We almost had a dead mall but over the past 10 years they revitalized it, remodeled, added popular clothing chains, built a movie theater. They turned the food court into a Best Buy and spaced out multiple restaurants in and around the mall. I've never seen it this good
On 2/18/19 they are closing down the Victoria’s Secret store in Chapel Hill Mall. I was there this week and they were already starting to tear down displays. I heard from one of the store’s employees that sales were steady but they were having issues with the mall management so they decided to pull out.
Ugh, really? I wonder who owns this mall as of 2019? Sucky to think high rents and not being able to properly communicate with mall management issues with this mall, caused them to close here. ETA: holy crap(and ugh), it's Mike Kohan! The same guy/company, who ran Lincoln Mall in Matteson, IL into the ground, before it finally closed for good! And not to forget, later was demolished(save for now the abandoned Carson Pirie Scott/Carson's, but I bet that building won't stand abandoned for long). Horrible to hear that his company bought Chapel Hill, since he's caused a lot of other struggling malls to eventually shut down for good. Ugh, his company is just as bad as Moonbeam is, for running struggling malls into the ground before they finally have to close. :(
@@BoratWanksta Moonbeam Crapital, who owns my hometown Century III Mall (near Pittsburgh), is essentially the reincarnation of Premier Ventures, who bought Rolling Acres a good two years AFTER that mall closed and let it sit there and rot away while they fought the city tooth and nail over unpaid property taxes dating back to the PREVIOUS bogus owners...
That mall looks nicer than Rolling Acres did and it's an older mall. Those ceiling patterns look awesome in a shopping mall. Congratulations on hitting 20k. Still working on getting to 100 very slowly.
The newish front where the food court is nice from the street. The problem is that it is at the back of the mall which has a crappy street with a dead strip mall on it, leading to crappy side streets with crappy strip malls and half dead stores all around. The whole area has gone south, with only Target, Dick's, Best Buy, Home Depot and Chick-Fil-A preventing Howe Avenue from dying...
The three Akron malls, in chronological order based on when they opened: Summit Mall (circa 1966), Chapel Hill Mall (1967), and Rolling Acres (1975)...
How ironic is that though? They all ended up dying in reverse from youngest to oldest. Chapel Hill is already too far gone to be saved now. Another 6 or so years from now it'll probably have the plug pulled on it for good. Summit i give another 15/20 years max to live
I couldn't help but notice the cracks in the (terrazzo? concrete?) floors ... not a good sign. I wish there was a standardized nomenclature for malls: 1. Thriving, 2. Active, 3. Middling, 4. Troubled, 5. Declining, 6. Dying, 7. Dead, 8. Abandoned.
Love to play the game of count the empty storefronts. Nice touch. Yes this could be a smaller version of being the next Rolling Acres. If Penneys goes it's done. A mall is in trouble when an Old Navy shut downs, and they are one of the few divisions keeping Gap alive. What keeps this mall interesting are the fountains and the carousel (which I would ride definitely even though I'm 53.) I'm concerned the mall could catch on fire with those space heaters left on and unattended. I think if knocked down or they catch something plastic or paper it could be a big disaster. Keep those videos coming and you must celebrate hitting 20K subscribers.
I had that odd same thought, too! What if that space heater wasn't properly maintained, and that it caught on fire? I get it's likely to prevent pipes from freezing and to prevent mold from developing, for all I may guess though? Hopefully it's being watched carefully, by someone to prevent that from happening.
The JC Penny is closing soon!! www.wkyc.com/article/news/local/akron/jcpenney-to-close-store-at-chapel-hill-mall-in-akron-this-april/95-e81fd219-e84e-4fd3-9b7d-bb59c347a1c3
The soundtrack goes very well with the video intro. Makes me realize how good we had it in the late 80's and early 90's. I was very young at that time, and how things have changed because of online shopping. Now malls are just a place for seniors and troubled folks to hang out all day. Not at all paying customers to the mall.
Great footage. Love the Jackpot Theme at the end for CTS. All that was missing was a smiling Geoff Edwards standing by the empty storefronts. Great video. Fun To watch. Congrats on 20K Subs.
I live very close to this mall and I don’t know if you’ve been to or heard about Chapel Hill lately, but it’s on a fast decline. Penney’s is closing the Outlet store at the mall, which means it last anchor is almost gone. Back in November 2019 the electricity was going to be shut off due to non-payment by the Kohan Group. At the last minute they paid it and the mall stayed open. Right after that is the last time I went to the mall and on a Saturday afternoon there were five other patrons in the mall besides me. Everything in the food court is shut down besides Charlie’s Subs and a generic grill place that never really seems to be open. I think it’s down to having about 20 stores open, I did not count but it’s less than in this video. I know Visionworks is planning to leave as well once their new location in Cuyahoga Falls is done being remodeled. Again in January 2020, the water bill, electric bill, and property taxes were past due. The Kohan Group did not respond to the city or county and came within hours of closing. A partial payment was paid toward each and the county said they were going to put a lien on the property until the taxes were paid (I don’t know what came of that). I will warn you that they have signs posted everywhere about “no photos or video being taken, or violators will be prosecuted” around the mall, so be careful! Long story short, I’d say that Chapel Hill is officially Rolling Acres now :(
Interesting, as I took a series of photos inside Chapel Hill Mall, about a year ago and didn't have any issues. I even chatted with the security guard that was on duty, as we crossed paths a couple of times, while I was talking photos. I even included him in a couple of photos, as he was more than happy to oblige.
"Never 2 Much Of U" by Dino (1990). A kick ass B-Side, which should have been released as an A-Side single. I think it would have been a hit. Excellent Information on this Mall, and Video, too.
I grew up in Northeast Ohio in the 1990s and it was very busy back then. Not only were there companies in all of the stores but there were a bunch of kiosks throughout the mall. At Christmas, they had a huge snowman, Archie the Snowman, and kids could go across a bridge and speak into a microphone and tell Archie what they wanted for Christmas. You had to wait in line for the carousel. I haven't been back in over ten years to the mall, but I've been told by the people I grew up with that it's extremely depressing to go through now, especially knowing what it was like as a kid.
To me my local malls no longer have fun stuff to do and not aesthetically pleasing. No fountains, the play area is overpopulated with parents who don't parent, its always hot in our local malls in central Ohio which makes me not want to shop and buy, lastly I'm not trying to be mean so please no one take offense but I'm in an area where we have a lot of immigrants, they refuse to speak english and yell very loudly, they push through people and its rude . It becomes aggravating to go where people are so aggressive so then people like me just buy online instead. The outlet malls seem to be doing well which makes me think its also lack of store choices.
You're description is spot-on. The mall scene is forever changed, from that of the late 1970's to early 1990's. Stores are dropping like flies, and the traditional enclosed malls are becoming an endangered species, in the realm of retail. My kids wonder where they're going to see Santa, once the malls are gone. Sure Bass Pro or Cabelas may have Santa, but my children are very young. They don't need to see a dead Bambi mounted as a trophy, along side Santa. I have no issue with hunting, & firmly support the 2nd Amendment. That said, it doesn't seem right to mix hunting & little kids going to see Santa. Sort of like a Church next store to a Lingerie Store. They both have their place, but not necessarily next store to one another, in my opinion. As for the trolls, everyone has an opinion, and someone, somewhere is always offended about something. That being said, trolls, if you're offended by my words or my opinion, good, then I've done my job. Welcome to American, where we take great pride in our right to free speech, and protect our 1st Amendment Rights, with our 2nd Amendment Rights - The Right to Bear Arms!
Thanks for visit Ace,👌Mall is indeed dying a slow death.And to illustrate this malls cursed has been in the red for some time.On November 10th 2015 an out of state investment group from Ft.Lauderdale,Florida was flying into Akrons Fulton municipal airport not far from Chapel Hill to see this mall and possibly purchase the property.On approach to the airport to land the private chartered jet crashed due to flight crew error killing all 9 people aboard.Have not heard anything about this malls status since??
You want to do another video about soon to be dead malls in Ohio? Go to Sandusky and check out the Sandusky Mall. It's still open, but I don't know how. They've lost all of their anchors but J C Penney! Sears, Macy's, Elder Beerman, Ruby Tuesday, Charming Charlie's and MULTIPLE other smaller stores are gone. There are 4 store fronts that are mere days from closing right now. 2 jewelry stores, Kitchen Collection and a clothing store. There are more closed businesses then there are open at the Sandusky Mall. Check it out.
the REASON for all the mall closings is SIMPLE: it matches equally with the DECLINE of FAMILIES & Marriages. Once divorced/separated families don't go out & do things together like shop. Families use to go to mall all the time as an event. now it's just too many single parents and no body wants to socialize in public anymore!!! just on their damn BOXES!!! (phones)
I read where the county has begun foreclosure proceedings against the owners of Chapel Hill. I grew up around Goodyear Heights and spent so much of my youth here in the late 70's and 80's. My memories are eating at the Woolworth's counter with my Grandma, the elaborate ceilings, Archie the Snowman, the fountain, Spencer's, and just hanging with friends during high school . I was back in NE Ohio this past Christmas and wanted to go to Chapel Hill but couldn't get anyone to go with me. Almost everyone I know goes to Belden Village now which is still thriving.
It surprises me that Belden Village mall is hanging on..... once that Dave and busters opened.. it’s just a matter of time before a riot or someone gets shot in that restaurant and that mall will close
Love your videos been a subscriber for a year or so now! I wanted to let you know that in Livonia, Michigan there’s a dead mall called Laurel Park Place Mall. I used to work at the anchor store, Carson’s in there until it closed late last year. Maybe google it and see what you think, Anthony! Keep up the good work on your channel!
Once JcPenney pulls out, it's game over for this mall. Even in the last two years, the tenants have been emptying out one by one....probably letting their leases expire. The mass exodus came after Macy's pulled out, and the writing on the wall was when the mall owner defaulted on the mortgage. The peak of this mall was probably the mid 90s to around 2005-ish. It was newly remodeled with the food court, and was, for a short period of time, better off than Summit Mall, which was stuck in the doldrums of losing Halle's and Polsky's (and later Jewel Mart), and DeBartolo putting little intro the mall, except for a mid 80s remodel that made it dark and even more dated. Chapel Hill, was beginning to get "with it" despite not being touched since its opening in the 60s. Even though the planned Higbee's/Dillard's never came to be, many stores of the day came into the mall and it held it's own and beat out Summit Mall with a remodel and food court by nearly two years. Once Simon took over Summit, they poured money into it and over the next few years, put in the same new stores of the day (and then some). The last major "get" for Chapel Hill was re-developing the former Woolworth space into Gap, and when they closed, Charlotte Russe. Buchholzer/Forest City sold the mall to CBL, and they owned the mall for about a decade when they defaulted on the mortgage. Of course, by the 2000s, the neighborhood the mall was in was beginning to get sketchy (since it was in Akron itself) while the Plaza area was in Cuyahoga Falls. This, and the general economy (and state of retail) began working the slow decline....and when Rolling Acres began to go really south, some of their tenants like Wright's Menswear and Diamond Castle moved into Chapel Hill...I think both are gone now. It's only a matter of time before the mall goes under. JcPenney is in dire straits and the area around it is not helping...
Pretty soon will be the domino effect... sams club next door will close, target and Best Buy will soon to follow... the whole area of cuyahoga falls around chapel hill mall is a dump ...
I grew up right below the mall. Used to walk up there all the time in the 70's. So many memories & good times going to there with family & friends. Woolworth's, Frenchie's, the cinema, Spencer's...The number of malls in the area back then wasn't a problem. They all were booming because online shopping wasn't yet and they were fun hangouts for teens. The malls started to go down hill in the late 80's - 90's when gangs of rowdy teens started invading.
Thank you, thank you thank you for this video! I’m from here, like I said on Rolling Acres video. I worked at Steve and Barry’s when they opened in 2007, and Old Navy in 2008. I haven’t been back since I left in 2010 with my husband. The decline can also go back to their no teenagers after 5pm I believe because of vandalism and gangs. There were way too many malls we knew that. I worked at Regal Cinemas right across the street and I’d go to the food court grab my lunch on breaks when I was there. Great video yet again!!
Sounds like my husband. He worked at Steve and Barry's too briefly. When we moved away from Cuyahoga Falls we started going to Belden Village mall instead. That mall is doing well.
I would turn it into an indoor amusement centre with everything for children and adults. Imagine down scaled to a sort of carnival with all of the food and games and shops. Put in a FunZone. Indoor RC Area with themes from dirt, strip and Nascar tracks and boat racing. Imagination could be endless with a facility manager that would hunt these project. Bring in the carnival and six flags food. Change the direction of the usefulness of the facility.
This was my mall growing up, it's been going downhill for years! So many kids going there and starting fights and causing trouble. I'm honestly surprised it hasn't closed down yet.
That’s why when my dad was alive.... me and my parents stopped going to chapel hill mall due to the high crime.. still haven’t been back since... people said that the mall is closing due to amazon... bull crap
@@kevin2400 That was exactly what my did. I think the last time I went to Chapel Hill mall to actually shop was when I was in high school, a decade ago and they already seemed to be struggling. My mom would get so mad if I went there and would always tell me to park close to the doors and other people.
I've been in this mall in the early '90s a few times while going to school up the road at Kent. Wish I would have gone to Rolling Acres Mall then too :( sad to see 30 shuttered storefronts at Chapel Hill. Nice work👌
I knew someone would do this mall. My mom goes here and sometimes I go with her and I just walk around and I'm like "... damn. This mall is dead." So it was interesting to watch someone do a video on this one.
yep. Malls use to have a variety of anchors. I got my first furniture set from a store called Folley's. All of the variety was bought up and converted to Macy's. Every place has the same Dillard, JC Penney, Sears anchors. My local mall in Sumter SC is about 40% shoe and jersey stores.
James Carpenter the mall in my city has a target along with the usual. Right now I’m in Tennessee and I saw a mall with 2 anchor stores with names I didn’t recognize.
Yes, this is so true here! The same stores at so many malls, and not enough unique stores within them. I do like it when malls try something new, like for example how one Pennsylvania mall in a rural area got an antique store/flea market place(IIRC) to open up, after it lost one of its traditional anchors. I think it was at one of the Crown American owned(or once owned) malls, and those more familiar with PA malls will specifically remember which one I'm trying to think of, but forget where I heard it occurred at.
Wild Bill above⬆said it for me:Ditto🇨🇳🚢⬅🏭drive into Lorain & Elyria,Ohio and it's dead Midway Mall and really see dead💀.Mall so dead you can sit and read📖War&Peace with little disturbance.A few vlogs on you tube on what near total deindustrialization looks like here.Many,many,many"Rotting Acres"@least with so little work to do there's time to🎣nearby Lake Erie or hang @ the beach in summer🌞
As of today (not counting the anchors, kiosks, or the food court) there are 39 empty storefronts with 23 occupied. Maintenance is also declining with unaddressed roof leaks. I feel most sorry for the plants that haven't seen any attention for months if not years.
i've been waiting for someone to cover this! This place gives me the creeps. last I checked it was full of gold buying joints and a party city that moved from an easily accessible strip mall for no reason. The whole area seems eerie and abandoned
I kinda wish I was back in Kuwait. They have a massive mall there that is a mile long. It is big enough to support two multi-plex theaters, nine starbucks, and more restaurants than most towns. I would love to do a small video there.
damn. my friends and i went in there a few weeks ago and i don’t think a single store in the macy’s wing was still open except the bath and body works. it was dark and very eerie. and there was only 1 or 2 restaurants open in the food court. this mall is falling quickly.
I'm afraid Towne East Square mall in Wichita, KS could be heading this way. It's still a thriving mall (just got a new H&M about a year ago), but with Sears closing up shop early next month (I need to go film that), Payless closing up whenever, Brookstone going out, a jewelry store closing up, a small local joint that just closed up, and a food court that has one spot it just can't keep filled, I'm worried about what it may look like 5 years from now. Its sister on the other side of town, Towne West Square, could be on the chopping block, with a foreclosure announcement coming as soon as July. It only has two anchors left, a JCPenney and a Dillard's converted to a clearance store. Another mall in Topeka (West Ridge Mall) is on the same boat, with only a small handful of stores still open. The retail apocalypse is among us.
The storage facility from Rolling Acres is the same at Chapel Hill. That's where we all had to move our stuff in January of 2019. The mall is having problems paying its utilities. The storage company isn't affiliated with the mall. They own their part.
I'm surprised that you didn't mention the smell of the mall, in certain areas the mildew-y smell is overwhelming. They actually have a sign up by the old Macy's reassuring customers that the mall was not closing! I've never seen something like it in a dead mall before. Or maybe I just haven't been to too many dead malls.
@@AcesAdventures1 I'll take it. I'm cleaning my dad's attic so a mask would be nice. I found a stuffed bear from the Twigbee Shop from Higbees. Probably from 1986 or so. Brand new with tags and all in a Higbees bag. Old mall stuff indeed.
Crime killed Chapel Hill mall. The city busses used to stop at the JC Penney and there were always crowds of sketchy types hanging out. Crimes in the parking lots went up and up and I would only go to Chapel Hill in the middle of the day on a week day. I didn't feel comfortable parking my car there, and only went there for the Macys. That was pretty much the only store worth going to at that point. When Macys left, I stopped going...
If a mall is striving in spite of it's problems, it should do well in the future as long as the owner and manager keeps busting their butts. A mall owner in Madisonville Kentucky is known to put in a new store as soon as one leaves. Like when Penny's moved out she put in a new theater antique store and a new restaurant in it's place. Pebble just left and Goodman's moved into the spot. This mail is at 50 percent.
Same owner who is running Great Northern Mall in Clay, NY (Another Dead Mall). That mall currently owes 3M in back taxes. They also own another 12 dead malls across the country that either have back taxes or unpaid bills. I doubt that Chapel Hill, Great Northern Mall, or all 12 other malls are gonna make it past 5 more years.
It's very sad to see chapel Hill Mall look like that I have a lot of childhood memories there I still shop at JC Penney any chance I get to save that store
It’s so sad seeing this mall die as I spent most of my time hanging out here since I was little and just stopped hanging out here last year. We go to Summit mall now..
Man i remember the 1st time i went to Chapel Hill Mall was back in 2001 around the summertime just before the events of 9/11 i remember FYE(the music store)being right near sbarros in the food court area CHM was booming back them i was shocked when the closed down the pretzel shop that gold & diamonds store a few years ago was a best buy store(only for cell phones,iphones,smartphones etc etc)the cookie shop in the mall closed i guess it might've been a few weeks back cause the last time i went up there it was open i recall their being a gamestop up there until a few years back now it's game exchange shop where back in 2015 i decided to put a PS4(the original model)in the layaway as a xmas present to myself got it out of layaway around jan 2016 i keep saying if Jcpennys closes up shop chapel hill is done........
Not sure if it was mentioned but the car dealership across the street has decided to use most of the parking at the main entrance to store their vehicles. The mall looks busy from a distance, but we all know it isnt lol.
this reminds me of a mall in north carolina in chapel hill not much shops and the only thing holding it up is the movie theater thats 5 stars in my opinion
@ 4:40. Overmalled. Similar to what you and me have seen over years ace. Thruway mall, como mall, Walden Galleria, eastern hills, McKinley, boulevard mall, etc. It's great to have choices but too many is unhealthy, I think.
And This Mall still got lots of Alive Content going on but I want to let you know Thy just told Ann Taylor H&M And is also Closeing it's a small Store front in the mall so be look out for those soon Charlotte Russe as well
Anthony, what song is that playing in the background when you first start the video? I really love that song and I want to buy it off of iTunes. Thanks so very much!!!! Take care and stay awesome!!! 👍🏻😬
Rolling Acres wasn't just a dead mall. It was thee dead mall, the most infamous dead mall in America after "Dixie Square" was demolished. No other dead mall had the creep factor that Rolling Acres did. To be the next Rolling Acres the mall has to be left to rot for at least 4 or 5 years at a minimum. Most Malls in the current economy get torn down shortly after they close so there is no decay phase. Does anyone know of any malls like Rolling Acres or Dixie Square used to be. Are there any malls currently that look like they came out of a zombie apocalypse. It is about the state of ruination and decay. That is what makes them interesting.
I was watching this guy named Dan Bell and he visited this mall called the Frederick Town Mall. Even in 2015, two years after the closing of the mall, the mall looked creepy. Now it’s probably rolling acres or Dixie square level
Look up pictures of Winrock Mall in Albuquerque New Mexico. Although it never really got to the decayed look, it's a really weird mall. It has a weird vibe to it.
It’s so sad, the reality of malls are starting to become more scarce. Yes it’s overmalled but I think that’s slowly going to change. If malls don’t change with the times, they will all fall. Even though they’re successful ones, but for how long though? Such a sad fact.
The issue is with the anchors. JC Penney, Dillards, Sears, and Macy's are all dying brands. Also all of them are too heavy on softlines, which can be found in other bargain department store chains (TJ Maxx, etc).
It's one of those animal things, that a parent can rent for a kid to drive around in while inside the mall. I've also noticed those small train things, at certain malls as well(i.e. Lincolnwood Town Center, Stratford Square). It's still weird to see those train things or those animal things, but I guess if some like them, and it makes money for the mall's owner, good for them I guess.
We almost had a dead mall but over the past 10 years they revitalized it, remodeled, added popular clothing chains, built a movie theater. They turned the food court into a Best Buy and spaced out multiple restaurants in and around the mall. I've never seen it this good
here's hoping they do chapel hill that way. i went to chapel hill as a little kid. we do not need ankther randall park mall or rolling acres.
On 2/18/19 they are closing down the Victoria’s Secret store in Chapel Hill Mall. I was there this week and they were already starting to tear down displays. I heard from one of the store’s employees that sales were steady but they were having issues with the mall management so they decided to pull out.
Ugh, really? I wonder who owns this mall as of 2019? Sucky to think high rents and not being able to properly communicate with mall management issues with this mall, caused them to close here.
ETA: holy crap(and ugh), it's Mike Kohan! The same guy/company, who ran Lincoln Mall in Matteson, IL into the ground, before it finally closed for good! And not to forget, later was demolished(save for now the abandoned Carson Pirie Scott/Carson's, but I bet that building won't stand abandoned for long). Horrible to hear that his company bought Chapel Hill, since he's caused a lot of other struggling malls to eventually shut down for good. Ugh, his company is just as bad as Moonbeam is, for running struggling malls into the ground before they finally have to close. :(
@@BoratWanksta Moonbeam Crapital, who owns my hometown Century III Mall (near Pittsburgh), is essentially the reincarnation of Premier Ventures, who bought Rolling Acres a good two years AFTER that mall closed and let it sit there and rot away while they fought the city tooth and nail over unpaid property taxes dating back to the PREVIOUS bogus owners...
That mall looks nicer than Rolling Acres did and it's an older mall. Those ceiling patterns look awesome in a shopping mall. Congratulations on hitting 20k. Still working on getting to 100 very slowly.
Awesome...I'd give it probably another few years...it's not terribly healthy. COUNT THE STOREFRONTS!
Hey Sal!!! Been waiting for your new expedition logs
I love the outside of the mall has to retro white arches. The inside of the celing has those retro designs. Nice video!
I love those. Looks like the Higbees entrance of Randall Park Mall.
The newish front where the food court is nice from the street. The problem is that it is at the back of the mall which has a crappy street with a dead strip mall on it, leading to crappy side streets with crappy strip malls and half dead stores all around. The whole area has gone south, with only Target, Dick's, Best Buy, Home Depot and Chick-Fil-A preventing Howe Avenue from dying...
The three Akron malls, in chronological order based on when they opened: Summit Mall (circa 1966), Chapel Hill Mall (1967), and Rolling Acres (1975)...
How ironic is that though? They all ended up dying in reverse from youngest to oldest. Chapel Hill is already too far gone to be saved now. Another 6 or so years from now it'll probably have the plug pulled on it for good. Summit i give another 15/20 years max to live
I couldn't help but notice the cracks in the (terrazzo? concrete?) floors ... not a good sign. I wish there was a standardized nomenclature for malls: 1. Thriving, 2. Active, 3. Middling, 4. Troubled, 5. Declining, 6. Dying, 7. Dead, 8. Abandoned.
Hair dresser in the intro is a secret dead mall enthusiast.
@Diego Lukas I wish I could delete both these messages because clearly they are bots.
JC Penney sign look a bit different, even though it’s the same font, the lettering appears to be slightly skinnier than what you normally see. @1:54
Love to play the game of count the empty storefronts. Nice touch.
Yes this could be a smaller version of being the next Rolling Acres. If Penneys goes it's done. A mall is in trouble when an Old Navy shut downs, and they are one of the few divisions keeping Gap alive. What keeps this mall interesting are the fountains and the carousel (which I would ride definitely even though I'm 53.)
I'm concerned the mall could catch on fire with those space heaters left on and unattended. I think if knocked down or they catch something plastic or paper it could be a big disaster.
Keep those videos coming and you must celebrate hitting 20K subscribers.
I had that odd same thought, too! What if that space heater wasn't properly maintained, and that it caught on fire? I get it's likely to prevent pipes from freezing and to prevent mold from developing, for all I may guess though? Hopefully it's being watched carefully, by someone to prevent that from happening.
The JC Penny is closing soon!!
www.wkyc.com/article/news/local/akron/jcpenney-to-close-store-at-chapel-hill-mall-in-akron-this-april/95-e81fd219-e84e-4fd3-9b7d-bb59c347a1c3
Here in New Zealand this would be considered a very good mall and would be super busy.
The soundtrack goes very well with the video intro. Makes me realize how good we had it in the late 80's and early 90's. I was very young at that time, and how things have changed because of online shopping. Now malls are just a place for seniors and troubled folks to hang out all day. Not at all paying customers to the mall.
Great footage. Love the Jackpot Theme at the end for CTS. All that was missing was a smiling Geoff Edwards standing by the empty storefronts. Great video. Fun To watch. Congrats on 20K Subs.
I live very close to this mall and I don’t know if you’ve been to or heard about Chapel Hill lately, but it’s on a fast decline.
Penney’s is closing the Outlet store at the mall, which means it last anchor is almost gone. Back in November 2019 the electricity was going to be shut off due to non-payment by the Kohan Group. At the last minute they paid it and the mall stayed open. Right after that is the last time I went to the mall and on a Saturday afternoon there were five other patrons in the mall besides me. Everything in the food court is shut down besides Charlie’s Subs and a generic grill place that never really seems to be open. I think it’s down to having about 20 stores open, I did not count but it’s less than in this video. I know Visionworks is planning to leave as well once their new location in Cuyahoga Falls is done being remodeled.
Again in January 2020, the water bill, electric bill, and property taxes were past due. The Kohan Group did not respond to the city or county and came within hours of closing. A partial payment was paid toward each and the county said they were going to put a lien on the property until the taxes were paid (I don’t know what came of that).
I will warn you that they have signs posted everywhere about “no photos or video being taken, or violators will be prosecuted” around the mall, so be careful!
Long story short, I’d say that Chapel Hill is officially Rolling Acres now :(
Interesting, as I took a series of photos inside Chapel Hill Mall, about a year ago and didn't have any issues. I even chatted with the security guard that was on duty, as we crossed paths a couple of times, while I was talking photos. I even included him in a couple of photos, as he was more than happy to oblige.
HAH! Count Those Storefronts!! Amazing! The music totally makes it.
Vaporware music! Awesome video! Ace adventures should visit some struggling malls in SoFlo.The 163rd Street Mall.
Loved the game show bit. That was cool!
"Never 2 Much Of U" by Dino (1990). A kick ass B-Side, which should have been released as an A-Side single. I think it would have been a hit. Excellent Information on this Mall, and Video, too.
Thank you for another excellent video as always. Be safe . Have a great Valentines Day . Love patty morrow
Drone shot + background music = everything
I have been to this mall before when I was little aw it brings back the memories thanks for filming the mall
I like the history about the mall, you give.
I grew up in Northeast Ohio in the 1990s and it was very busy back then. Not only were there companies in all of the stores but there were a bunch of kiosks throughout the mall. At Christmas, they had a huge snowman, Archie the Snowman, and kids could go across a bridge and speak into a microphone and tell Archie what they wanted for Christmas. You had to wait in line for the carousel. I haven't been back in over ten years to the mall, but I've been told by the people I grew up with that it's extremely depressing to go through now, especially knowing what it was like as a kid.
To me my local malls no longer have fun stuff to do and not aesthetically pleasing. No fountains, the play area is overpopulated with parents who don't parent, its always hot in our local malls in central Ohio which makes me not want to shop and buy, lastly I'm not trying to be mean so please no one take offense but I'm in an area where we have a lot of immigrants, they refuse to speak english and yell very loudly, they push through people and its rude . It becomes aggravating to go where people are so aggressive so then people like me just buy online instead. The outlet malls seem to be doing well which makes me think its also lack of store choices.
That upscale outlet mall just north of Columbus is pretty nice. Plus it's a cheap excuse to go to Columbus for lunch.
@@itszyou7528 That's very rude of you to say
You're description is spot-on. The mall scene is forever changed, from that of the late 1970's to early 1990's. Stores are dropping like flies, and the traditional enclosed malls are becoming an endangered species, in the realm of retail. My kids wonder where they're going to see Santa, once the malls are gone. Sure Bass Pro or Cabelas may have Santa, but my children are very young. They don't need to see a dead Bambi mounted as a trophy, along side Santa. I have no issue with hunting, & firmly support the 2nd Amendment. That said, it doesn't seem right to mix hunting & little kids going to see Santa. Sort of like a Church next store to a Lingerie Store. They both have their place, but not necessarily next store to one another, in my opinion.
As for the trolls, everyone has an opinion, and someone, somewhere is always offended about something. That being said, trolls, if you're offended by my words or my opinion, good, then I've done my job. Welcome to American, where we take great pride in our right to free speech, and protect our 1st Amendment Rights, with our 2nd Amendment Rights - The Right to Bear Arms!
I walked in a game store for literally 5 mins and no one was around to wait on me weird
@@itszyou7528 with all do respect go fuk urself
Curious....When you are filming, do you somehow conceal your camera? Wondering why folks don’t seem to notice that you’re filming. 🧐
Thanks for visit Ace,👌Mall is indeed dying a slow death.And to illustrate this malls cursed has been in the red for some time.On November 10th 2015 an out of state investment group from Ft.Lauderdale,Florida was flying into Akrons Fulton municipal airport not far from Chapel Hill to see this mall and possibly purchase the property.On approach to the airport to land the private chartered jet crashed due to flight crew error killing all 9 people aboard.Have not heard anything about this malls status since??
You want to do another video about soon to be dead malls in Ohio? Go to Sandusky and check out the Sandusky Mall. It's still open, but I don't know how. They've lost all of their anchors but J C Penney! Sears, Macy's, Elder Beerman, Ruby Tuesday, Charming Charlie's and MULTIPLE other smaller stores are gone. There are 4 store fronts that are mere days from closing right now. 2 jewelry stores, Kitchen Collection and a clothing store. There are more closed businesses then there are open at the Sandusky Mall. Check it out.
the REASON for all the mall closings is SIMPLE: it matches equally with the DECLINE of FAMILIES & Marriages. Once divorced/separated families don't go out & do things together like shop. Families use to go to mall all the time as an event. now it's just too many single parents and no body wants to socialize in public anymore!!! just on their damn BOXES!!! (phones)
Yeah I guess it's just easier to go to Walmart or to order on Amazon.
I read where the county has begun foreclosure proceedings against the owners of Chapel Hill. I grew up around Goodyear Heights and spent so much of my youth here in the late 70's and 80's. My memories are eating at the Woolworth's counter with my Grandma, the elaborate ceilings, Archie the Snowman, the fountain, Spencer's, and just hanging with friends during high school . I was back in NE Ohio this past Christmas and wanted to go to Chapel Hill but couldn't get anyone to go with me. Almost everyone I know goes to Belden Village now which is still thriving.
It surprises me that Belden Village mall is hanging on..... once that Dave and busters opened.. it’s just a matter of time before a riot or someone gets shot in that restaurant and that mall will close
Bruhh I thought this was the Chapel Hill Mall in North Carolina
Nope... this mall is in Akron OH; the mall in Chapel Hill NC is called University Mall...
Love your videos been a subscriber for a year or so now! I wanted to let you know that in Livonia, Michigan there’s a dead mall called Laurel Park Place Mall. I used to work at the anchor store, Carson’s in there until it closed late last year. Maybe google it and see what you think, Anthony! Keep up the good work on your channel!
Once JcPenney pulls out, it's game over for this mall. Even in the last two years, the tenants have been emptying out one by one....probably letting their leases expire. The mass exodus came after Macy's pulled out, and the writing on the wall was when the mall owner defaulted on the mortgage.
The peak of this mall was probably the mid 90s to around 2005-ish. It was newly remodeled with the food court, and was, for a short period of time, better off than Summit Mall, which was stuck in the doldrums of losing Halle's and Polsky's (and later Jewel Mart), and DeBartolo putting little intro the mall, except for a mid 80s remodel that made it dark and even more dated. Chapel Hill, was beginning to get "with it" despite not being touched since its opening in the 60s. Even though the planned Higbee's/Dillard's never came to be, many stores of the day came into the mall and it held it's own and beat out Summit Mall with a remodel and food court by nearly two years.
Once Simon took over Summit, they poured money into it and over the next few years, put in the same new stores of the day (and then some). The last major "get" for Chapel Hill was re-developing the former Woolworth space into Gap, and when they closed, Charlotte Russe. Buchholzer/Forest City sold the mall to CBL, and they owned the mall for about a decade when they defaulted on the mortgage. Of course, by the 2000s, the neighborhood the mall was in was beginning to get sketchy (since it was in Akron itself) while the Plaza area was in Cuyahoga Falls.
This, and the general economy (and state of retail) began working the slow decline....and when Rolling Acres began to go really south, some of their tenants like Wright's Menswear and Diamond Castle moved into Chapel Hill...I think both are gone now.
It's only a matter of time before the mall goes under. JcPenney is in dire straits and the area around it is not helping...
Pretty soon will be the domino effect... sams club next door will close, target and Best Buy will soon to follow... the whole area of cuyahoga falls around chapel hill mall is a dump ...
I grew up right below the mall. Used to walk up there all the time in the 70's. So many memories & good times going to there with family & friends. Woolworth's, Frenchie's, the cinema, Spencer's...The number of malls in the area back then wasn't a problem. They all were booming because online shopping wasn't yet and they were fun hangouts for teens. The malls started to go down hill in the late 80's - 90's when gangs of rowdy teens started invading.
Thank you, thank you thank you for this video! I’m from here, like I said on Rolling Acres video. I worked at Steve and Barry’s when they opened in 2007, and Old Navy in 2008. I haven’t been back since I left in 2010 with my husband. The decline can also go back to their no teenagers after 5pm I believe because of vandalism and gangs. There were way too many malls we knew that. I worked at Regal Cinemas right across the street and I’d go to the food court grab my lunch on breaks when I was there. Great video yet again!!
Beth 1986 I was hoping for it, even though I don’t live in the United States.
Sounds like my husband. He worked at Steve and Barry's too briefly. When we moved away from Cuyahoga Falls we started going to Belden Village mall instead. That mall is doing well.
The interior of the Chapel Hill sports store looked like it was a former Waldenbooks.
I would turn it into an indoor amusement centre with everything for children and adults. Imagine down scaled to a sort of carnival with all of the food and games and shops. Put in a FunZone. Indoor RC Area with themes from dirt, strip and Nascar tracks and boat racing. Imagination could be endless with a facility manager that would hunt these project. Bring in the carnival and six flags food. Change the direction of the usefulness of the facility.
This was my mall growing up, it's been going downhill for years! So many kids going there and starting fights and causing trouble. I'm honestly surprised it hasn't closed down yet.
That’s why when my dad was alive.... me and my parents stopped going to chapel hill mall due to the high crime.. still haven’t been back since... people said that the mall is closing due to amazon... bull crap
@@kevin2400 That was exactly what my did. I think the last time I went to Chapel Hill mall to actually shop was when I was in high school, a decade ago and they already seemed to be struggling. My mom would get so mad if I went there and would always tell me to park close to the doors and other people.
I'm honestly surprised that it's even still(barely) living. I thought for sure the pandemic would've been the death it
Indian burial ground. What comes back from there aint the same.
love the "count those store fronts"
I've been in this mall in the early '90s a few times while going to school up the road at Kent. Wish I would have gone to Rolling Acres Mall then too :( sad to see 30 shuttered storefronts at Chapel Hill. Nice work👌
I like the 'count the storefronts' feature!
I knew someone would do this mall. My mom goes here and sometimes I go with her and I just walk around and I'm like "... damn. This mall is dead." So it was interesting to watch someone do a video on this one.
The Sbarro is closed now, along with even more stores and others in the food court
I still like malls, but I hate how they all have the same stores. I’m from Long Island and we have all the same retailers as this mall.
yep. Malls use to have a variety of anchors. I got my first furniture set from a store called Folley's. All of the variety was bought up and converted to Macy's. Every place has the same Dillard, JC Penney, Sears anchors. My local mall in Sumter SC is about 40% shoe and jersey stores.
James Carpenter the mall in my city has a target along with the usual. Right now I’m in Tennessee and I saw a mall with 2 anchor stores with names I didn’t recognize.
Yes, this is so true here! The same stores at so many malls, and not enough unique stores within them. I do like it when malls try something new, like for example how one Pennsylvania mall in a rural area got an antique store/flea market place(IIRC) to open up, after it lost one of its traditional anchors. I think it was at one of the Crown American owned(or once owned) malls, and those more familiar with PA malls will specifically remember which one I'm trying to think of, but forget where I heard it occurred at.
This mall is like the whole state of Ohio.
Totally
You could probably say that about a lot of states now. Ship industry and manufacturing out of the country and this is one of the results.
Wild Bill above⬆said it for me:Ditto🇨🇳🚢⬅🏭drive into Lorain & Elyria,Ohio and it's dead Midway Mall and really see dead💀.Mall so dead you can sit and read📖War&Peace with little disturbance.A few vlogs on you tube on what near total deindustrialization looks like here.Many,many,many"Rotting Acres"@least with so little work to do there's time to🎣nearby Lake Erie or hang @ the beach in summer🌞
Columbus is the one exception (growing at a rapid pace).
@@overbanked:True that,Cbus the lone exception👌and is now Ohio's largest city.
As of today (not counting the anchors, kiosks, or the food court) there are 39 empty storefronts with 23 occupied. Maintenance is also declining with unaddressed roof leaks. I feel most sorry for the plants that haven't seen any attention for months if not years.
Very cool video Anthony. I'm about 25 mins from Akron area. I been meaning to stop at Chapel Hill and Summit mall.
I loved this mall when I went to it back in 2016, it’s gorgeous and was very much alive at the time. I hope Chapel Hill lasts!
Liked count those store fronts. Maybe next time count both the closed stores and occupied/open stores. We can guess which there's more of.
Thanks for filming the mall it brings back the memories
i've been waiting for someone to cover this! This place gives me the creeps. last I checked it was full of gold buying joints and a party city that moved from an easily accessible strip mall for no reason. The whole area seems eerie and abandoned
IIRC the party city may have move because the Giant Eagle (a regional grocer) in the strip plaza decided to expand around 2010 or 2011
I kinda wish I was back in Kuwait. They have a massive mall there that is a mile long. It is big enough to support two multi-plex theaters, nine starbucks, and more restaurants than most towns. I would love to do a small video there.
damn. my friends and i went in there a few weeks ago and i don’t think a single store in the macy’s wing was still open except the bath and body works. it was dark and very eerie. and there was only 1 or 2 restaurants open in the food court. this mall is falling quickly.
I'm afraid Towne East Square mall in Wichita, KS could be heading this way. It's still a thriving mall (just got a new H&M about a year ago), but with Sears closing up shop early next month (I need to go film that), Payless closing up whenever, Brookstone going out, a jewelry store closing up, a small local joint that just closed up, and a food court that has one spot it just can't keep filled, I'm worried about what it may look like 5 years from now. Its sister on the other side of town, Towne West Square, could be on the chopping block, with a foreclosure announcement coming as soon as July. It only has two anchors left, a JCPenney and a Dillard's converted to a clearance store. Another mall in Topeka (West Ridge Mall) is on the same boat, with only a small handful of stores still open. The retail apocalypse is among us.
The storage facility from Rolling Acres is the same at Chapel Hill. That's where we all had to move our stuff in January of 2019. The mall is having problems paying its utilities. The storage company isn't affiliated with the mall. They own their part.
I'm surprised that you didn't mention the smell of the mall, in certain areas the mildew-y smell is overwhelming. They actually have a sign up by the old Macy's reassuring customers that the mall was not closing! I've never seen something like it in a dead mall before. Or maybe I just haven't been to too many dead malls.
If you guessed 30 come up and collect your fabulous invisible prize.
Wild Bill lol a free mold mask
@@AcesAdventures1 I'll take it. I'm cleaning my dad's attic so a mask would be nice. I found a stuffed bear from the Twigbee Shop from Higbees. Probably from 1986 or so. Brand new with tags and all in a Higbees bag. Old mall stuff indeed.
Another awesome video
Great video! Thank you!
Crime killed Chapel Hill mall. The city busses used to stop at the JC Penney and there were always crowds of sketchy types hanging out. Crimes in the parking lots went up and up and I would only go to Chapel Hill in the middle of the day on a week day. I didn't feel comfortable parking my car there, and only went there for the Macys. That was pretty much the only store worth going to at that point. When Macys left, I stopped going...
If a mall is striving in spite of it's problems, it should do well in the future as long as the owner and manager keeps busting their butts.
A mall owner in Madisonville Kentucky is known to put in a new store as soon as one leaves. Like when Penny's moved out she put in a new theater antique store and a new restaurant in it's place. Pebble just left and Goodman's moved into the spot. This mail is at 50 percent.
Did you obtain any footage from inside the Macy's?
Same owner who is running Great Northern Mall in Clay, NY (Another Dead Mall). That mall currently owes 3M in back taxes. They also own another 12 dead malls across the country that either have back taxes or unpaid bills. I doubt that Chapel Hill, Great Northern Mall, or all 12 other malls are gonna make it past 5 more years.
Kicking it with the Dino intro
I hear once you enter you can never leave?
@Liam Mihailovic Done with what, Done with what ? I been stuck here for a month the exit keeps disappearing and people ignore me.
Love the 80’s music
I remember riding my bike up to this mall with my sister all the time.
It's very sad to see chapel Hill Mall look like that I have a lot of childhood memories there I still shop at JC Penney any chance I get to save that store
much compelling, so polish!
Love the music !
It’s so sad seeing this mall die as I spent most of my time hanging out here since I was little and just stopped hanging out here last year. We go to Summit mall now..
There’s a mall in my hometown ( Marion Centre Mall) that I don’t even know how it’s still open. But sad to see malls die.
Man i remember the 1st time i went to Chapel Hill Mall was back in 2001 around the summertime just before the events of 9/11 i remember FYE(the music store)being right near sbarros in the food court area CHM was booming back them i was shocked when the closed down the pretzel shop that gold & diamonds store a few years ago was a best buy store(only for cell phones,iphones,smartphones etc etc)the cookie shop in the mall closed i guess it might've been a few weeks back cause the last time i went up there it was open i recall their being a gamestop up there until a few years back now it's game exchange shop where back in 2015 i decided to put a PS4(the original model)in the layaway as a xmas present to myself got it out of layaway around jan 2016 i keep saying if Jcpennys closes up shop chapel hill is done........
You are correct.. the JC Penney font is very unusual...
Awesome video (Subscribed)
ladrena davis welcome!
I love the game show 🤣
This one reminds me a lot of my local mall. Except we still have Sears and Macys.
Not sure if it was mentioned but the car dealership across the street has decided to use most of the parking at the main entrance to store their vehicles. The mall looks busy from a distance, but we all know it isnt lol.
this reminds me of a mall in north carolina in chapel hill not much shops and the only thing holding it up is the movie theater thats 5 stars in my opinion
MY CHILDHOOD!!!!
@ 4:40. Overmalled. Similar to what you and me have seen over years ace. Thruway mall, como mall, Walden Galleria, eastern hills, McKinley, boulevard mall, etc. It's great to have choices but too many is unhealthy, I think.
As someone who lives in Buffalo, yes, totally agree with this. Too much competition with not enough variance between malls
That JCPenny has an odd signage. I know I'm the goof who notices fonts.
I also noticed this. It almost looks like a parody to me
nope, i noticed it too. it actually hurts to look at having seen the normal logo for so long.
And This Mall still got lots of Alive Content going on but I want to let you know Thy just told Ann Taylor H&M And is also Closeing it's a small Store front in the mall so be look out for those soon Charlotte Russe as well
The motorized pig at 2:51 is the mallest thing ever.
Lidz Hat Store Close To In Chapa Hill Mall I use To Stay On Brittian Rd Next To Club Georgie I Back In Houston Tx
Did you talk to anyone that is running the Mall in hopes to safe it?
OK, it's driving me crazy...What's the 70s game show theme played during the empty storefront countdown? Thanks in advance!!
Thank you. Being a game show geek it was driving me crazy.
At 2:52, just another typical mall patron riding an orange elephant. Pay no mind.....
Wait. What? I don't recall ever seeing that in a mall before. Nothing to see here. Move along.
Medical Marijuana is legal in Ohio now😳pay no mind,you only THOUGHT you saw a young woman riding an orange elephant.🐘💁KUSH💨
Anthony, what song is that playing in the background when you first start the video? I really love that song and I want to buy it off of iTunes.
Thanks so very much!!!! Take care and stay awesome!!! 👍🏻😬
Macy's closed in 2016.
Sears closed in 2017.
JCPenney closed in 2020.
Rolling Acres wasn't just a dead mall. It was thee dead mall, the most infamous dead mall in America after "Dixie Square" was demolished. No other dead mall had the creep factor that Rolling Acres did. To be the next Rolling Acres the mall has to be left to rot for at least 4 or 5 years at a minimum. Most Malls in the current economy get torn down shortly after they close so there is no decay phase.
Does anyone know of any malls like Rolling Acres or Dixie Square used to be. Are there any malls currently that look like they came out of a zombie apocalypse. It is about the state of ruination and decay. That is what makes them interesting.
I was watching this guy named Dan Bell and he visited this mall called the Frederick Town Mall. Even in 2015, two years after the closing of the mall, the mall looked creepy. Now it’s probably rolling acres or Dixie square level
Look up pictures of Winrock Mall in Albuquerque New Mexico. Although it never really got to the decayed look, it's a really weird mall. It has a weird vibe to it.
Northland mall, Jamestown mall, summit place mall Westland mall
I think Century III is the next Rolling Acres.
Yes, I hope this becomes like Rolling Acres.
I hope not, ;~;
Why?
why?????? btw rolling acres is tore down all the way now. and amazon is taking it over same for the razed randall park mall now.
@@brandonplaisted8194 why would you hope something closes that still employs hundreds of people
@@bubbalou2460 what???? dude rolling acres has been dismantled for yrs now. same for randall park mall.
It’s so sad, the reality of malls are starting to become more scarce. Yes it’s overmalled but I think that’s slowly going to change. If malls don’t change with the times, they will all fall. Even though they’re successful ones, but for how long though? Such a sad fact.
The issue is with the anchors. JC Penney, Dillards, Sears, and Macy's are all dying brands. Also all of them are too heavy on softlines, which can be found in other bargain department store chains (TJ Maxx, etc).
i used to live near it about 7 years ago and it was starting to get sketchy
It doesn't look totally dead yet. Rumor is ALL the Payless Shoes will be closing soon
They are closing all north America and Canada stores by may 2019
I live a round this mall and just the other week the bank is disiding for a forcloser
used to go here a lot my teen years and into my twenties..... sad to see it like this
Um, what was that thing the little girl was “driving” in the mall near beginning of interior view?
It's one of those animal things, that a parent can rent for a kid to drive around in while inside the mall. I've also noticed those small train things, at certain malls as well(i.e. Lincolnwood Town Center, Stratford Square). It's still weird to see those train things or those animal things, but I guess if some like them, and it makes money for the mall's owner, good for them I guess.
Wow, never seen those here in the Midwest, thanks for the input!
in the count the empty storefronts theme...is that....the JAckpot theme?