COLUMBUS, Ga. - Peachtree Mall, the enclosed shopping center on Manchester Expressway, opened on Aug. 5, 1975, which makes it 51 years old this year. It has about 809,653 square feet, 87 stores, four anchor stores and 4,200 parking spaces, according to Wikipedia's entry on the mall. After Columbus Square Mall closed and was demolished in the early 2000s, Peachtree became the city's only enclosed shopping center.

The mall's story is mostly a story of its department stores. Names such as Gayfers, Montgomery Ward, Parisian and Rich's have come and gone, and a beauty retailer now fills the largest former anchor space. This guide pulls together the numbers and dates that can be confirmed from published sources.

Peachtree Mall by the numbers

A 2016 WTVM report put the number of other tenants at "more than 100," a higher count than Wikipedia's 87 stores. The difference may reflect different counting methods or different years. Store counts at a mall change often, so any single figure is a snapshot.

A timeline of the anchors

The mall began as a single-level building anchored by Gayfers and Montgomery Ward, according to Wikipedia. A food court and Parisian were added in 1985. JCPenney moved in from Columbus Square Mall in November 1994.

The former Parisian space

The empty Parisian building has had a more eventful life than most mall anchors. In June 2016, WTVM reported on construction at the vacant store, which the mall's then-owner General Growth Properties listed at about 86,000 square feet. The station reported that an additional entrance was being built on the southeast side of the mall, facing Manchester Expressway.

At that time the mall's anchors were Macy's, J.C. Penney and Dillard's, and the general manager, Onassis Burress, did not name the incoming store. The article noted that the At Home website was hiring a store director in Columbus, though it did not treat that as confirmation. At Home did open in the space in February 2017, per Wikipedia.

In June 2025, WTVM reported that Beauty Master would fill the vacant space of nearly 90,000 square feet on Manchester Expressway, after At Home left nearly six months earlier. Beauty Master calls itself "the largest ethnic beauty department store in the United States" and operates in Georgia and Florida, often in former mall anchor spaces. The station noted that malls are increasingly recruiting non-traditional anchors as traditional department stores decline.

Ownership

According to GlobeSt, as quoted in search results, General Growth Properties bought Peachtree Mall from Jim Wilson Associates in 2003 for $87.6 million, which worked out to $106.83 per square foot. The same report says the mall opened in 1975 and was renovated and expanded in 1985 and 1993. The 2016 WTVM report named General Growth Properties as the owner at that time, and Wikipedia now lists Peachtree Mall LLC as the owner.

Ownership details are the part of the mall's profile most likely to change, so readers who need current information should check county property records. The mall's own listings of stores and hours are the best source for what is open today. This guide does not attempt to list current tenants, which can change from month to month.

The bigger picture

Peachtree Mall is one of two major shopping areas in Columbus, along with Columbus Park Crossing, according to Wikipedia. The mall's department-store lineup has shifted from regional chains such as Gayfers and Parisian to national names and a specialty beauty retailer. That pattern is common at enclosed malls across the country, where vacant anchor space is often filled with tenants other than traditional department stores.