One of the Best Regional Malls on the Gulf Coast
Colonial Mall Bel Air is a 1.3 million square foot expanse of moderate regional shopping, centrally located in Mobile, AL at the junction of two major thoroughfares (Airport Boulevard and I-65/Beltline Highway). Anchor stores include JC Penney, Dillards, Sears, Parisian and Target.
Despite being a large suburban shopping mall, Bel Air lacks several amenities usually associated with regional shopping centers. There is no central food court, instead typical food court eateries are scattered throughout the Mall's two corridors. There is no second level, the mall hulks over a single, easily traipsable level. Outparcels, business located on the shopping center's periphery, are predominantly service oriented (Sears Auto Center, GoodYear Tire Center, LifeWay Christian Bookstore and Wachovia Bank). A multi-million dollar renovation with bring about the replacement of gaudy green carpet with stone flooring.
Bel Air's strengths lie in its upscale-skewering tenant roster. In line stores include clothing retailers Abercrombie & Fitch, abercrombie, Buckle, Charlotte Russe, Gap, and Strausburg Children; books, games and music retailers Books A Million (with exterior entrance), FYE, Spencers Gifts, Suncoast Motion Picture Company and Gamestop.
Bel Air lacks casual dining restaurants, although a plethora of venues can be found in the immediate vicinity. For example, Ruby Tuesday, Olive Garden and Romano's Macaroni Grille are within blocks of the Mall, on Airprot Boulevard.
After nearly forty years, Colonial Mall Bel Air is still the dominant regional shopping center in South Alabama and continues to serve as a fulcrum for the burgeoning suburban west Mobile area.