DANVILLE — The Danville Village Mall used to be a bustling place, according to Mayor Rickey Williams Jr.
Now, the city’s code enforcement staff is making sure it is safe for employees and patrons.
The Village Mall suffered damage to its roof during the torrential downpours back in June.
Since then, the Village Mall County Market has closed for good, and there are still buckets collecting rainwater in the main portion of the mall.
“Can we talk about the mall for a second?” asked Ward 6 Alderman Jon Cooper asked during Tuesday’s City Council meeting. “I mean, when we found out that roof was leaking, did the city do anything about that, or has the city done anything about this roof?”
Williams said during the meeting, the city did “immediately” go into the mall following the storms in June.
“That’s when we got the closure; that’s when County Market closed their doors,” said the mayor noting they were still determining whether or not code enforcement will penalize anyone.
On Friday, Williams said the city’s legal division is involved.
“Our legal division oversees our code enforcement .. we have issues with leaking stuff inside of the mall,” Williams said. “They have to address that for safety reasons.”
As to whether the mall will close, Williams says it is up in the air.
However, he says there are “buckets everywhere, literally buckets, and there are sections cordoned off.”
Williams also said that when one of the new owners who took ownership earlier this year — who does not want to be named — told him the previous owner’s insurance is supposed to cover the roof damage.
“Unfortunately, the leaks and stuff started when (they were) in transition of purchasing the property, and so it should have been disclosed and covered by the previous owner’s insurance,’’ Williams said. “It’s my understanding that (they are) in the midst of litigation with them.”
Currently, the Village Mall has three separate owners.
“Slumberland owns Slumberland, what used to be Sears, which is now Slumberland and Shoe Sensation,” said Williams, noting the grocery part is owned by a different party. “And then the entire rest of the mall is owned by this other (owner) and that is where Citi Trends and Hibbet Sports are still operating.”
Williams places most of the frustration on one previous owner, Jimmy Virk.
“That’s one of the things that makes me so angry about all this… everyone is doing the right things except for (the previous owner),” the mayor said. “We were working with the owner to reimagine its uses and possibly repurpose its uses. And we were even willing to partner with them to provide a study about uses… they either couldn’t or wouldn’t come up with their portion of resources.”
Williams says now the biggest concern is safety.
“We’re just trying to make sure that everyone is protected,” he said. “You just gotta make sure that you protect people as much as you can.
“Also trying to balance business interests.”
At this time, the mall is largely vacant compared to what it once was with a movie theater, a food court, multiple places to shop as well as a dining option like Garfield’s.
On Jan. 24 of this year, Bath and Body Works closed its doors at the mall, and Dunham Sports closed in December of 2025. The Village Mall was sold earlier this year in an online auction for $1.2 million.
Now, there is only a Slumberland, a Citi Trends, Ross Dress For Less, Pets Supplies Plus and Hibbet Sports. There is also community education provided by Danville Area Community College.