Quincy Town Center vs. Prairie Trails Crossing

QUINCY (WGEM) – The former Quincy Mall used to be bustling with shoppers going in and out of Sear’s, Bergner’s, Justice and other retailers that now remain a distant memory in the Gem City.

Walking through the now-rebranded “Quincy Town Center” in 2024, it’s a different kind of experience. Clusters of metal gates shutter the spaces that once were lively shops. “For Lease” signs are plastered everywhere. Buckles and Claire’s are among the handful of retailers that hang by a thread. The last-standing dining option, Auntie Anne’s, is accompanied with an overabundance of tables and chairs.

Anyone who grew up in the Gem City might remember the shopping hub as the hip after-school hangout spot or the top campout contender for competitive Black Friday Shopping.

For many years, the fate of QTC’s decline in shoppers seemed to be etched in stone. In-mall retailers have steadily continued to pack up and move out.

That’s because another kind of shopping center is stripping away enclosed malls’ identities across the country. Stores you would normally find in the enclosed style shopping hub are now moving outside to strip malls.

In 2022, about 50 in-mall Bath & Body Works in the U.S., including QTC’s, departed. Meanwhile, 90 new stores opened in shopping outlets.

Prairie Trails Crossing, just east of the interchange of Broadway and Highway 110, is starting to look a lot like someone took the QTC and turned it inside out. No time was wasted filling the spaces of the outlet’s newest wing. Not one, not two, but three former QTC retailers (Maurice’s, Spencer’s and the latest addition, Kirlin’s Gifts) occupy the strip.

“Our store was in that mall for over 30 years, when it was actually a strip center before it became a mall,” said owner Craig Kirlin.

Kirlin said his decision came as a no-brainer.

“I checked with other stores before making the choice to come out here as well. And all of them are telling me the same thing. It’s been busier, busier busier,” Kirlin said.

Now all of a sudden, the town center is about to gain two businesses back for the first time in a while.

Sporting goods store, Dunham’s, and a Gem City pub are set to open this month.

Their soon-to-be neighbors couldn’t be more excited.

“We’re most excited about getting the restaurant in the same mall, so that way people can do date nights and not have to go outside and travel across town to come here. It’ll kind of be nice to have kind of like a one-stop shop where even in the winter you can go eat, walk down the mall, and be able to see the movie without having to fight the snow or anything,” said VIP Cinemas Manager Johannes Holdiman.

While signs on QTC say certain sections will be the future home of QMG hospital, the plans are still tied up in an approval process. Mall management stated that they are not quite ready to announce their future redevelopment.

Quincy Mayor Mike Troup hinted the town center might be headed back to its original roots.

“Before they closed the mall, it was really like a strip center where you drive, walk across the street and go into the retailers. They then enclosed it into the mall. But, as you see throughout the country, that style mall is going through renovations everywhere. I think the Town Center name gives you an idea with what they have with, where the Starbucks, those operations are about more of what you’ll end up seeing over the next couple of years,” Troup said.

The vast amount of space gives way for plenty of experimentation, with small business owners in the spotlight during the holidays and other special events. Famous icons pass through for meet and greets several times a year.

Local organizations have been in and out of QTC for a variety of reasons. The Quincy Children’s Museum was able to continue its operations for a year while it transitioned to a new location. And of course, one can catch some of the latest movies at QTC, too.

“Just like, come in town to the Town Center when they have the community events, just kind of see life coming back in to remembering what used to be a really fun place,” Kirlin said.

Strip malls like Prairie Trail may be in the lead for in-store shopping convenience and shaving off time, but places like the Quincy Town Center could be the new centerfold for entertainment and a place to feel like a community, a place for everyone.

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