Kingsport Town Center
Kingsport Town Center, formerly Fort Henry Mall, located in Kingsport, Tennessee is the only regional shopping mall serving Kingsport. It was opened March 10, 1976, as a two-level mall located at the intersection of Fort Henry Drive and Memorial Blvd. It has been managed by Avision Young for the owner, Somera Capital Managemet. The mall has relied on 3 anchor stores: Belk, JC Penney, and Sears, with an 11-screen Marquee Cinemas.
Over 60 stores have been located in the mall. Many of the national mall chains have been operating here, as well as some local stores. There is no central food court in the mall, so the eating establishments are spread out throughout the mall
Starting in 2010, the mall had planned a series of renovations on both the interior and exterior. The interior renovations were expected first, followed by the exterior. Also a name change took place (in mid-2008, for mall advertisements and doors). The renovations include: new stone-paved floors; gathering places with comfortable seating; a new children's play area; a fresh, contemporary design with brick and glass façades; a new clock tower; a food court; and monumental new entry structures. Plus there are two plans for expansion, one to JCPenney (which was to be demolished, with a new prototype building built separate from the mall, but they decided that it would be too expensive).
The anchor building would have been connected to the mall with a new promenade-style area with a courtyard and shops lined down a sidewalk. So now, the plan is to expand the current building and renovate. The cinema side is to be expanded out to the end of Sears. That expansion will include two-story atrium with two escalators leading to the second floor. A food court would be on the right (currently Belk Home and Kids), and a dining terrace would be atop the expansion. The cinema will be expanded from an 11-screen to a 14-screen center. There will also be 4-5 outparcels built in the parking lot, which will be mostly restaurants.
Interior work was to begin in 2010, which would include the new children's play area. All work should have been completed by 2011, but that date has been pushed back. The mall did get the city to give some incentives for new tenants that may move into the mall. Signs went up all over the mall, telling everyone that big changes are on the way and also telling the new name. The slogan used on the signs is, "You have to believe it to see it". Starting in late June, the mall started using its new name in the local newspapers and Funfest brochures. But the name change wasn't supposed to happen until after the building work was almost finished. If the expansion project is completed, the mall will go from its current size of 530,000 square feet (49,000 m2) to 634,000 square feet (58,900 m2), which includes the outparcels. The total cost for all of the renovations and construction has been projected between $30 and $40 million.
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