The once bustling shopping center, now completely deserted, is coming back to life thanks to its modernization with residential spaces, a restaurant area, and new stores. If you grew up north of Nashville between the 1980s and 2005, you probably remember Rivergate Mall well.
Decades have passed since its heyday. Today, with most stores, including Macy’s, closed, the Rivergate Mall in Goodlettsville, Tennessee, is nothing more than a graveyard of American capitalist consumerism from a bygone era. However, this does not mean that it cannot have a second life. In fact, in early December 2025, city officials approved a massive redevelopment plan that will adapt the mall to the needs—and, above all, tastes—of today’s consumers, as well as make room for two hotels.
New Mall Revival
The transformation will take place in two phases: the first will focus on the former Médicis property, followed by the restoration of the rest of the shopping center.
The original plans for this development included a 120-room hotel, 17,000 square feet of retail space, a 51,000-square-foot grocery store, and another 36,000 square feet for retail and a food court.
In addition to the two hotels, a 340-unit apartment complex and 105 townhouses were also planned. The new plan keeps both the apartments and townhouses in the same location, but the apartments have been moved to a different area.
Director of Planning and Development Services Addam McCormick said the project was undertaken to encourage more in-person shopping, restaurants, and grocery stores in the area. It is still an economic boost for the area, even if it depends on such a massive renovation of this shopping center.
Consumerism may be bad, but thriving businesses generate sales tax and offer employment opportunities and improved quality of life for both residents and visitors from other areas.
What was Rivergate Mall like back then
Rivergate Mall opened back in 1971. At the time, it was the largest shopping mall in Tennessee. It was a masterpiece of design, very typical of the 70s, with a “sunken living room” style that made you feel like you were in a very elegant basement.
That’s when the era of mall rats began, hanging out and wandering around, not necessarily shopping. You’d start at Cain-Sloan (later Dillard’s), stop by Waldenbooks, maybe grab a hamburger at Swenson’s if you were feeling fancy, and wander around until your parents picked you up at the entrance with those strange, heavy doors.
But it wasn’t all good news: in May 1995, a tornado swept through Goodlettsville and ripped the roof off the mall. However, the community came together and managed to rebuild the entire mall before the end of the summer.
The mall could repair the windows broken by the winds, but the shift in favor of the average American consumer was irreversible; as online shopping and retailers that allowed you to buy on the internet grew, the mall would increasingly fall into decline. In its last five years, 57 storefronts stopped displaying their products and turned off their lights for the last time.
From ghost mall to livable—and walkable—village
For a while, the drafts simply envisaged a remodel that would add a couple of hotels. However, the developers soon realized that people don’t just want to sleep near a shopping mall, they want to live near a neighborhood.
Since the idea of adding a second hotel was scrapped, they decided to add space for a huge 51,000-square-foot grocery store. For now, the name of the supermarket that will move in there is being kept a closely guarded secret.
Now, the old Macy’s building is going to be demolished for phase one. The only thing that will remain standing is the Dillards department store, which owns its own building and has committed to remaining an anchor between the mall’s first opening in 1971 and its reinvention in 2026. In the meantime, we will eagerly await the completion of the renovations so we can go visit it.