In the early days
In order to understand how the plaza got to this state, we need to take a step back to better understand the history of the site. Turnover and turmoil have always been present at the location, even before it became a decrepit plaza. Originally Essex Salvage, the site became a junkyard, towing company, glass repair shop, and a used car lot before finally being purchased and developed in the late 1970’s/early 1980’s. At the end of the plaza stood a Zayre with restaurants and smaller businesses occupying the strip. A Roy Rodgers was built in the center of the plaza.
By the end of the 1980’s, change was coming to the plaza. Nationally, Zayre ceased operation and was purchased by another retailer, Ames, who soon set up shop at Diamond Point. A Sam’s Club was also added at the opposite end of the plaza. Stores on the strip included Tandy Leather, Stacey’s Buffet, Sally’s Beauty Supply, Essex EZ Check Cashing, and a Chuck-E-Cheese.
Store closings and abandonment
The bankruptcy and closure of Ames was a turning point for the plaza. Ames was once the fourth largest retailer in the country behind Walmart, Target, and Kmart, but poor business investments and a jaded consumer base lead to the company starting to decline.
As Ames was on the brink of closure in August 2001, the company decided to start closing under-preforming stores, including the location at Diamond Point. Ames finally went out of business in 2002, and many locations, as well as the company headquarters, still remain abandoned to this day. The Sam’s Club decided to leave the location soon after, and relocated to the newly renovated Golden Ring Plaza nearby.
With the anchor stores empty, the Plaza’s future was uncertain. Stores continued to leave as nobody bothered visiting a half-empty shopping center. By the mid-2000’s, the only stores left in the plaza were a check cashing store and the perpetually-stuck-in-the-nineties Chuck-E-Cheese.
Attempts at renewal
If the plaza were occupied and thriving today, it would cost $18/square foot/year, nearly $4.6 million, to rent the 253,700 square foot shopping center. This price tag was a bit too steep for potential investors, as the stores continued to rot away, losing any hopes at a potential renovation.
The original company that owned the plaza, Diamond Point Plaza LP, defaulted on their mortgage in 2002, and it was then bought by Dallas-based Orix Capital Markets LLC in 2006. Orix didn’t own the property for long, as it was sold at auction for $5 million in 2012. It is unclear who owns the property today, but as recently as 2018 signs were placed in the empty buildings saying it was up for lease through Matthew B. Cooper and Edward T. Goldmeier with Newmark Knight Frank Baltimore.
Sometime between 2014-2015, Diamond Point Home Furnishings moved into the old Sam’s Club building, which at that point had been sitting empty for close to two decades. The business never attracted many customers, and the website is oddly modern for a location that is very sketchy and unkempt. This renovation didn’t mean new life for the plaza, however, since no new tenants decided to move in, and eventually the only store left, the dated Chuck-E-Cheese, finally shut its doors in 2018, citing health concerns due to the terrible conditions of the rotting Ames building, next door.
A community coming together
Sometime between 2014-2016, community members began coming to the Diamond Point parking lot for a weekend flea market. What started with only a handful of vendors has evolved to a large scale market, which has even moved indoors to a few of the vacant stores on the strip. The flea market attracts hundreds of community members every week, either to sell some extra stuff they having laying around, or to browse what’s new and available. It has no signs of slowing down.