University Mall (Little Rock, Arkansas)

University Mall was a shopping center in central Arkansas which operated for approximately 40 years, from 1967 until 2007. When it closed, University Mall was the oldest enclosed shopping center in the Little Rock metropolitan area. Located in the central part of Little Rock, the site is situated along South University Avenue, north of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and Interstate 630. The mall was managed by Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group.The Mall was initially a huge success, but its popularity declined as new retail outlets in Little Rock drew customers away. Then the departure of its anchor stores, beginning with the bankruptcy of Montgomery Ward in 2001, left more than half the building empty. Throughout the 1990s, the mall steadily declined as retailers and customers left. Due to the waning popularity and litigation involving the deterioration of the building, the mall was sold in 2007 to Strode Property Company, and the remaining few tenants were told to vacate. Demolition began for the primary structure in early 2008. Prior to this, associated buildings were razed beginning in December 2007, starting with the former Montgomery Ward auto center, as well as the former JCPenney auto center, which had been used several years as an automotive maintenance facility for the City of Little Rock.