Grande Boulevard Mall (Florida)

Grande Boulevard Mall

Location	Jacksonville, Florida, United States
Coordinates	30°13′20.10″N 81°33′12.91″W
Address	9911 Old Baymeadows Road
Opened	November 17, 1983
Closed	1994
Developer	National Capital Investments
Stores	65
Anchor tenants	1
Floor area	289,000 sq ft (26,800 m2)
Floors	2

Grande Boulevard Mall was an enclosed shopping mall in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. It opened on November 17, 1983, near Baymeadows Road and Southside Boulevard, and was anchored by Jacobson's.

The property was sold in 1994 to Florida Community College at Jacksonville, later Florida State College at Jacksonville, and converted into the Deerwood Center campus. Jacobson’s remained open until 2002.

History

Grande Boulevard Mall was announced in 1982 by National Capital Investments. The project was planned as a two-story, 289,000 sq ft (26,800 m²) mall with 65 retailers and an 80,000 sq ft (7,400 m²) Jacobson's department store.

The mall opened with 65 retailers. By 1986, 24 stores remained open. By 1988, more than half of the mall’s leasable retail space was vacant.

According to The Jaxson, Grande Boulevard Mall was developed to target Jacksonville’s growing upscale suburban retail market, but its high-end positioning was later described as too ritzy for the local market.

The Avenues opened in Jacksonville in 1990. In 1994, Grande Boulevard Mall was sold to Florida Community College at Jacksonville for $4 million, excluding the Jacobson's store. The former mall space was converted into classrooms, offices and common areas. By 1995, it had become FCCJ Open Campus Deerwood Center.

Jacobson’s continued operating until 2002, when the chain filed for bankruptcy. The former mall is now part of Florida State College at Jacksonville's Deerwood Center.