Uptown Janesville Mall - March 2023
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 ม.ค. 2025
- What can only be best described as undergoing an identity crisis, Janesville Mall in Janesville, Wisconsin changed their name to Uptown Janesville. They have high occupancy rates with high-end brand retailers, but still give off huge dead mall vibes with their empty, bland, and boring interior.
This mall gives me a lot mixed feelings. I never did a deep dive into the ownership history, but I feel there's a ton of missed potential here. It seems like they are just interested in the revenue the tenants can generate, and not much else. Mixing the tenant occupancy here with the clean retro fountain vibes of Spring Hill Mall would be my perfect local mall!
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Really liked the video! Sad to see the food court. It seems that food courts in particular have been taking a hit in most malls lately, which is a shame, because that's usually where I'm most likely to spend money. I always at least like to grab something to eat at a mall if nothing else.
They are very much becoming harder and harder to find, except for the very busy and thriving malls. I know if I think back to my younger years, my best mall memories would have to be the food court as well. :-)
Cool channel BTW, I'm going to subscribe! Ever run across Wallieb26? You guys cover the same grounds. :-)
@@memoriesbywayne Same here. It was always nice to have several options to choose from. Whether you were in the mood for burgers, pizza, tacos, pretzels, subs, or Chinese food, it would all be there.
@@memoriesbywayne Thank you! I haven't met him in person, but I do watch his channel from time to time.
Seeing that place so empty is a real bummer. I really think the higher-end stores are there simply because some bean counter in their home offices forgot those outlets exist.
It's a good concept. But it seems a little incomplete when you don't do anything else with the overall decor to appeal folks to come in. And maybe seems a little out of place for Janesville. But I'm not an expert of the city. But with so many high end places going outdoor shopping overall I could see the appeal if it was done right.
@@memoriesbywayne I'm not sure of all the reasoning for it but I know one video had said that at recording it had about 17% vacancy and that seems about right for the late 00s and early 2010s. A lot of the small stores would come and go and a couple would sit a little bit but there was always someone to fill the spot eventually. When the video uploaded a couple years ago, it went to around 30% and now it's sitting at about 50 ish. I guess the plan is to move the entire complex away from retail toward a more community/activity focused thing. But only time will tell if they ever go through with any of their plans. I think they should have focused on adding space for more than just the shopping and eating to make it more interesting. I thought there used to be a small cinema in there back in the days of yore but I don't know for sure. That was before my time. And that mall did at one time have fountains and trees and nice things to make the whole thing look appealing.
Being from Janesville, the mall started declining once Covid hit and most of the stores had to close and building D was Boston store and building B was Sears
Thanks for the clarification on the anchor stores. Maybe cause I'm not from Wisconsin, but sadly I never went inside a Boston Store before it became a piece of retail history.
@@memoriesbywayne Dick’s and the empty building right next to it used to be one big JC Penney. Dick’s has been the only tenant since the closure. The other side of the building has been empty for around a decade.
@isaiah4820 yeah I can probably understand why Dick's wouldn't need the full space as a JC Penny's.
I swear some people underestimate and find Malls boring, sometimes in some places of the mall, looks like the Backrooms 😂.
Oh yeah. While I was not super excited about this one, I love the look of the malls that especially keep their retro feels. Spring Hill being one of my favorites. There's a few I've watched videos on, distance or whatever reason I haven't been able to visit yet, so quiet and eerie that you would feel like you clipped into the backrooms lol.
Nice video sir, to think that mall was built the year i was born lol. Im from the area and loved to go there with my parents and grandparents. I was disappointed to see that they removed the fountain from the center court. It was a real attention getter and everyone threw change int, there must have been hundreds of dollars in there.
Thank you for the kind comments. I am truly amazed how many memories folks have had of this place. A fountain would have been amazing! Certainly would have helped with the lack of character and decor that exists now. I really need to find some older pics of this place. :-)
@@memoriesbywayne Agreed and in addition to the fountains there were I believe fig trees that were pretty good size, the place was awesome. I hope to find old pictures too.
so dead now but during early 2010s so full and fun to go
I've heard so many comments about how thriving this mall once was. Even though I didn't grow up here. So many malls near me I remember thriving 15 years ago are now all closing down.
The Uptown Janesville name came when Rock Step Capital bought the mall a few years ago. All of their mall are named “Uptown ____.” Kind of like all the Mills malls.
This mall really deserves better. It was doing alright until Covid, but the closures of Boston Store and Sears were the biggest hits to the mall. When Dick’s opened in 2014-15, almost the entire mall was renovated, and I think it was a pretty good improvement. But a nice renovation does nothing for the mall without any stores to bring in customers. Now, the city is trying to tear down the old Sears to build an ice arena/community center, but it’s controversial among some of the citizen. I personally think this is a horrible idea that will lead to the complete downfall of the mall, which would be a shame because Janesville is in dire need of more places to shop and things to do. If you drive through town on Friday night, you’ll see teenagers hanging out in parking lots. You’d think the mall management would try to cash in on the lack of entertainment, but it doesn’t seem like they’re doing much to attract new tenants.
Thank you the history update. Been hearing some fascinating stories about this place! I guess the Uptown name is OK. I thought the mall occupancy wasn't terrible first impression. But what really hit me was the bland look and lack of character, lack of plants, lack of chairs, lack of a fountain, lack of any resemblance of a center court. If the stores were all closed would have been the perfect dead mall series lol. I've been finding Janesville, Waukesha, etc., these "little small cities" fascinating as I've continued to explore them on the channel. Although I've been focused on Rotary a lot because it's my new favorite garden!... I'm not done exploring Janesville yet. McHenry is similar. We definitely have a lack of retail compared to other towns and definite need of places and activities for teenagers and youth. Ours hang out at Walmart lol. The focus seems to always push here more and more to drinking age +.
@@memoriesbywayne Rotary is a great place. I suggest going there during for the Christmas lights if you haven’t seen them yet. Thanks for uploading the video! I’m a big fan of mall tours, and it’s great to see Janesville getting some love.
@isaiah4820 definitely got some more mall and Janesville content coming soon. I have been to the Christmas lights display actually. That video is up on the channel. I have a Rock County playlist. It's on there along with my previous visits. And one video I did recently when they had all the ladybugs still needs to be edited. :-)
i agree with everything you’ve said in the description.
Thanks! I appreciate the support. :-)
They going to build a Woodman’s Sports and Convention Center
Thanks for the info! I'll look into that more. I may have to do a return visit.
It’s not a big mall because it’s not a big city. A city the size of Janesville could never have supported a mall any larger than this, even before the economic decline here that ensued after the GM plant closed. The busiest store in the mall is probably either Ulta or Bath and Body Works. They are crazy busy every time I’m in there. The mall certainly isn’t 90s busy but none of them are anymore. The Boston Store building was just torn down (spring 2024) and they’re building a convention center.
@katherinefuller5267 I think it's a fairly decent size. I still think it could use a face-lift. A boost with the decor. That would help a lot. Help with the feels of some of the higher end stores there. I will have to do a follow-up visit to see what they've been working on.
@@memoriesbywayne oh it definitely needs a face lift!!! You should come by again once the convention center is done. Maybe the mall ownership will be incentivized to improve the space given the idea of potential customers pulling from the center’s events.
@katherinefuller5267 oh yeah for sure. To clarify, I do really enjoy smaller malls. Kinda just feels like it needs some stuff in there. A little extra character. I'm absolutely in love with Rotary. Your little town has really grown on me. Done numerous videos at Rotary. Did a snippet at that Toys R Us. You guys got a functioning Hardee's. Always have my heart there. Plan to be back soon. Not sure why but I want to document the world's largest Culver's in Edgerton lol. If you think worth waiting for the convention center complete then I will definitely follow that! :-)
The mall has been on a decline for the last decade. It's golden years have long passed.
It's only my first visit and other than watching one or two other dead mall channels cover it, the place seemed really odd to me. It seemed pretty well occupied outside the anchors but otherwise felt empty and bland on the inside. No character. Which is the complete opposite of my local mall Spring Hill with amazing aesthetics and a fountain, yet barely any tenants. An interesting contrast indeed that I haven't seen often and keep me intrigued to watch this one. It seems management only cares about the rent money they are getting and nothing else. But I am far from an expert on its history.
I was there back in 2018 and it was still doing decent. But I can see it has gone down hill since.
@dvferyance the occupancy seemed decent to me but you can't forget about the decor, the atmosphere. That used to mean something in malls.