Columbia Mall

The Columbia Mall was developed by the Dayton Hudson Corporation and opened in 1978. While it was originally very successful, the Columbia Mall has recently seen difficulties and its future is uncertain. Currently two of three 'anchor' positions are vacant, with no plans to fill them. The mall opened with all three positions filled, and at its height, even featured a fourth anchor position. It contributed towards a shift from downtown Grand Forks being the shopping center towards the outskirts of town. Since passing into the 21st century, the mall has seen a steady decrease in the number of stores that are open.

The Dayton-Hudson Corporation originally settled on a location for a new shopping mall in Grand Forks in the summer of 1975 after a special election. There was little action in Grand Forks until early 1976, when Dayton-Hudson gave the city a preliminary opening date of August 1977. A few months later, this date would be pushed back to fall 1978, the only recorded delay in the mall's opening.

The Columbia Mall officially opened in August of 1978 with three 'anchor' stores. These included a Target, a Dayton department store, and a J.C. Penney. For over 20 years, these would remain unchanged and become iconic within the mall. Columbia Mall would rise in popularity during its first few decades, and it even ran a successful advertisement campaign featuring the slogan "Meet me at Columbia Mall," which made into onto television in 1980. Its opening marked a shift from shopping downtown to the edges of Grand Forks, marked best by J.C. Penney. J.C. Penney locations had long resisted moving into shopping malls, however the Columbia Mall marked the first J.C. Penney in North Dakota to make the shift from its longtime position in downtown to the new Colombia Mall. This shift from downtown to marked a shifted in Grand Forks culture (and broadly, American culture) away from city centers to the suburbs.

In 2000, the mall would begin to see changes, starting with the addition of a fourth anchor, Sears, in August. In March 2001, Target would leave to find a new location in Grand Forks, leaving their store empty for nearly three years. In August, Dayton-Hudson rebranded to Marshall Field's. By 2004, the mall was acquired by GK development, who renovated the old Target location into a children's area. In 2006, Macy's would take the place where Dayton used to be, and take the mall into the 2010's. This was when the decline of Columbia Mall became obvious. Despite the opening of a Scheels in 2014, by 2019, two of the other three anchor stores would leave (Sears and Macy's), leaving just the original J.C. Penney location, the new Scheels, along with smaller locations. The decline of the mall is obvious, with two of four anchor vacancies making the future of the mall uncertain. There is some speculation about the future of these locations, but there are currently no firm plans.

Administrative update on Columbia Mall. City of Grand Forks Mayor’s Office Scrapbooks. OGLMC 1242, Box 1, Folder 1. Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections, Chester Fritz Library, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks.

“Columbia Mall.” MALL HALL OF FAME, http://mall-hall-of-fame.blogspot.com/2009/06/columbia-mall-32nd-avenue-south-and.html.

Funding and Land Acquisition for Columbia Mall. City of Grand Forks Mayor’s Office Scrapbooks. OGLMC 1242, Box 1, Folder 1. Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections, Chester Fritz Library, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks.

“Grand Forks - Columbia Mall Commercial (1980).” YouTube, 1980, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7x5-zUe5OZs. Accessed 25 Apr. 2023.

Hageman, John. “Mall Tenants Welcome Addition of Scheels Saturday.” Grand Forks Herald, 27 June 2014.

Overview of plans for Columbia Mall. City of Grand Forks Mayor’s Office Scrapbooks. OGLMC 1242, Box 1, Folder 1. Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections, Chester Fritz Library, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks.

Planned Opening for Columbia Mall. City of Grand Forks Mayor’s Office Scrapbooks. OGLMC 1242, Box 1, Folder 1. Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections, Chester Fritz Library, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks.

Kruger, David Delbert. James Cash Penney and his North Dakota Stores. North Dakota History, vol. 77, no. 3 & 4 (2012).