This Large Decades-Old Maine Mall Will Soon Be Demolished to Rubble

With the rise of online shopping, more and more brick and mortar stores around the country and here in Maine have fallen victim to financial crisis. Whether it's a lack of foot traffic or people being able to get similar items and services cheaper online, many stores in Maine and beyond have closed their doors for good.

Gone are the days when you would walk through the Maine Mall and see every available space taken up by a national or local retailer. While those days of walking the mall as a child are burned into my memory like a cigarette hole in a car headliner, that's all they are now- memories.

READ MORE: Maine Mall stores that have closed for good

And while many Maine malls continue to operate despite a limited number of retailers, the Maine Mall included, many have not been so fortunate.

So which Maine mall is going to be leveled?

As a matter of fact, as I write this article in this very moment, I write it from my computer located in our studios at the Augusta Plaza. AKA the 'K-Mart Plaza', this mall has been home to dozens of businesses over the years. Our radio station used to be a grocery store, the laundromat used to be a Fashion Bug.

Gone is the building where Radio Shack and The Maine Smoke Shop used to be and in its place is the new VIP Tires Augusta location (opening soon!). In fact, very few businesses still exist in the 'mall portion' of the plaza. It's 92 Moose, the laundromat and Rent-A-Center. And soon, all of us will be gone, too.

When is the mall being destroyed?

As a long-time tenant of this very building, we've been told that the mall will come crashing down sometime toward the end of February, though the exact date remains a bit of a mystery. A lot of it has to do with when all the businesses left vacate the premises and when the demo crews get the 'go-ahead'.

As far as our little cluster of radio stations goes, we will be moving to downtown Augusta next to the very-popular whiskey kitchen. Though we've enjoyed our time here 'behind the laundromat', it will be nice to finally be downtown in the middle of the action.

So what is going where the K-Mart plaza once stood?

The good news? This won't just be a large empty parking lot next to a pile of rubble for long. According to an article published by Maine Public, a hotel, along with market-rate housing, is slated to be built in the very spot I write this article.

Maine Public explains that Augusta City Councilors officially approved multiple tax incentives as well as zoning changes that will soon allow the construction of the new project to begin.

READ MORE: These 30 Maine restaurants have sadly closed forever

Augusta City Councilor, Stephanie Sienkiewicz, said in part about the upcoming building project,

"I know many of my neighbors in the neighborhood were concerned about plans that were coming forward, and I really love that this neighborhood is not just a naysaying neighborhood. They knew what they wanted, and they came out for this plan."