3 /5 Ariel W.: The Boynton Beach Mall opened in October 1985. Retail big wigs Burdines, JC Penney, Jordan Marsh and Lord & Taylor drew people in. As they faded out Macys, Mervyns, and Sears would go on to open anchor stores.
Fast forward a few decades and the American mall is dying. In 30 years only minor repairs have been done to the mall. In the past few years, the Disney store, Dairy Queen, Mrs. Fields, Build-A-Bear Workshop, Bucca Di Beppo, Toojays, Littmans Jewelers, and Sears, have all closed or relocated. In 2014 Christ Fellowship moved in. Higher income areas like Palm Beach Gardens, Wellington and Boca are attracting the shoppers away from Boynton Beach. Outlet malls like Palm Beach Outlets and Sawgrass Mills Mall are popular with shoppers looking to save money.
I normally prefer to shop online but my daughter needed some back to school clothes so we headed out to her favorite store Hot Topic. I usually hate shopping there but the staff was friendly and the store was neat and organized. We ended up having a pleasant shopping experience.
What is the future of the Boynton Beach mall? With 18 empty stores in 2018 they need to figure it out quickly. Trends have shown that shoppers gravitate towards a shopping destination. They want entertainment, stores, and food in one area. Right now some people are wary of visiting the Boynton Beach Mall because they dont feel it is safe. Future plans could see the mall evolve into a multi purpose building with offices, restaurants and retailers. Time will tell tell if Boynton Beach Mall can survive our online shopping preferences.