Village Mall (Danville, Illinois)

Village Mall was developed in the 1970s by SES Development Company.^[2] The first store to open was an Ayr-Way discount store in 1972, which later became Target.^[3] It was followed by a National Supermarkets and a Meis department store,^[4] which was later sold to Elder-Beerman. The mall itself opened in 1975.^[4] J. C. Penney was added in 1985.^[5] Sears, which previously had a store in downtown Danville, was offered an incentive by the city to move to the mall in the early 1990s.^[6]

Target closed in 1997 due to low sales;^[7] by 1999, the former Target location was occupied by Hobby Lobby.^[8] J. C. Penney closed its Danville store in 2001 along with two others in Illinois.^[9] In 2004, a wing of the mall was renovated to make room for a Goody's clothing store.^[10] The former J. C. Penney store became Steve & Barry's in 2006.^[11] That same year, several anchors were proposed for the mall, including Old Navy and Dunham's Sports. County Market, which replaced National Supermarket, was also expanded.^[12]

Hobby Lobby, Steve & Barry's, and Goody's all closed in 2008, the latter two due to bankruptcy of the chains.^[8][13][10] The loss of these stores led to rumors that the mall would close or be converted to other uses, or that Elder-Beerman or Sears would relocate to elsewhere in town.^[14]

Despite these closures, Pet Supplies Plus opened in part of the former Hobby Lobby.^[15] By 2010, the last restaurant had closed in the food court.^[4] Elder-Beerman was re-branded Carson's in 2011,^[16] and Dunham's Sports filled the rest of the former Hobby Lobby.^[17] The former Goody's space became Ross Dress for Less in mid-2012.^[18] In mid-2013, Burlington Coat Factory opened in the former J. C. Penney/Steve & Barry's space.^[19] The addition of new stores brought occupancy levels up to 78 percent.^[3] In September 2014, Sears announced that it would close the Village Mall store.^[20] In mid-2015, a Jo-Ann Fabrics was added to the mall, while the city of Danville offered an incentive to the Slumberland Furniture chain to open a store in part of the former Sears.^[21]

On January 31, 2018, The Bon-Ton Stores announced that Carson's would be closing as part of a plan to close 42 stores nationwide. The store closed in April 2018. On April 18, 2018, it was announced that The Bon-Ton Stores would be going out of business due to bankruptcy.^[22] AMC closed its theater following showtimes of December 11, 2022.^[23]

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