Chandler Fashion Center is a regional shopping center located in the city of

Chandler, Arizona Chandler is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and a suburb in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). It is bordered to the north and west by Tempe, to the north by Mesa, to the west by Phoenix, to the ...

, and is the second largest mall in the

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

metropolitan area. The mall is owned by

Macerich Macerich ( ) is a real estate investment trust that invests in shopping centers. It is the third-largest owner and operator of shopping centers in the United States. As of December 31, 2020, the company owned interests in 52 properties comprisi ...

and was developed by

Westcor Westcor was a subsidiary of The Macerich Company and a large developer of shopping malls in the Southwestern region of the United States. It was founded in 1964 by entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic val ...

a former subsidiary of Macerich. The current anchors are Dillard's,

Macy's Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...

and

Harkins Theatres Harkins Theatres is an American movie theater chain with locations throughout the Southwestern United States. Harkins Theatres is privately owned and operated by its parent company, Harkins Enterprises, LLC. The company currently operates 33 t ...

. The mall is located on Chandler Boulevard at the northwest corner of Price Road and Loop 202 (the SanTan Freeway). Chandler Fashion Center serves as a transit center for

Valley Metro Bus Valley Metro Bus is a transit bus system for public transport in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. In , the Valley Metro half the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of . Buses are operated by private companies contracte ...

. Sales at Chandler Fashion Center are more than $600 per square foot, which is well above the national average of $392 per square foot.

Layout

Chandler Fashion Center is unique among most indoor shopping centers in its design. The mall layout is designed like the letter "A" with the food court as the top point. All of the indoor mall shops radiate out into 3 wings from the food court. The mall features stone columns, marble floors and large skylights all incorporated in a modern, yet contemporary design. The mall is also a showcase of Arizona scenery courtesy of

Arizona Highways ''Arizona Highways'' is a magazine that contains travelogues and artistic photographs related to the U.S. state of Arizona. It is published monthly in Phoenix by a unit of the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT). Background The m ...

. Large photographic murals of the Grand Canyon,

Sedona Sedona is a city that straddles the county line between Coconino and Yavapai counties in the northern Verde Valley region of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2010 census, its population was 10,031. It is within the Coconino National Fo ...

and Arizona's

Sonoran Desert The Sonoran Desert ( es, Desierto de Sonora) is a desert in North America and ecoregion that covers the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, as well as part of the southwestern United States (in Ariz ...

are displayed on walls at the ends of each wing as well as certain outdoor entrances to the mall. Adjacent to the food court entrance of the mall is an outdoor entertainment and dining plaza called The Village. The entertainment and dining options at The Village include the

, Escape the Room,

The Old Spaghetti Factory The Old Spaghetti Factory is an Italian-American-style chain restaurant in the United States and Canada. The U.S. restaurants are owned by OSF International, based in Portland, Oregon, while the Canadian restaurants are owned by The Old Spaghett ...

Buffalo Wild Wings Buffalo Wild Wings (originally Buffalo Wild Wings & Weck, hence the nickname BDubs, or BW3) is an American casual dining restaurant and sports bar franchise in the United States, Canada, India, Mexico, Panama, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, a ...

, BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse,

California Pizza Kitchen California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) is an American casual dining restaurant chain that specializes in California-style pizza. The restaurant was started in 1985 by attorneys Rick Rosenfield and Larry Flax in Beverly Hills, California, United States ...

, PLAYlive Nation, and a Starbucks. A popular attraction of the outdoor plaza used to be the Dancing Waters fountain featuring a display of water, lights and music. The fountains were later demolished in the Summer of 2014 and renovated into a picnic area that featured patio seating, lawn areas, and a children's splash pad. Surrounding the mall there are many large retail centers including Chandler Festival, Chandler Gateway, Chandler Village Center and the Boulevard Shops.

History

The mall opened on October 19, 2001 with 229 stores and five anchors (Arizona's second

Nordstrom Nordstrom, Inc. () is an American luxury department store chain headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and founded by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin in 1901. The original Wallin & Nordstrom store operated exclusively as a shoe store, a ...

Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began a ...

, Dillard's,

Robinsons-May Robinsons-May was a chain of department stores operating in Southern California, Arizona and Nevada, from 1993 until 2006. It was created when May Department Stores combined two of its chains, May Company California and J. W. Robinson's cha ...

and

). Originally owned by Westcor, Chandler Fashion Center became part of The Macerich Company's portfolio in 2002. Robinsons-May converted to

in 2006. On January 5, 2011, a shootout occurred at the mall with the suspect and two officers, causing a lockdown immediately. The standoff lasted shortly, and police arrested the suspect after his surrender, no deaths or injuries were recorded. In 2015,

Sears Holdings Sears Holdings Corporation was an American holding company headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. It was the parent company of the chain stores Kmart and Sears and was founded after the former purchased the latter in 2005. It was the 20th- ...

spun off 235 of its properties, including the Sears at Chandler Fashion Center, into Seritage Growth Properties. On October 16, 2018, it was announced that Sears would be closing as part of a plan to close 142 stores nationwide. The store closed in January 2019. In 2019, the Crayola Experience opened near the food court, replacing the Gap store. On May 6, 2020, it was announced that Nordstrom would also be closing as part of a plan to close 16 stores nationwide. The store closed in August 2020. On May 19, 2021, it was announced that sporting goods store Scheels will replace the vacant Nordstrom. It will be the first Scheels store in the state of Arizona, and is slated to open in fall 2023.

Anchors

* Dillard's *

* Barnes & Noble

References

External links

Chandler Fashion Center Official Site
* {{Macerich Buildings and structures in Chandler, Arizona Macerich Shopping malls in Maricopa County, Arizona Shopping malls established in 2001 2001 establishments in Arizona