Rivergate Mall is a super-regional

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a large indoor shopping center, usually Anchor tenant, anchored by department stores. The term ''mall'' originally meant pedestrian zone, a pedestrian promenade with shops along it, but in the late 1960s, i ...

located in

Goodlettsville, Tennessee Goodlettsville is a city in Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson and Sumner County, Tennessee, Sumner Counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It was incorporated as a city in 1958 with a population of just over 3,000 residents; in 2020, its popul ...

, United States, just outside of

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, the

state capital Below is an index of pages containing lists of capital city, capital cities. National capitals *List of national capitals *List of national capitals by latitude *List of national capitals by population *List of national capitals by area *List of ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

. Opened in October 1971, the mall features of

gross leasable area In architecture, construction, and real estate, floor area, floor space, or floorspace is the area (measured in square metres or square feet) taken up by a building or part of it. The ways of defining "floor area" depend on what factors of the bui ...

, with approximately 80 stores and restaurants, as well as a

food court A food court (in Asia-Pacific also called food hall or hawker centre) is generally an indoor plaza or common area within a facility that is contiguous with the counters of multiple food Vendor, vendors and provides a common area for self-serve di ...

. Rivergate Mall has two anchor stores:

Dillard's Dillard's, Inc. is an American department store chain with approximately 267 stores in 29 states and headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas. Currently, the largest number of stores are located in Texas with 57 and Florida with 42. The company a ...

and

JCPenney Penney OpCo LLC , Trade name, doing business as JCPenney (colloquially Penney's and abbreviated JCP) is an American department store chain store, chain with 649 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. It is managed as part of the Catalys ...

. There are two vacant anchor stores that were formerly

Macy's Macy's is an American department store chain founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. The first store was located in Manhattan on Sixth Avenue between 13th and 14th Streets, south of the present-day flagship store at Herald Square on West 34 ...

and

Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co., commonly known as Sears ( ), is an American chain of department stores and online retailer founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosen ...

. Its original

anchor stores In North American, Australian and New Zealand retail, an "anchor tenant", sometimes called an "anchor store", "draw tenant", or "key tenant", is a considerably larger tenant in a shopping mall, often a department store or retail chain. They are ...

were

Cain-Sloan Cain-Sloan Co. Inc. was a department store chain based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. It was founded in 1903, merged with Allied Stores in 1955, and with Dillard's in 1987. It was a target of the 1960 Nashville sit-ins. History The sto ...

Castner Knott Castner Knott was a Nashville, Tennessee-based regional department store chain which operated stores in Alabama, Kentucky, and Tennessee. The chain was in business for a century from 1898 to 1998, in its later years as a division of Mercantile St ...

, and JCPenney. The mall sits in the core of a

shopping district A shopping street or shopping district is a designated road or quarter of a municipality that is composed of retail establishments (such as stores, boutiques, restaurants, and shopping complexes). Such areas may be pedestrian-oriented, with ...

that is shared by the city of Goodlettsville and the Nashville neighborhood of Madison. This area is colloquially referred to by locals as "Rivergate," after the mall. Rivergate Mall is managed by Hendon Properties.

History

1970s to 1980s

Rivergate Mall was built by Retail Planning Corporation, an

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

-based mall developer, just outside the state capital of

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

within Goodletsville along Two Mile Pike. The mall officially opened on October 6, 1971. Upon its opening, Rivergate Mall became the largest mall in

, a title it would hold until the opening of Hickory Hollow Mall in 1978. The mall originally included three anchor stores:

, and

. Other major tenants at opening included

Jo-Ann Fabrics Jo-Ann Stores, LLC, (stylized JOANN) was an American specialty retail chain that specialized in fabrics and arts and crafts supplies. The chain was based in Hudson, Ohio, and had operated over 800 stores across 49 U.S. states until the beginni ...

, McCrory, and

Walgreens Walgreens is an American pharmacy store chain. It is the second largest in the United States, behind CVS Pharmacy. As of March 2025, the company operated more than 8,700 stores in the U.S. Walgreens has been the subject of a number of lawsuit ...

. The mall's first expansion phase opened in November 1978, with a new parking area and of retail space, which included 22 stores and 74 supporting shops. Journeys opened their first location in the mall in December 1986. Cain-Sloan sold its store to

in 1987, as a part of deal which included the sale of three Nashville-area locations. A wing featuring

, dozens of new parcels, and a food court was added in 1989.

1990s to 2000s

During a tornado outbreak on May 18, 1995, part of the Rivergate Mall's roof collapsed, injuring more than a dozen people. The mall was sold to CBL Associates & Properties for $247 million in June 1998. In August of that year,

Proffitt's Proffitt's was a department store chain based in Alcoa, Tennessee. The chain was founded in 1919 by David W. Proffitt and James Ellis. In 2006, the Proffitt's and McRae's stores were converted into Belk after Belk had acquired the two chains in ...

purchased five Nashville-area Castner Knott's from Dillard's. Dillard's had acquired Castner Knott's through their purchase of the parent company Mercantile Stores Company. With the threat of competition from nearby

Opry Mills Opry Mills is a super-regional shopping mall in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. The mall was owned by the Mills Corporation and Gaylord Entertainment Company until 2007, when the Mills Corporation was acquired by Simon Property Group. It o ...

, CBL renovated the mall in 1999, adding new carpeting and a new entranceway. Proffitt's sold its store to

Hecht's Hecht's was an American department store chain founded in 1857 by Samuel Hecht, Jr. It was headquartered in Washington, D.C., and operated in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and Southern United States. The family business was acqui ...

in March 2001 as part of a deal to sell off nine locations.

Linens 'n Things Linens 'n Things, Inc. was a big-box retailer specializing in home textiles, housewares, and decorative home accessories. Based in Clifton, New Jersey, the chain operated 571 stores in 47 U.S. states and six Canadian provinces, and had 7,300 e ...

opened a store at the mall in 2003. In 2006,

replaced Hecht's after Federated Department Stores, now Macy's Inc, purchased Hecht's parent company May Department Stores. By 2008, the Streets of Indian Lake was nearing completion in nearby Hendersonville, attracting many upscale retailers, causing a decline in shoppers at the mall. Incredible Dave's, a restaurant and entertainment center, replaced a mall wing in 2012, but closed in 2014.

2010s to present

In 2013, CBL sold three of their malls, including the Rivergate Mall, to Atlanta-based Hendon Properties in a partnership with an offshore investor for $176 million. An 11,695-square-foot

Guitar Center Guitar Center, Inc. is an American musical instrument retailer chain headquartered in Westlake Village, California. It operates 304 locations and is the largest company of its kind in the United States. The company oversees several subsidia ...

opened in the mall in the spring of 2017, while existing tenant, teen apparel retailer

rue21 New rue21, LLC (rue21) is an American specialty retailer of women's & men's casual apparel and accessories headquartered in the Pittsburgh suburb of Warrendale, Pennsylvania. Their clothes are designed to appeal to people who desire, wish, or ...

, opened a larger store with an additional in the summer of 2017. Another existing tenant, shoe retailer

Foot Locker Foot Locker, Inc. is an American multinational retailer of footwear, sportswear, urban youth apparel and accessories headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, and operating in over 40 countries. Although established in 1974, and ...

, added a new store with an additional in the fall of 2017. Sears closed its store at the mall in March 2019 as part of a plan to close 80 locations nationwide. Following the closure of Macy's in 2020, the anchor store's space was sold to Urban Story Ventures for $4 million. Rivergate Mall was listed for sale for an undisclosed price in March 2024. In January 2025, Cincinnati-based real estate company Merus (formerly known as Al. Neyer) submitted plans to redevelop the entire Mall site, including the Macy's anchor building.

References

External links

Rivergate Mall Official web site
{{Nashville area malls and shopping centers Shopping malls established in 1971 Shopping malls in Tennessee Buildings and structures in Davidson County, Tennessee Tourist attractions in Davidson County, Tennessee 1971 establishments in Tennessee