Gulf View Square — Attraction in Jasmine Estates

2025 UPDATE: TURN THE AIR CONDITIONING ON. With the amount of dripping ceilings and reported mold, is the community even safe to come in the building anymore? I don't think it's even worth it to have indoor summer mallwalks in here with this. You'll notice even the elderly have stopped coming here. Shut this place down already, this is just sad.

2024: It's been like having to watch a loved one die slowly for 15 years straight. This mall was so busy when I was a kid in the '90s, not a single store vacancy, crowds that managed to exceed the density of a theme park interior at times even. It continued to be modestly busy into the 2000s with at least 85% storefronts occupied and full mall amenities. In 2009-10 during the first 21st century retail apocalypse, this place started to die, and it's been a slow and miserable death with all kinds of false hope. When the apartments opened behind the mall, I and many thought, "The residents will probably flock to the mall and revitalize it." Where are they supposed to shop? You can only get so much popcorn and Spencer's Gift cheap plastic bongs before you run out of reasons to come here.

There was some hope in 2022-23 when stores looked like they were about to be occupied again, and even the food court started to return. Going back for a mall walk today, I see now that half the new places who opened are already gone again, and now even longtime tenets like Yancy's and Shoe Dept. Encore are moved out (the latter by the end of this week, 06/09/24). This mall has been useful to me for three things: liminal photography, experiencing the mallsoft aesthetic of vaporwave, and indoor air-conditioned walking space for the summer. All great things, but again, very limited to the point where we have to ask ourselves, when is it all gonna end? I'm glad that the mall is still employing some folks, but we really need a grand finale to this seeming never-ending saga known as Gulf View Square Mall. I'll always love this place and probably visit it a few times a year just to see what's going on, but man oh man, if you're a longtime resident of Pasco County, it hurts to go in there and see the state of it. You'd almost rather see it put out of its misery and torn down entirely than have it continue on life support like it is. I'd prefer it rebound, relapse and survive. C'mon Gulf View!...

Gulf View Square is a Deadmall if you were to ask me. Gulf View Square used to have a buttload of stores inside of it. From Anchor stores like, JCPenney, Macy's, which got teared down to build a apartment complex. And Sears which went out of business and got completley demolished. Nothing's left in that space except for a huge pile of dirt. To this day, only 2 anchor store remains inside which is Dillards, and Best Buy. And not to mention that you can't go into Dillard's from inside the mall. Instead, you have to drive your car all the way to the northern part of the mall and go inside from there. The same thing happened with Best Buy. My guess is that they don't want customers stealing stuff from the store without anybody knowing. And don't even get me started that most of these stores closed its doors permanentley. With stores like T. J Maxx which a furniture store lies in that same area. Fast food places like Chick-Fil-A, and Subway got removed from the food court because of "rat problems". I didn't even know there used to be a Chick-Fil-A in this area but apparently, it closed down years ago. Enough about that let's get back to talking about how this mall is completely dead. To add on about the food court, there is only 1 place remaning which I believe that its a sandwich shop. Starbucks which was moved out of the mall to an small plaza that's right next to it. The same thing happened to Bath and Body Works and Shoe Dept. Bath and Body works got moved to the Little Road and Ridge Road intersection next to Walmart Neighborhood. And Shoe dept got moved to the Embassy crossings plaza next to Bealls. Rack Room Shoes, Gamestop, Auntie Anne's and the list goes on. There also was Harold Seltzer Steakhouse formerly Sam's that was "Temporairly closed" for a while but if you search it up on google maps now it will appear as permanentley closed. Apparently the government said that they were going to revive the mall guess thats not happening. At this point just tear down the entire mall or at least abandon it. But as of June 2nd, 2025, this Mall is dying...

Updated Review: August 22, 2024

At least they're trying. They're have events, so I give them credit for that, but there's just not enough stores to keep the place viable.

Maybe the rent is too high? I know that I asked to have a release party there for a new book a while back and was told I'd have to rent space. While that's good business acumen, when a place is struggling like this one is, you should jump at ANY opportunity to have bodies in the building, as I was going to ask all my attendees to patronize the food vendors while there.

This place used to be amazing. Maybe if they lower the rent, keep having events and get some stores in the mall for next to nothing a month, this place can crawl out of the abyss it has become.

Perfect place to film a zombie apocalypse movie. One part of the ceiling is covered with a black garbage bag looking tarp, water damage all throughout, ghost town except for a few anchor stores.

I feel SO sorry for the stores actually trying to make it and go under.

NO...let me repeat that...NO security presence at all.

Kid stealing money out of the fountain to go play in the arcade. Went to Spencer's to see if they would call mall security.

Nice lady did and explained that they too had just run the kids out of there for trying to steal from them.

We continued walking the mall.

FIFTEEN...as in 15 minutes later, two...some sort of security type people...came sauntering along.

I ran to them, described the little hooligans (there was a group of four to five - they kept splitting up - of them) and they did group them.

But fifteen minutes? Good thing they weren't armed and wanting to do some real damage!

What a joke.

Still a ghost town, but at least it looks like they're trying. However...if they don't stop the Sprint people from harassing people and some guy with a clipboard bothering people, people will avoid the mall. No one wants to be harassed while...