RiverTown Crossings is a two-story enclosed super-regional

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refe ...

Grandville, Michigan Grandville is a city in Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 15,378 at the 2010 census. Grandville is just southwest of the city of Grand Rapids and is part of the Grand Rapids metropolitan area. It was first settled i ...

. It has four anchors:

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 ...

Kohl's Kohl's (stylized in all caps) is an American department store retail chain, operated by Kohl's Corporation. it is the largest department store chain in the United States, with 1,165 locations, operating stores in every U.S. state except Haw ...

JCPenney Penney OpCo LLC, doing business as JCPenney and often abbreviated JCP, is a midscale American department store chain operating 667 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Departments inside JCPenney stores include Mens, Womens, Boys, Gir ...

, and Dick's Sporting Goods with two vacant anchors last occupied by

Younkers Younkers Inc. is an American online retailer and former department store chain founded as a family-run dry goods business in 1856 in Keokuk, Iowa. The retailer had evolved over more than 150 years to include a presence in locations throughout Iowa ...

and

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 ...

History

Design and development

The area occupied by the mall was initially the site for Shoemaker Airfield, which was constructed in the 1960s. Plans for a commercial development in Grandville began in 1981 when developer General Growth Properties purchased 99 acres of land on what is now Rivertown Parkway. In 1990,

Homart Development Company Homart Development Company, a Chicago-based subsidiary of Sears, was one of the largest builders of shopping centers and malls in the United States from 1959 to 1995. Company history As retail development in the United States shifted away from d ...

, a subsidiary of

, had begun eyeing a development of a new mall near the intersection of 44th Street and Ivanrest and met with the city for approval. In November 1990, Homart Development Co. originally proposed a 1 million square foot, 120-store indoor mall on 94 acres of land near the intersection, seeking for the land to be rezoned from high-tech industrial to commercial. However, the City of Grandville turned down the plans in January 1991, stating that a 99-acre lot on Rivertown Parkway, which was adjacent to the property sought by Homart, was already zoned for commercial usage and was owned by General Growth. Homart's plan for a mall was then put on hold after its director, Roy Vice, left the company and Homart Development Company was put up for sale in 1994, later being sold to General Growth in 1995. In October 1994 after waiting for the economy to strengthen, General Growth vice president John Bergstrom proposed a 150-store mall with 4 anchor stores, stating that the project could be completed by Spring 1997. This plan was also declined on October 12, 1994, with Grandville Mayor James Buck stating that more commercial was not needed in the city. General Growth then made a deal to acquire more land adjacent to the site in August 1996, with a new proposed mall site totaling 138 acres. General Growth and the City of Grandville then made a deal in October 1996 after General Growth promised in August that the mall would only remain in Grandville and not span into Wyoming, with Grandville Mayor James Buck stating, "The construction of this mall has been anticipated for years. ... Our goal will be to provide the finest shopping mall in Michigan". A revised plan for the mall was later approved in May 1997 which reduced the size of the mall to just over 130 stores. Construction for the mall broke ground on December 6, 1997 with a total construction cost of about $160 million, the .

Opening

RiverTown Crossings opened on November 3, 1999 just prior to the holiday season with five original anchors:

Hudson's The J. L. Hudson Company (commonly known simply as Hudson's) was an upscale retail department store chain based in Detroit, Michigan. Hudson's flagship store, on Woodward Avenue in Downtown Detroit (demolished October 24, 1998), was the tallest ...

(became

Marshall Field's Marshall Field & Company (commonly known as Marshall Field's) was an upscale department store in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in the 19th century, it grew to become a large chain before Macy's, Inc acquired it in 2005. Its eponymous founder, Mar ...

in 2001, Macy's in 2006),

and

with Barnes & Noble also featured as a junior anchor. Months later,

Galyan's Galyan's Trading Company was an American sporting goods chain. It was founded in Plainfield, Indiana. The store began in 1946 as a grocery store, founded by Albert and Naomi Galyan. By the 1960s, the Galyans began selling sporting goods instead. ...

(now Dick's Sporting Goods) and

Old Navy Old Navy is an American clothing and accessories retailing company owned by multinational corporation Gap Inc. It has corporate operations in the Mission Bay neighborhood of San Francisco, California. The largest of the Old Navy stores are its ...

opened, with Galyan's becoming the mall's sixth anchor tenant and Old Navy becoming another junior anchor. The mall also offered a Cinemark cinema with 20 screens near its food court. A

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...

Silicon Motor Speedway Racing Center and Kahunaville were present at the mall shortly after its opening, with both closing a few years later. The mall was one of the first developments in the area. After the mall was built, many other restaurants and stores opened around it. Now the area is well developed and a major shopping district for the West Side of Grand Rapids including the Holland Area.

Further changes

On March 26, 2002,

Meijer Meijer Inc. (, ; stylized as meijer) is an American supercenter chain that primarily operates throughout the Midwest. Its corporate headquarters are in Walker, Michigan, which is a part of the Grand Rapids metropolitan area. Founded in 1934 ...

opened outside the mall. Duluth Trading Company opened in the mall's property on November 16, 2017. On April 18, 2018, it was announced that

would be closing its doors due to its parent company,

The Bon-Ton Stores Bon-Ton Holdings Inc. is an American online retailer and former department store chain founded in 1898. After rapid expansion in the 1990s and early 2000s, the original company had financial troubles, ultimately filing for bankruptcy in 2018 ...

, was unable to find a buyer forcing the chain to go out of business. The store closed on August 29, 2018. On November 9, 2020, it was announced that

would also be closing as part of a plan to close 7 stores nationwide. The store closed on January 24, 2021.

Stores and attractions

The mall has a total of over 130 stores with about of retail space available. Outside are more than 6,000 parking spaces. Food and beverage merchants are located in the mall. There is also a food court with a carousel in the center that is surrounded by 8 quick service restaurants. The mall features murals painted by Chicago-based artist Thomas Melvin in 1999, when the mall first opened. As part of a minor renovation in 2017, many of these murals were painted over, with only those above the anchor stores remaining. Near the food court, there is also a 20 screen Celebration Cinema movie theater. The theater serves as one of the mall's anchor tenants and is one of the most popular cinemas in Michigan, consecutively performing as one of the top 3 theaters in the state. RiverTown Crossings food court

References

External links

The Rapid Route 8 scheduleThe Rapid Route 44 schedule
{{Brookfield Properties Shopping malls in Michigan Brookfield Properties Buildings and structures in Kent County, Michigan Shopping malls established in 1999 Tourist attractions in Kent County, Michigan 1999 establishments in Michigan