Southtown Center, colloquially known as Southtown, is a 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 ...

Bloomington, Minnesota Bloomington is a suburban city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, on the north bank of the Minnesota River, above its confluence with the Mississippi River, south of downtown Minneapolis. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 89,987, ma ...

, a suburb of the

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in statu ...

. Southtown Center consists of of retail space. The center contains 38 retail tenants and is anchored by

AMF Bowling Center AMF may refer to: * Action Message Format, a protocol for object remoting * Additive Manufacturing File Format, a protocol for 3D printing * Adios Motherfucker, a cocktail * Against Malaria Foundation, a charity that raises funds for mosquito b ...

Bed Bath & Beyond Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. is an American chain of domestic merchandise retail stores. The chain operates many stores in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. Bed Bath & Beyond was founded in 1971. It is counted among the Fortune 5 ...

(closing),

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 Hawai ...

, and

TJ Maxx TJ Maxx (stylized as T•J•maxx) is an American department store chain, selling at prices generally lower than other major similar stores. It has more than 1,000 stores in the United States, making it one of the largest clothing retailers in ...

. The first phase of Southtown Center opened on November 3, 1960, with two more phases proceeding in 1963 and 1964. The mall is partially enclosed, while the majority of the center contains

open air Open air, open-air or openair may refer to: *''Open Air'', a BBC television program *Open-air cinema or outdoor cinema *Open-air concert, a concert taking place outside *Open-air museum, a distinct type of museum exhibiting its collections out-of- ...

structures. Several additional buildings were constructed on the property throughout the years, while minimal renovations took place to maintain the mall's appearance.

History

1960–62: Construction, grand opening, and additions

Southtown Center opened on November 3, 1960 in

and became Bloomington's "first regional shopping center". The center was developed by Kraus-Anderson, Inc., a Bloomington-based construction firm, with founder Lloyd Engelsma taking over as the site's project manager. According to Engelsma, Southtown was built atop "a strip of cow pasture" near a busy intersection in Bloomington, taking up nearly 37 acres of land; Engelsma had "high expectations for the new center." During construction of the mall, three labor strikes occurred which heavily delayed construction; unideal and inclement weather created further setbacks during the construction.

Montgomery Ward Montgomery Ward is the name of two successive U.S. retail corporations. The original Montgomery Ward & Co. was a world-pioneering mail-order business and later also a leading department store chain that operated between 1872 and 2001. The curren ...

, a

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-based department store, announced that they would be opening up a location at Southtown, and became the mall's only anchor; Ward filled a building, the largest Ward department store in the United States. After the center's opening, several additions took place at the mall. During 1963, a

was constructed on the north side of the property; the bowling alley is still currently in use today. In 1964, a

Mann Theatres Mann Theatres was a movie theater chain that predominantly operated in the western United States, with a heavy concentration of theaters in Southern California. Its motto was "Where Hollywood goes to the movies". History The Mann Theatres chai ...

was constructed on the property; Southtown Mann Theatre became the first movie theater to be attached to a shopping center in the Twin Cities. However, the cinema was completely remodeled in 1980, removing some its original decor, before being torn down in 1995 to make way for additional retail.

1998–present: Store closings and rezoning

Montgomery Ward prospered as Southtown's largest tenant until 1998, when Ward announced that they would be closing nine underperforming locations as part of their "ongoing operations and strategic initiatives to return to profitability." Filling Ward's vacancy was

Herberger's G. R. Herberger Inc. is a department store chain founded in 1927 with locations throughout the Midwestern United States. The chain was sold in the late 1990s amid growing consolidation in the department store industry, while continuing to operate ...

, a Minnesota department store, who had agreed to purchase several other closed Montgomery Ward stores in the Twin Cities area.

Toys "R" Us Toys "R" Us is an American toy, clothing, and baby product retailer owned by Tru Kids (doing business as Tru Kids Brands) and various others. The company was founded in 1957; its first store was built in April 1948, with its headquarters loc ...

agreed to lease the other side of the Ward store that Herberger's hadn't leased. In September 2014, several plans were created by the city of Bloomington in order to rezone several parts of the shopping center. However, Southtown's owner, Kraus-Anderson, stated that the rezoning would "threaten Southtown's existence and that customers like things how they are." Several Bloomington locals and customers of Southtown created a website to persuade the city of Bloomington not to continue with any redeveloping plans. Despite the creation of the website and Kraus-Anderson's frustration and concern during the proposed redevelopment, the city council approved the project in July 2015. In April of the same year, Southtown's Toys "R" Us closed after their 26-year lease expired. Despite this closing, Southtown Center has maintained a 99 percent occupancy rate for many years. On April 18, 2018, it was announced that Herberger's would be closing as 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 going out of business. The store closed on August 29, 2018.

References

External links

*
Southtown Center 'Next' site
Site created to avoid redevelopment of the center {{DEFAULTSORT:Southtown Center Buildings and structures in Bloomington, Minnesota Minneapolis–Saint Paul Shopping malls established in 1960 Shopping malls in Hennepin County, Minnesota Shopping malls in Minnesota Tourist attractions in Hennepin County, Minnesota