Dover Mall

The mall is situated in a retail corridor and is located just northwest of Dover Motor Speedway and Bally's Dover casino resort, and across the street from Delaware State University. The mall is located a short distance south of an interchange with Delaware Route 1.^[2][3] The mall is served by DART First State bus routes 108, 109, and 112, which provide local bus service to points in Dover and Kent County.^[4] The mall serves as the only enclosed mall in the Dover area.

Dover Mall opened on August 4, 1982,^[5] and was developed by Homart Development Company. The mall became the second enclosed mall in Dover, following the 1968 opening of the Blue Hen Mall (now the Blue Hen Corporate Center). Dover Mall was built to provide a home for Sears and other interested retailers, after Sears was unable to reach an agreement to build a store at the Blue Hen Mall.^[6] The mall was originally anchored by Boscov's, Leggett, and Sears, and cost approximately $20 million to build.^[7] The Boscov's store at Dover Mall was the first Boscov's location outside Pennsylvania.^[8]

The mall's original design featured raised brick planters throughout the mall and "walkways spanning a bubbling fountain" in the center court.^[5] The food court opened with several eateries including 1 Potato 2, The Great Hot Dog Experience, and Sbarro Pizza.^[9]

In December 1983, a six-screen movie theater opened at the mall, despite a lawsuit filed by the rival Blue Hen Mall. The theater was owned by Reading, PA-based Fox Theaters, which also owned the Dover Cinema at the Blue Hen Mall.^[10] The lawsuit had claimed that a 1979 lease agreement prohibited the theater operator from opening any new locations within a five-mile (8 km) radius of its mall.^[11]

In 1988, the mall's then-owners, Cadillac Fairview, built a new strip shopping center in front of the mall, parallel to the mall's south access road from U.S. Route 13. Named Dover Commons, the center added an additional 52,000 square feet (4,800 m²) of retail space to the property. Silo and Pier 1 Imports became the center's anchor tenants.^[12]

In September 1992, construction began on a 116,480-square-foot (10,821 m²) addition onto the east side of the mall, to house a fourth anchor store.^[13] JCPenney opened on August 4, 1993, after relocating from the struggling Blue Hen Mall, four miles (6.4 km) south. The new location was 20,000 square feet (1,900 m²) larger than the previous Dover store, in addition to presenting a "richer, more upscale appearance".^[14]

In 1993, Dover Mall received its first renovation, removing the existing raised planters and fountains. A black and teal color scheme was introduced through new floor tiles and benches. Potted palm trees and additional skylights were also added. At the time of renovation, the mall held 95 stores and a 96.5% occupancy rate.^[15]

In October 1993, the Dover Mall became the second shopping mall in the state to ban smoking indoors, after a survey of 500 shoppers showed that nearly 80% were in favor of the ban.^[16]

In 1995, the Silo store at Dover Commons closed suddenly due to the chain's failure.^[17] It was replaced by a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant and arcade.

In March 1997, Leggett closed its location at the mall after the chain was purchased by Belk.^[18] In November 1997, It was replaced by Strawbridge's, which opened an expanded store.^[19] During the same time period, Boscov's underwent a substantial renovation and expansion,^[8] and Sears completed an interior renovation.^[19]

In 1996, Fox Theatres was taken over by Carmike Cinemas.^[10] Three years later, the theater was expanded from six screens to fourteen, with stadium seating in the eight new auditoriums. The theater also received a new mall entrance from the food court.^[20] At the same time, the food court itself was enlarged and renovated.^[21]

Old Navy opened a 21,000-square-foot (2,000 m²) store in the fall of 2000, filling space vacated by Lerner, Express, and Structure.^[22]

In 2003, The Mills Corporation acquired the mall from Cadillac Fairview. The Mills Corporation had wanted to add approximately 500,000 square feet (46,000 m²) of new stores and entertainment venues to the property, including an ice rink and skate park.^[23] However, these plans never advanced beyond the early planning stage.^[24]

In September 2006, Strawbridge's store was converted to Macy's after Federated Department Stores purchased May Department Stores.

In April 2007, Simon Property Group acquired the mall along with the other Mills malls. It is Simon's only Delaware property^[25] and is also the mall's third owner since 2000.

In 2009, JCPenney completed a comprehensive interior renovation of its Dover Mall location.^[26]

In 2013, Dover Mall added several new stores, including Forever 21^[27] and a 53,183-square-foot (4,941 m²) Dick's Sporting Goods that opened on November 10, 2013.^[28][29][30]

In 2017, the movie theater was rebranded to AMC Classic Dover 14 after Carmike Cinemas was purchased by AMC.^[31]

In May 2018, Sears Holdings announced that the Sears location at Dover Mall would be closing as part of a plan to close 42 stores nationwide. Liquidation sales began on May 18, 2018 and the store closed in August 2018.^[32] The Sears Auto Center closed by the end of 2018.

In 2019, a children's play area was added to the former Sears court.^[33]

In early 2020, Pier 1 Imports in Dover Commons closed due to the chain's bankruptcy.^[34] It was replaced by a Boot Barn in 2022.^[35]

In October 2020, Macy's announced that they would convert the Macy's store at the Dover Mall into a fulfillment center as online shopping spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic.^[36] The Macy’s fulfillment center closed at the end of 2023, leaving an empty anchor space.

In 2022, Walmart opened a truck driving school at the mall, as part of an "Associate-to-Driver" pilot initiative. The program offers employees from Walmart stores and distribution centers the opportunity to earn a commercial driver's license (CDL) upon completion of a 12-week course. Graduates then become full-time, salaried drivers for Walmart.^[37] Trucks used by the program are stored in the mall's parking lot.

In March 2024, the malls AMC Classic permanently closed.^[31] It was the last remaining movie theater in Dover.^[10] The theater had faced increasing competition from newer theaters, especially Westown Movies in Middletown, which opened in 2013, and Milford Movies 9 in Milford, which opened at the end of 2020. AMC was also experiencing chain-wide financial difficulties and closed several theaters across the country during this time.^[31]

In May 2024, Furniture & More opened in the former Sears location at the mall.^[38]

In March 2025, Forever 21 announced it would be closing all of its remaining U.S. stores due to it filing for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.^[39] However, its vacancy would be short lived as shortly after, it was revealed that Portabella (a regional clothing chain) would open in the former Forever 21 space.