NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF — The once-vacant Macy's store at the Global Mall in Antioch, which stood abandoned for decades, has found new life. This week marked a significant transformation as the old department store reopened its doors, not for shoppers, but for students.
KIPP Antioch Global High School has officially welcomed students and staff into their new home, bringing education to a place once known for retail.
Miguel Reyna was born and raised and Antioch and remembers going to the mall as a kid.
"I feel like I remember especially this part and then the Dillard’s over there. I remember just parking there, going through the department store back to school getting clothes," he said.
Reyna has witnessed businesses come and go in the Antioch community, with the Global Mall, formerly Hickory Hollow Mall, closing its doors for good in 2019. For many, the mall's decline began much earlier, particularly with Macy's closure in 2012.
Now, the site where Reyna once shopped for back-to-school clothes is where he works. "It's crazy to just imagine that it's a school now," he said.
The transformation of the old Macy's into KIPP Antioch Global High School is a significant milestone for the community.
"I want this school to have some of the most incredible and competitive student achievement results of any high school in the state, not just in this community or in this cluster," said Principal Marc Gauthier.
The campus now houses more than 250 high school students and nearly 130 middle school students. As everyone settles into their first week, there's still work to be done to complete the facility.
"To watch it from being a vacant Macy's with holes in the roof and puddles on the floor to getting sheetrock pulled up and foundation poured to now welcoming kids, and teaching algebra one and geometry in the space that maybe used to be in men's departments is really incredible."
For Reyna, a graduate of a Nashville KIPP high school, the opportunity to give back to his community as a teacher is a source of pride. He is also proud to see his community continue to thrive and evolve.
Kipp Antioch Global High School is still enrollingstudents in its middle school.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at (kelsey.gibbs@newschannel5.com).
Fostering Hope provides Christmas for kids in foster care. I'm delighted to see Fostering Hope expand this year to expand their reach to now include kids in Foster care in metro AND foster kids in East TN hard hit by Helene.
-Bree Smith
