Fitness in 2014, with H&M joining the same year.[7][8]

An annual Hanukkah menorah parade takes place near the mall in association with the local branch of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement.

On March 2026, as the previous mall owners, Washington Prime Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2021 and in process of liquidating, the mall was sold to Second Horizon Capital, with plans to transform the property.[9]

Incidents

On January 17, 2015, one person was killed and one was wounded in a shooting inside the mall food court before the gunman José Garcia Rodriguez committed suicide. The event was believed to be a domestic violence-related incident.[10]

On December 13, 2016, a gun was fired during an attempted robbery in the mall's parking lot.[11]

References

  1. ^ "Do Business at Melbourne Square, a Simon Property". Archived from the original on April 5, 2014. Retrieved July 4, 2025.
  2. ^ Bayley, Barbara (November 8, 2014). "New Englander is now 'so Brevard'". Florida Today. Melbourne, Florida. pp. 13A. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
  3. ^ Feigenbaum, Nancy (February 18, 1992). "RETAIL CHAIN MOVES INTO CENTRAL FLORIDA". The Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  4. ^ Richards, Geoffrey (August 1, 1997). "Developers Bask In Florida Retail Heat". National Real Estate Investor. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  5. ^ Blake, Scott (November 15, 2004). "Belk ready for opening of Avenue". Florida Today. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  6. ^ Onnenberg, Maria (March 2, 2006). "Mall makes way for 2 anchor stores". Florida Today. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  7. ^ FLORIDA TODAY Staff (June 2, 2014). "H& to open at Melbourne Square mall". floridatoday.com.
  8. ^ Wayne T. Price, FLORIDA TODAY (July 10, 2014). "LA Fitness coming to Melbourne Square mall". floridatoday.com.
  9. ^ Tyler Vazquez, FLORIDA TODAY (March 3, 2026). "Melbourne Square Mall sold to investment group with plans to upgrade the property". floridatoday.com.
  10. ^ NEWS 13 FLORIDA (January 20, 2015). "Melbourne Square Mall shooting: 2 dead including gunman, wife hurt". mynews13.com.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ Lamaur Stancil, FLORIDA TODAY (December 13, 2016). "Shot fired at Melbourne Square during robbery attempt". floridatoday.com.