CBL & Associates Properties opened Bonita Lakes Mall on October 15, 1997, in Meridian, Mississippi, deliberately drawing anchors away from the older, nearby Village Fair Mall, which closed shortly afterward as a direct result. Original anchors included JCPenney, Dillard’s and McRae’s.
RockStep Capital bought the property in 2016 and renamed it Uptown Meridian in the summer of 2020, part of a broader institutional rebrand the firm has applied to at least one other Mississippi mall in its portfolio. At roughly 632,192 sqft, the property carries more than 40 stores across six anchor positions, alongside a movie theater and Bonita Lakes Crossing, an adjacent shopping center with Ashley Furniture HomeStore and Jo-Ann.
American Eagle, Buckle, Cato and Victoria’s Secret carry fashion among the mall’s specialty tenants, with Foot Locker and Hibbett Sports anchoring the sportswear category.
That “Uptown” naming convention, applied here and separately to Edgewood Mall roughly 175 highway miles southwest in McComb, reflects a specific institutional strategy: RockStep Capital rebranding acquired Mississippi malls under one consistent identity rather than retaining each property’s original, locally-rooted name.
