For the past 38 years, when children went back to school and families in Alabama prepared for Christmas shopping, there was one place they went: the Riverchase Galleria.

Now several stores are vacant, and this week came news that Macy’s – the last one in Alabama – is for sale.

The future of the shopping center seems as uncertain as the parking situation when the Hoover Shopping Center opened in 1986.

Greg Knighton, economic development manager for Hoover, said the city and Riverchase Galleria management are ready to begin looking for a replacement store if the Macy’s location at the mall closes.

“Everything I’ve read about Macy’s so far is that they’re reviewing what they’re going to do with their stores,” Knighton said.

“Even if the worst case scenario is that the store closes, we will continue to work to fill that gap with another quality retailer that can come online here in Hoover.”

Some shoppers have expressed concern about the Galleria’s future given the mall’s declining popularity nationwide.

Tommy Richardson, the current general manager of Riverchase Galleria, acknowledged the need to adapt to consumers’ changing lifestyles in a recent interview with WVTM 13. Efforts by AL.com to reach Richardson for comment were not immediately successful.

“We are always looking at entertainment and different uses for the changing lifestyle of consumers,” he said.

Mike White, former general manager of the Galleria, told WVTM 13 that the mall, like other malls, has to adapt to remain successful. “They haven’t evolved the way they need to,” White said.

Across the U.S., older malls have lost at least half, and in some cases more than 70%, of their value since 2016, the Wall Street Journal reported in 2023.

Between 2016 and 2020, more than 1,000 department stores closed in the United States, the WSJ reported. As department stores closed, other tenants left the stores and mall values ​​deteriorated rapidly.

Knighton said the city is in ongoing discussions with the Galleria’s developer, Brookfield Properties, to discuss how to breathe new life into the property.

“We are constantly talking to property owners,” he said.

“And of course, you have to remember that there are probably more than a dozen property owners on campus, so the major corporations each have their own businesses in the mall. But we are in discussions with them and their management team in Chicago about potential redevelopment opportunities for the campus.”

“I can’t tell you anything about that yet,” he continued. “But we are in constant conversation with Brookfield and are working as a city to restock any vacant stores that are closing on campus.”

The Galleria’s problems have included two tragic incidents of deadly violence in the last five years.

The Thanksgiving 2018 shooting that killed 21-year-old Emantic F. “EJ” Bradford Jr. sparked protests in Hoover.

Bradford was shot and killed by a Hoover police officer shortly after an 18-year-old and a 12-year-old bystander were injured by gunfire.

Then in 2020, a shooting left 8-year-old Royta Giles Jr. dead. Three other shoppers were injured but survived.

Knighton said such incidents had not been repeated in recent years due to additional security measures.

“Fortunately, we haven’t had an incident since 2020,” Knighton said.

“We believe this is because additional security measures have been taken. The city has a police station there and we have a presence on campus during all business hours. As we know, there are security issues in shopping centers across the country.”

Many have expressed concern that the best days of a mall that was once Alabama’s largest shopping attraction are gone forever.

And while several shopping centers in the greater Birmingham area, such as the once-popular Brookwood Village, are now empty, Knighton says the Riverchase Galleria is as popular today as ever.

“Location-wise, it’s pretty much the best you can get in Alabama because it’s so close to the I-459 and I-65 intersections, and there are two exits off I-459 that lead right there,” he said.

“And the population structure has continuously improved since the building was constructed.”