Riverchase Galleria

Address: 3000 Riverchase Galleria, Birmingham, AL, 35244

Hours:

10:00 - 21:00 ( Mon - Sat )  12:00 - 18:00 ( Sun )  

Riverchase Galleria, locally known as The Galleria, is a large super regional shopping mall in the Birmingham suburb of Hoover, Alabama. It is managed and partially owned by General Growth Properties and is Alabama's largest enclosed shopping center with 1.9 million square feet of total retail floor area. The Riverchase Galleria is one of the state's most popular tourist destinations attracting customers from the neighboring states of Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, and Tennessee.

Located at the intersection of US 31 (Montgomery Highway) and Interstate 459, the Riverchase Galleria complex includes the two-level Galleria Mall, the 15-story, 330-room Wynfrey Hotel, and the 17-story, 285,000 square foot Galleria Tower office building located in the mall's Center Court. The style of the Riverchase Galleria is modeled after the Houston Galleria.

The Galleria is part of the Riverchase planned development that includes a residential community and a business community located in the southern part of the city of Hoover. Riverchase was annexed into Hoover in September 1980, although it is still a part of the Birmingham Metropolitan Area.

"The Galleria", as it is locally known, was opened on February 19, 1986 by developer Jim Wilson & Associates. Initially 1.2 million square feet with four anchor stores, JC Penney, Parisian, Pizitz, and Rich's, in March 1987, the mall added its first Macy's store at center court; marking that company's very first location in the Birmingham market. Also in 1987 Alabama's homegrown Pizitz department stores were acquired by McRae's of Jackson, Mississippi, and subsequently renamed. In 1995 Parisian expanded their store by almost two-thirds, while in 1996 Sears and a new wing were added, making Riverchase Galleria a total 1.9 million square feet in size. The expansion made it the largest mixed-use project in the Southeast and one of the top 10 largest mixed-use projects in the United States.

In 2003, the mall began to feel the effects of department store consolidation when the Macy's anchor store closed, while the Rich's location was renamed Rich's-Macy's. The former Macy's location was sold at that time to Saks Incorporated, by then the parent of McRae's and Parisian. Saks kept the unit vacant for over a year before reopening the refurbished store in October 2004 under its Proffitt's division, giving the company three different anchors at Riverchase. On March 6, 2005 the Rich's-Macy's organization dropped the Rich's from its name and became simply Macy's. Later in 2005, Saks sold its Proffitt's division and most of the McRae's chain to Belk, and as a result Saks closed the 131,000 sq ft. McRae's store. Belk dissolved the separate Proffitt's organization and on March 8, 2006, officially converted the chain and its Riverchase location to Belk.

In late 2003, Jim Wilson & Associates (JW&A) sold 50% of the Galleria to General Growth Properties (GGP), which assumed management control. GGP also bought outright another JW&A property, the Mall of Louisiana, and is currently developing a new lifestyle center in Macon, Georgia with JW&A.

In 2006, Belk acquired the Parisian stores from Saks Incorporated. Additionally, the former McRae's location simultaneously became available for occupancy (having sat empty as a result of a lawsuit between the Pizitz family (which had retained ownership of the store real estate after its sale in 1987) and Saks Incorporated (which inherited the lease obligations of its defunct McRae's operation). As part of its merger of the Parisian stores into its operations, Belk closed its current location at the Riverchase Galleria, in favor of the former Parisian. The former McRae's has since been converted to a Belk Home Store. General Growth Properties has agreed to purchase the former Belk/Proffitt's/Macy's location and has only announced they are formulating plans to build an open-air department store-anchored streetscape addition with the earliest possible open date in 2011 or after. Belk celebrated the grand opening of its Home Store which took place on November 14, 2007 in the upper floor of the former McRae's.

Currently, the Galleria has 200 stores and restaurants and is anchored by 5 department stores (J.C. Penney, Belk (2 locations), Macy's, and Sears). There are two parking decks located on the property (attached to various mall entrances) of The Galleria providing approximately 5,000 total parking spaces.

Located on the Galleria property on outparcels are several restaurants including California Pizza Kitchen, Ted's Montana Grill, Bonefish Grill, J. Alexander's, and Olive Garden. The Home Depot, FedEx Kinko's, and Costco are located on other outparcels on the property. The first Just For Feet superstore opened at the Galleria in 1987 but closed with the rest of the chain in 2004. There was also a 10-screen Regal Cinemas movie theater on an outparcel of the property but it was closed in 2006 after the construction of a Rave Motion Pictures at neighboring Patton Creek Shopping Center.

In the center of the Grand Atrium/food court, sits a full-size, authentic 19th Century Dentzel Carousel. In the past, the carousel was dismantled for part of the year, with foliage and a fountain in its place, and reassembled for the holiday season. Currently, the carousel has remained in place for several years. Occasionally, the traditional carousel animals are replaced with reindeer for the holiday season as well. The cost of rides is currently $2 per person.

On May 5, 2006, the Galleria opened the state's first Sephora store. This was followed in 2007 by the announcement that one would open in at The Summit, also in Birmingham.