Staying with the story
The Springfield News-Sun provides unmatched coverage of the Upper Valley Mall, including stories on recent efforts to attract new tenants and the announcement that two anchor stores will close.
By the numbers
90: Employees at J.C. Penney’s
79: Employees at Macy’s
$47 million: Loan that the mall’s previous owners defaulted on last year
1971: Year the Upper Valley Mall opened
J.C. Penney is poised to close its store at the Upper Valley Mall on April 4, ending the national retailer’s decades-old presence in Clark County.
The announcement in January that the store would close was a blow to the mall, which learned just a day later that Macy’s will also close this spring. The Upper Valley Mall is the only mall in the U.S. that will lose both anchors in this round of closings.
No official closing date has been set for Macy’s, said Andrea Swartz, a spokeswoman for the retailer. Macy’s has 79 employees at its Springfield store.
J.C. Penney’s closing is difficult for employees like Phyllis Parrill, a Springfield woman who spent the majority of her life with the company since she took a part-time job during the holidays in 1953. Back then, the retailer was still located in downtown Springfield.
The Upper Valley Mall location now has about 90 employees, according to information from the company.
“None of us like change that much,” Parrill said. “You can’t say it’s for the best, but I have a lot of memories here and they’re all good.”
Along with J.C. Penney and Macy’s, the mall also recently lost smaller national tenants like Deb Shops and Radioshack that have struggled to remain competitive as retail trends have shifted. Officials at the Upper Valley Mall declined to comment, but have said in the past they plan to seek new tenants for the vacant anchors.
Simon Management Associates, the mall’s previous owners, defaulted on a $47 million loan last year. Urban Retail Properties, the mall’s new managers, have pledged to invest in the property.
Parrill began with a job counting cash in the business office, but has also worked in the custom decoration department, as a switchboard operator and most recently at the jewelry counter. Although she took a few breaks and once retired for a month, she estimated she’s worked at the Springfield store for more than 40 years.
“It’s more like a family here,” Parrill said of her co-workers. “I bake and cook for them all the time so they keep me.”
When the mall opened in 1971, the J.C. Penney was frequently packed with shoppers who could buy everything from firearms to fabric and could even visit a snack bar, she said. Sections of the store were empty last week, and shoppers picked through appliances and clothing at steep discounts.
Parrill was with the retailer when it shifted from downtown to the Upper Valley Mall, and in recent years has watched again as retailers have slowly drifted toward Bechtle Avenue just a couple miles away.
“Working for J.C. Penney has been great,” Parrill said. “They’ve been good to me. I’ll miss it but I’ll still shop at other J.C. Penney stores.”
Alishia Wilson, who’s worked at J.C. Penney for eight years, said there have been a lot of tears shed at the store because the employees are close.
“We all call her grandma,” Wilson said of Parrill. “She’s always bringing toys in for my kids.”
Many of the shoppers who browsed clearance racks at J.C. Penney on Wednesday said they’re not sure where they’ll go for many of the items the mall’s anchors sold. Aside from Kohl’s, few stores in the area sell items similar to the two anchors, said Samuel Whitaker, of Springfield.
“Growing up in Springfield, this was our hangout,” said Lisa Williams, who was shopping with her husband, Pat. “We’d try on clothing and hang out with our friends. Our daughters don’t understand what the mall used to be for us.”
It’s been strange watching retailers slowly move toward Bechtle Avenue, Pat Williams said, but other malls he’s seen seem to be facing similar issues. He remembers spending hours at the mall playing video games when he was young, he said, but most teenagers now play games online at home.
“Malls are dying and it’s kind of sad,” Pat Williams said. “Penney’s has been one of the stores that’s been around forever.”
Parrill, who spent much of her life working at J.C. Penney, said she’s not sure what she will do once the store closes but knows she’s not ready to retire. Mostly, she’ll miss the interaction with the customers and her co-workers.
“Every day I’ll think about that (interaction) and that last day,” Parrill said. “It’s going to be hard to fathom walking out and never coming back here again.”
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