North Springs Center Likely to be Demolished for New Development
Shopping center to be redeveloped.
North Springs Center, a nearly 100,000 square foot shopping center on Roswell Road in Sandy Springs, will soon be demolished for new development.
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| The original 1968 store listing of North Springs Center |
The center, originally anchored by an A&P when it opened in 1968, was also home to Wender & Roberts Drugs, Kay's Kastle Ice Cream, The Cheese Cupboard, (a once popular restaurant) and North Springs Theatre. Today, Big Lots, in the former A&P, is the center's main attraction.
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| The largely untouched remains of the long-since-closed Wender & Roberts |
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| The many vacant storefronts to the left of Big Lots |
North Carolina's Eastern Federal theater chain opened the single screen North Springs Theatre in 1968. It was "twinned" in the 1970s and became North Springs Cinema ‘N’ Drafthouse in 1991. The cinema and drafthouse concept lasted a few years before closing and later reopening under new ownership. The space was for a relatively short time home to Carnaval, a Latin nightclub in the early 2000s, but today sits vacant.
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| The former North Springs Theatre |
Wender & Roberts currently occupies a former Krispy Kreme in Roswell, about 5.5 miles north of North Springs Center.
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| The former Nyona restaurant |
Nyonya, a Thai, Malaysian & Chinese restaurant, still has both its name on the large street signage and on its own space, but has been closed since last year. The only space I found that was still occupied (other than Big Lots) was an upholstery business located near the former movie theater. A freestanding emissions and U-Haul business, around the corner from the former dry cleaners, is also still operating.
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| Roswell Upholstery remains in business... for now. |
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| The door to this seemingly recently installed ramp is not in use |
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| A popular Bank of America ATM in the shopping center's parking lot |
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| Hand-railing missing essential parts |
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| The remains of what appeared to be both interior and exterior leaks |
The center is anchored by Big Lots, but the off-price retailer is actively liquidating ahead of a planned mid-May closure. Amazingly, at only 30% off, the store is more than 50% cleared out with large portions of the store roped off due to the empty shelves.
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| Much of Big Lots is roped off due to low inventory |
In DeKalb county, Big Lots closed their store at Suburban Plaza in early 2015. Suburban Plaza was redeveloped by its owner Selig Properties and is today anchored by Walmart, ROSS Dress For Less, HomeGoods and LA Fitness, among others.
It is not yet known what redevelopment may come to the North Springs property but before it can be marketed for sale, ownership is reportedly dealing with contamination from a former tenant.
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| Barbed wire fence surrounds the former Prestige Cleaners |
Prestige Cleaners, a dry cleaner that operated in an endcap space at the northern end of the center from 1996 until its eviction in late 2015, is reportedly being blamed for leaking toxic dry cleaning solvents. More on this can be found in an in-depth report recently published by Reporter Newspapers.
Just south of the shopping center, sits the former Tom Jumper Chevrolet dealership. The dealership sits on just over 11 acres and had sat largely idle following parent company Bill Heard Chevrolet's 2008 Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. Last year, RBM of Atlanta, a Mercedes-Benz dealer, took over the lot to use as overflow for their existing lot less than a mile up the road as well as for pre-owned and Sprinter sales.
What would you like to see happen to the North Springs Center property? What is your fondest memory of the center? Are you worried about the potential contamination from the former dry cleaners?
Please share your thoughts below.
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