Courtesy of Kim Gabbard
Tallahassee Mall on North Monroe Street will be the new and improved Centre of Tallahassee with better shopping, eating and family fun activities coming soon. Renovations have begun and expects to be completed by the end of 2016.
Centre of Tallahassee plans to bring the area back to life by bringing an entertainment center to the shopping mall.
Family and friends can look forward to an Urban Food Market area where foods like wood fire pizza, homemade pastas, gelato, pastries and non-franchise fine dining will be sold.
The Centre wants to bring diversity to Tallahassee by bringing shops and restaurants that are local, unique, fun and high-quality.
In April 2016 the Centre, plans to host its first concert at Brickyard Concert venue. With standing room the venue will be able to hold ten thousand people, two thousand less than the Civic Center.
Brickyard plans to bring big name acts, as well as host small local events. Some of the exciting perks include VIP sections, private bar and more.
Kim Gabbard, director of asset development, looks forward to the changes and renovations and the plans that are set in store for Centre of Tallahassee.
“We expect to draw big crowds from all different age groups (like) toddlers, college students (and) older adults,” Gabbard said. “We want to be aggressive with our ideas and try not to duplicate anything that is else where.”
Centre of Tallahassee is expected to be a one-stop shop that doesn’t only focus on retail.
Tallahassee residents, like the Rodriguez family, are excited and eager to see what the finished product looks like.
“We can’t wait ‘till it’s finished. This is something that needed to be done and now we can stay closer to home to shop, eat and have a good time,” Rodriguez said.
Centre has already started hosting community events and will have a St. Patrick’s Day parade.
Gabbard said she wants patrons to have a unique feeling and experience when visiting Centre of Tallahassee.
“We want it to have that college town feeling and experience. We want families and friends, when they visit, to see different things that they don’t see back at home. There are a couple different groups that we are targeting … we’ve been asked are certain franchises like Dave & Busters and others are coming. Nothing is final but we would love to have something similar,” Gabbard said.
In the future, Centre plans to become a big draw regionally to the city of Tallahassee, making a great economic impact on everyone.
Carl Reed, frequent visitor from Jacksonville, Fla. said it’s Centre of Tallahassee adds more to do in the city.
“It's good to know I have more options now when I’m in Tallahassee. I don’t have to go back to just that one mall, and it adds more to do for nightlife with my friend while visiting, besides going to the club or a party,” Reed said.
The interior part of the mall is still open to customers, with the AMC theater and Belk just finishing its renovations. Renovations for the interior mall are expected to be completed later in 2016.