St. Charles Towne Center

Location	Waldorf, Maryland, USA
Coordinates	38°37′14″N 76°55′41″W / 38.62056°N 76.92806°W / 38.62056; -76.92806
Address	11110 Mall Circle
Opening date	March 30, 1990
Management	Simon Property Group
Owner	Simon Property Group
No. of stores and services	128 [1]
No. of anchor tenants	6 (5 open, 1 vacant)
Total retail floor area	980,418 sq ft (91,083.8 m2)[1]
No. of floors	2 (1 in Dick's Sporting Goods and Macy's Home Store)
Public transit access	Charles County VanGo bus: 301 Connector, Business B, St. Charles B, St. Charles C
Website	St. Charles Towne Center

St. Charles Towne Center is a two-level, enclosed shopping mall in the planned community of St. Charles in Waldorf, Maryland. Built in the late 1980s, it covers an area of 980,418 sq ft (91,083.8 m²), and is currently the only regional mall in Southern Maryland. In addition to Waldorf and St. Charles, the mall also serves the southern suburbs of Washington, D.C., and has a trade area population of 338,502.^[2] Anchor stores are Dick's Sporting Goods, J. C. Penney, Kohl's, Macy's, and Macy's Home Store.

History

The mall opened March 30, 1990, with J. C. Penney, Hecht's, Montgomery Ward, and Sears as anchors. It was built by Melvin Simon & Associates, now known as Simon Property Group. Kohl's was added in 1997.^[3] The Montgomery Ward store was split between a second Hecht's location and Dick's Sporting Goods in 2002.^[4] Both Hecht's stores became Macy's in September 2006. A movie theatre outside of the mall, formerly known as Cineplex Odeon Cinemas (1988–1998) and Loews Cineplex Entertainment (1998–2005), is now AMC Theatres (2005–present).

On February 6, 2020, it was announced the Sears location at St. Charles Town Center would be closing as part of a plan to close 31 stores nationwide. The store closed April 2020.^[5]

Renovation

St. Charles Towne Center underwent an extensive renovation in 2007 to shift its image to a more family-oriented mall. The entrances and inside of the mall were redesigned, and the washrooms made larger to allow easier access for families with young children. In addition, a kid's play area was added to a section of the mall. It took two years to renovate the mall from 2007 – 2008. ^[6] The food court was also renovated during the project.

2008 shooting incident

In September 2008, an incident occurred in which a police officer's firearm was used in the mall's parking lot. According to local authorities, a suspect was seen trying to steal a GPS device from a vehicle when the officer noticed him. The suspect was treated and released from the hospital, and later charged.^[7]