Hoover's New Storefronts and the Riverchase Galleria's Next Chapter

Sometime around July, a new sign went up at Riverchase Galleria where Forever 21 used to be. Urban Planet, a Canadian fashion chain affiliated with Charlotte Russe, had picked Hoover for its first Alabama store. Racks of denim and athletic wear moved into a space that had sat dark for years. If you walked the same wing of the mall past the old Macy's, still listed for sale since 2024, you'd have seen the contrast without needing anyone to point it out: one storefront filling in, one anchor still waiting for a buyer.

That contrast reflects two developments in Hoover this fall: the Galleria's future is uncertain, while businesses and amenities nearby are continuing to invest.

A Sign Change Two Doors From a For-Sale Sign

As BhamNow reported, Riverchase Galleria turned 40 in February. At the anniversary event, Mayor Nick Derzis stood in the same atrium where he'd once worked crowd control as a young police officer on opening day in 1986, when Hoover had fewer than 10,000 residents and I-459 wasn't even finished. The city has grown to nearly 100,000 people since, and for most of that growth, the Galleria was the reason people had a reason to come to Hoover at all.

The Galleria's role in Hoover has changed, and the city has said so plainly. A market study the city commissioned found visitation down 33 percent between 2019 and 2024, and this past June, Hoover officials confirmed the mall would be listed for sale. Derzis framed it as an opening rather than an ending. AOL quoted him saying, "This moment is the catalyst Hoover has been waiting for."

Whether that turns out to be true probably won't be settled this year. But while the Galleria waits for its next chapter, the blocks and parking lots around it have already started writing theirs.

The Galleria's Economic Impact

Here's the number that explains the urgency behind that sale: Derzis has said Hoover loses between $8 and $10 million annually because the property sits underused. That's not a hypothetical loss on a spreadsheet. It's tax revenue and foot traffic that used to flow through 218 stores and restaurants under one roof, back when the mall pulled in 15 million shoppers a year at its peak.

The city's response has been a $200,000 market assessment, released in late 2025, that sketched a two-phase redevelopment. The fuller vision, still in draft form, would eventually replace some of the mall's retail anchors with apartments and a walkable town center, an estimated $400 million project the study suggests could unfold over the next decade. A decade is a long time to wait on a plan. It's not a long time to wait on a churro shop.

The Small Storefronts Aren't Waiting on a Verdict

The Hoover Sun reports several projects within a few miles of the Galleria, including new businesses, a country club renovation, and an apartment development.

Churro Station is opening this fall at 4730 Chace Circle, near Ashley Mac's Kitchen and Five Guys. Owners Aaron and Jazmin Diaz ran the shop at The Summit until it closed in February, and they're bringing back their churros with Nutella, dulce de leche, and crushed Oreo toppings in a new location rather than folding the concept altogether.

A few minutes away, Dogtopia is planning a location at Bazaar 280, to be run by Henson and Carlton Millsap, who already operate Dogtopia locations in Birmingham and Homewood. It'll offer daycare, boarding, and spa services in a standalone building, no mall foot traffic required.

Inverness Country Club just wrapped a multi-million-dollar renovation of its tennis and pickleball complex, adding six new pickleball courts, a rebuilt clubhouse, and an expanded outdoor patio. The club celebrated the project's completion in late August. It's membership-driven, self-contained, and entirely indifferent to what happens at the Galleria.

And just outside the city line, in unincorporated Jefferson County, Dobbins Group and Capstone Building Corp. finished Colina Hillside, a 475-unit apartment development with two saltwater pools, a pet spa, and co-working space. It's the kind of density that used to cluster around a mall. This one didn't need to.

Projects Taking Shape Beyond the Galleria

Together, these projects show several kinds of investment near the Galleria: a food business, a country club renovation, a standalone daycare, and an apartment development on its own parcel rather than in a mixed-use tower attached to retail.

The Galleria's future remains relevant to the city's budget, even as these projects illustrate activity at other nearby sites.

Hoover's Fall Calendar

Beyond the projects already underway, this fall's events are spread across venues throughout the city.

• October 3: The Bluff Park Art Show at Bluff Park Community Park
• October 15: Taste of Hoover, the city's annual food event

Those two have confirmed dates on this year's calendar, but they're only the anchors. The same fall lineup that shows up every year in Hoover, Together in Teal at Aldridge Gardens, the Head Over Teal 5K at The Preserve, Haunted Hallways at Hoover High, Hoover Spooktacular at the public library, and the Moss Rock Festival at the Hoover Met, comes back around again too. Together, they add to the range of venues hosting fall events around Hoover.

Aldridge Gardens, the library, Bluff Park, and the Hoover Met are among the places where people in this city spend their weekends this fall. Twenty years ago, a trip to the Galleria could be part of a family's night out.

None of this means the Galleria's next chapter won't matter. A $400 million redevelopment, if it happens, would reshape a real chunk of the city's commercial core, and a resolved sale would end years of uncertainty for a property that BhamNow reports Derzis described as the most infrastructure-rich commercial site in Central Alabama. Alongside the Galleria's unresolved future, nearby businesses, recreational amenities, and fall events offer other examples of activity in the area.

The Galleria's next chapter will shape one important part of that landscape.

If you're watching how a place like Hoover changes and wondering what it means for a home you already own or one you're thinking about, Brandon Smith Homes has spent more than two decades reading these shifts on the ground in Central Alabama. Let's Connect.