River Ridge is an enclosed shopping mall in Lynchburg, Virginia. Opened in 1980, the mall features JCPenney, Belk, Dick's Sporting Goods, and Regal Cinemas as its primary anchors, with Joann Fabrics, T.J. Maxx, HomeGoods, SeaQuest, and Planet Fitness serving as secondary anchors. Three restaurant outparcels include Red Lobster, Taco Bell, and a local restaurant named Shakers, with a fourth outparcel being Salem, Virginia based Kemba Roanoke Federal Credit Union. A Residence Inn by Marriott is the mall's first on-site hotel.
The mall is majority-owned by Liberty University and managed by JLL (Jones Lang LaSalle). In recent years, 2 former anchor buildings, formerly occupied by Macy's and Sears were demolished to make way for new outdoor, mixed-use developments.
History[]
River Ridge Mall opened in 1980 with Miller & Rhoads and Thalhimers. Sears and Leggett opened in 1981. JCPenney opened in 1983, two years later.
Miller & Rhoads closed and became Montgomery Ward in 1990, which closed in 1997 and became Value City in 1999. In 1998, OfficeMax opened outside the mall.
Fountain by Macy's (prior to 2020's renovations)
In 1992, the Thalhimers store was converted to Hecht's, which in turn became Macy's in 2006. Leggett became Belk in 1997.
Value City closed in 2008 and was demolished for a new Regal Cinemas. As a result, the existing theater complex became a Planet Fitness. Joann Fabrics opened at the mall in November 2012, followed by T.J. Maxx in April 2013. Also in 2013, the Sears store closed. It was purchased by Liberty University, who planned to convert to a civic center, but engineers found the site unsuitable. On March 18, 2016 it was announced that Liberty University had purchased a 75% ownership position in the mall.
Belk
In February 2016, it was announced that Marriott was building a Residence Inn where the former Montgomery Ward Tire & Auto building stood, which had been vacant for some time. This was the first hotel constructed at the mall property and is one of only 4 outparcels at the mall.
T.J. Maxx
On January 4, 2017, Macy's announced the River Ridge location would be one of 100 underperforming stores it would be closing. Liberty University, majority owner of the mall, announced they would purchase the Macy's building and have been in talks with a new unnamed tenant for the property, pending closure on the agreement. In the same statement, former Liberty chancellor Jerry Falwell, Jr., confirmed that the former Sears building would be demolished and replaced with an outdoor shopping experience. Both the new tenant for the former Macy's location and construction on the former Sears property are part of the University's overall plans for redevelopment of the shopping center.
In 2019, Liberty University commenced on a remodel of the mall space and redevelopment of the empty anchors, bringing in a SeaQuest aquarium near the center court and commencing on the demolition of the former Sears, which was replaced by a new outdoor plaza-like structure anchored by Dick's Sporting Goods in October 2020, with HomeGoods planned to join the East End later. The former Macy's received a similar treatment, with a new lifestyle center addition opening in late 2022, featuring restaurants and retailers like Duck Donuts and Papa Gallo Cocina Mexicana. The center court, or "Great Space" renovation was completed in winter 2019, and the interior corridor renovations were completed by late 2020. During the summer of 2021, the food court was gutted for a complete renovation into a new "Food Hall" featuring longtime tenant Chick-fil-A (who remained open throughout renovations), the recently relocated Farmer's Garden, newcomers Auntie Anne's/Cinnabon, and series of restaurants operated by Liberty University's dining program under Sodexo.
Anchors[]
Current[]
- Belk
- Dick's Sporting Goods
- JCPenney
- Regal Cinemas
- T.J. Maxx
- Joann Fabrics
- SeaQuest
- HomeGoods (Coming Soon)
Former[]
Gallery[]
Videos[]
