Gwinnett Place Mall is a defunct shopping mall located in the Pleasant Hill Road corridor of Duluth, Georgia. Initially, the mall was the main shopping destination for the area, attracting shoppers from South Carolina and serving as a focal point in one of the nation's fastest-growing counties for 16 years. However, after the opening of the Mall of Georgia in Buford and Sugarloaf Mills in Lawrenceville, the mall faced stiff competition. Despite this, Gwinnett Place Mall has gained notoriety as the filming location for the StarCourt Mall in the third season of Netflix's popular show, Stranger Things.
History[]
Ground was broken on Gwinnett Place Mall on January 21, 1982. The mall officially opened on February 1, 1984 with anchor tenants Rich's, Davison's and Sears. Mervyn's joined the mall in 1986, and Davison's was changed to Macy's (after a brief period as Davison’s-Macy’s in 1985). Parisian then joined the mall in 1993, anchoring a new, northwest wing. J. C. Penney took over the Mervyn's space in 1997 after Mervyn’s closed all seven of their Atlanta locations. Macy's and Rich's merged in 2003 to form Rich's-Macy's until 2005 when the name was changed to Macy's. With two Macy's in the mall, the former Davison's closed and in 2010 reopened as the first Mega Mart (a Korean Supermarket) in the US. In 2007, Parisian became Belk, which would eventually close in 2013.
The mall was challenged by the openings of the Mall of Georgia in 1999 and Sugarloaf Mills in 2001, and lost a large part of its customer base. The mall also failed to attract any new anchor stores for several years. In 2008, Gwinnett Technical College opened an International Education Center in the mall, where students take foreign language classes. The downturn of the mall in throughout the early 2010s led to the mall’s owner, Simon Property Group, losing the mall to foreclosure in 2013, where it was acquired by Moonbeam Capital Investments LLC. JCPenney closed on April 4, 2015, and Beauty Master purchased the former JCPenney building in March 2016. Beauty Master opened on August 4, 2016.
In December 2017, the body of a 19-year-old woman was found in a back room of the food court, which was identified to be an abandoned Subway, where it had gone unnoticed for weeks. In January 2018, two mall employees were robbed and assaulted in the Macy's parking lot, and in March 2018, a 32-year-old female was arrested for indecent exposure, solicitation of prostitution, and possession of heroin and cocaine in the Sears parking lot. On May 31, 2018, it was announced Sears would shutter as part of an ongoing decision to eliminate its brick-and-mortar format.
In late February 2019, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Gwinnett Daily Postreported that sports developer CricRealty intends to redevelop the Gwinnett Place Mall site to build a mixed-use development anchored by a 20,000-seat cricketstadium.
On December 15, 2020, officials from Gwinnett County's Urban Redevelopment Agency agreed to purchase the 39-acre Gwinnett Place Mall site from Moonbeam Capital Investments LLC for $23 million. At this point, several tenants, including Macy's, Mega Mart and Beauty Master, owned their own property. The sale closed in April 2021 but plans for the site were not disclosed.
On February 28, 2023, the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners announced a revitalization strategy focusing on housing, mobility and greenspace in response to feedback from the public. The Gwinnett Place Mall Site Revitalization Strategy will take place over the next 20 years.
On September 17, 2024, the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners purchased Macy’s and the outparcel Macy’s Furniture Store for $16.5 million. This sale closed on December 2. The county plans to lease back the space to Macy’s through March 2025. After that, the store will close. The location was included on Macy’s list of 66 closing stores, which was released on January 9, 2025.
Popular Culture[]
The third season of Stranger Things was filmed in the mall. Authentic signage and storefronts were returned through a cosmetic restoration of a portion of the Gwinnett Place Mall, to represent many businesses that have since ceased to exist. The transformation took place during May 2018, with production of the series taking place in the mall during the subsequent summer months. After filming concluded, the Starcourt Mall set was dismantled in the summer of 2019 to prevent fans from vandalizing the set to steal souvenirs.
The 2024 movie Brothers starring Josh Brolin has principle photography in and around the Atlanta metro area and as such some filing includes exterior and interior shots of Gwinnett Place Mall.
Anchors[]
Current Anchors[]
- Macy’s (2005-2025)
- Beauty Master
- Mega Mart
Former Anchors[]
- Sears (1984-2018)
- Rich’s (Became Rich's - Macy's) Then Macy's (1984-2005)
- Davidsons (Became Macy’s) (1984-1985)
- Macy’s (Became Mega Mart) (1985-2005)
- JCPenney (Became Beauty Master)
- Mervyns (Became JCPenney) Then Beauty Master
- Parisian ( Became Belk’s )
- Belk