Metrocenter Mall (Phoenix, Arizona)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Metrocenter was a regional enclosed
shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a large indoor shopping center, usually Anchor tenant, anchored by department stores. The term ''mall'' originally meant pedestrian zone, a pedestrian promenade with shops along it, but in the late 1960s, i ...
in northwest
Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...
. It was bounded by
Interstate 17 Interstate 17 (I-17) is a north–south Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of Arizona. I-17's southern terminus lies in Phoenix, at I-10/US 60 and its northern terminus is in Flagstaff, at I-40. Most of I-17 is kn ...
, 31st, Dunlap and Peoria Avenues. Before its closure, the three most recently open anchor stores were Harkins Theatres, Walmart Supercenter, and Dillard's Clearance Center; three additional vacant anchor stores included former
Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co., commonly known as Sears ( ), is an American chain of department stores and online retailer founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosen ...
,
JCPenney Penney OpCo LLC , Trade name, doing business as JCPenney (colloquially Penney's and abbreviated JCP) is an American department store chain store, chain with 649 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. It is managed as part of the Catalys ...
, and
Macy's Macy's is an American department store chain founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. The first store was located in Manhattan on Sixth Avenue between 13th and 14th Streets, south of the present-day flagship store at Herald Square on West 34 ...
locations. The mall featured 100 stores, a 12 screen movie theater, and a
food court A food court (in Asia-Pacific also called food hall or hawker centre) is generally an indoor plaza or common area within a facility that is contiguous with the counters of multiple food Vendor, vendors and provides a common area for self-serve di ...
. Since January 2021, the mall had been owned by the Carlyle Development Group based in New York City. The mall officially closed on June 30, 2020. Parts of the film ''
Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...
'' were filmed in the mall.


History


Development

Metrocenter was a joint venture of Westcor, a regional shopping center development firm headed by a group of real estate investors and developers led by Russ "Rusty" Lyon, Jr., and
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 ...
, the real estate division of
Sears, Roebuck and Company Sears, Roebuck and Co., commonly known as Sears ( ), is an American chain of department stores and online retailer founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosen ...
. The project was announced in November 1970, the first site plans and artist renderings announced in the spring of 1972, and construction beginning in June 1972. The mall would be anchored by five department stores,
Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co., commonly known as Sears ( ), is an American chain of department stores and online retailer founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosen ...
, Rhodes Brothers, Diamond's,
Goldwater's Goldwater's Department Store was a department store chain based in Phoenix, Arizona. History Michael Goldwater, a Polish Jewish immigrant and the grandfather of U.S. Senator and 1964 presidential candidate Barry Goldwater, established a tradin ...
, and
The Broadway The Broadway was a mid-level department store chain headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1896 by English-born Arthur Letts Sr., and named after what was once the city's main shopping street, the Broadway became a dominant reta ...
. The mall was designed by Flatow, Moore Bryan & Fairburn, Robert Fairburn who headed the Phoenix offices of the firm was project architect. Ernest W. Hahn was general contractor selected to build the mall. The Goldwater's building was designed by Chaix & Johnson Associates of Los Angeles. Goldwater's featured unique ceramic tiles on its exterior that were manufactured by Franciscan Interpace Ceramics. The Diamond's store was designed by Robert Young & Associates of Dallas as a dynamic modern structure with a southwestern influence. Kitchell Contractors, Inc. of Phoenix handled construction of Goldwater's as well as Diamond's. Rhodes Brothers was designed by the Los Angeles firm of Victor Gruen Associates. It featured desert sand colored walls and a glass enclosed elevator. The Broadway building was designed by Los Angeles architect
Charles Luckman Charles Luckman (May 16, 1909 – January 26, 1999) was an American businessman, property developer, and architect known for designing landmark buildings in the United States such as the Theme Building, Prudential Tower, Madison Square Garden, ...
, and was constructed by the Del E. Webb Corporation. The mall was built on in an area of Phoenix that was a sparsely populated residential district at what was then considered the northern edge of town (the area was actually an unincorporated part of
Maricopa County Maricopa County () is a county in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census the population was 4,420,568, or about 62% of the state's total, making it the fourth-most populous county in the United States and ...
which was annexed by the city of Phoenix because of the project). Lyon's firm correctly noted that population growth would favor northwest Phoenix. After the site was chosen, "...from then on, it was a matter of appealing to the marketing acumen of the major department stores. They didn't take much convincing." There was some initial opposition to the project from neighborhood residents who feared heavy traffic generated from major retailers as well as buildings which exceeded height limits. As a result, there were some delays in the rezoning of the land by the city of Phoenix, but residents' fears were eventually addressed to their satisfaction. A lawsuit filed by the "Deer Valley Residents Association" was dropped by late September 1972. In June 1972, the First National Bank of Arizona (now the Arizona operations of
Wells Fargo Bank Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with a significant global presence. The company operates in 35 countries and serves over 70 million customers worldwide. It is a systemically important fi ...
) made a $21 million loan to the developers, which was the largest commercial real estate loan ever made in Arizona up to that time. The total cost of Metrocenter was estimated at $100 million. The mall was opened for business on October 1 1973, and when it opened as the first two-level, five-anchor mall in the U.S., it was the largest shopping center in Arizona and was considered one of the largest shopping centers in the United States. Shoppers initially came from as far away as Flagstaff and
Tucson Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...
to see and to shop at the large mall. Metrocenter became the model for later Westcor master-planned developments around Phoenix, such as Paradise Valley Mall.


Decline and renovations

The mall started to decline economically after the 1980s; as the Phoenix area expanded, many of the immediate residential neighborhoods bordering Metrocenter became less middle-class/upscale and more working-class in demographics. Newer malls, such as Paradise Valley Mall and Fiesta Mall seized market share from Metrocenter in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. In addition to increased competition, crime in the mall's neighborhood and parking lot increased. Local car enthusiasts started cruising the mall in the early ‘80s, driving their cars around the property and socializing. Later Phoenix Police began blocking traffic for the "cruisers", which also inconvenienced mall goers and led to a decline in weekend patronage. In 1992–93 Metrocenter underwent a renovation designed by San Diego–based Callison Architecture. The work was completed by The Weitz Company General Contractors. In January 2004, Metrocenter was sold by DVM Co., a joint venture of
Simon Property Group Simon Property Group, Inc. is an American real estate investment trust that invests in shopping malls, outlet centers, and community/lifestyle centers. It is the largest owner of shopping malls in the United States and is headquartered in Indian ...
and Rusty Lyon, Jr., to a joint venture of The Macerich Company and
AEW Capital Management AEW Capital Management (AEW) is an American real estate investment firm headquartered in Boston. The firm is the real estate asset management platform of Natixis Investment Managers. In 2022, the firm was ranked by PERE (under Private Equity I ...
. The new ownership brought back the founding developer, Westcor, by now an Arizona retail giant and subsidiary of The Macerich Co., to manage the property. In 2005, several of the mall's retail stores that appeared in ''
Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...
'', such as Oshman's Sporting Goods and Casual Corner, closed in accordance with the chains' foldings, and were replaced by newer stores. Facing large vacancies, in 2005–2006, the exterior of the mall was improved. The parking lot was repaved and 35 percent more lighting was added. New "Metrocenter" signs were placed above the mall's entrances. More than 300 trees were removed (most of them eucalyptus) and desert-friendly landscaping was planted. Metrocenter's interior was revamped in 2007. Diaper-changing stations and attendants were added to the restrooms. A nursing room, Wi-Fi access, and a community room with seating for up to 100 were added to the mall. The food court and play center were remodeled. In November 2007, a closed-circuit camera television system was installed that is sophisticated enough to read the license plate number of any car in the mall's parking lot. Public view monitors were installed at the entrances to the mall showing that entrance to people as they entered the mall. On April 6, 2010
Jones Lang LaSalle Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated (JLL) is a global real estate services company, founded in the United Kingdom with offices in 80 countries. The company also provides investment management services worldwide, including services to institutional an ...
took over management and 15% ownership of Metrocenter Mall from Westcor.


Redevelopment and closure

Later in 2010, the mall was put up for sale and in January 2012, the sale to the Carlyle Development Group for $12.2 million was finalized. The company had publicly stated that over a period of five to six years, it hoped to turn the property into a mixed-use development site, with retail, residential, medical and possibly college campus tenants. In June 2016, a massive redevelopment of Metrocenter was approved by the Phoenix City Council. Metrocenter will undergo a massive revitalization that will bring more retail and restaurants as well as office buildings, apartments, senior housing, and health-care facilities to the mall. The City of Phoenix rezoned the mall to allow office, medical and residential space; it had been zoned for solely retail use. The Metro Parkway station on the
Valley Metro The Valley Metro Regional Public Transportation Authority, more popularly known as Valley Metro, is the unified public brand of the regional transit system for the Phoenix metropolitan area. Within the system, it is divided between Valley Met ...
light rail system opened on the former mall property in January 27, 2024. In a letter from general manager Kim Ramirez on June 19, 2020, Metrocenter Mall announced that they would be closing at the end of that month citing "the drop in our occupancy levels due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
." After 47 years of service, Metro Center Mall was closed on June 30, 2020, due to low store occupancy levels following the COVID-19 pandemic, and failed rejuvenation projects to boost foot traffic. Remains of the mall were auctioned off on December 3, 2020. The mall started to be demolished on November 18, 2024 as part of a $750 million redevelopment project that will replace the mall with other retail space, apartments, and services. A farewell celebration for Metrocenter—featuring a screening of ''Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure''—was held on May 21, 2023, prior to demolition. The name of the redevelopment project will be The Metropolitan.


Anchors

The original
anchor store In North American, Australian and New Zealand retail, an "anchor tenant", sometimes called an "anchor store", "draw tenant", or "key tenant", is a considerably larger tenant in a shopping mall, often a department store or retail chain. They are ...
s were
Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co., commonly known as Sears ( ), is an American chain of department stores and online retailer founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosen ...
, Rhodes Brothers, Diamond's,
Goldwater's Goldwater's Department Store was a department store chain based in Phoenix, Arizona. History Michael Goldwater, a Polish Jewish immigrant and the grandfather of U.S. Senator and 1964 presidential candidate Barry Goldwater, established a tradin ...
, and
The Broadway The Broadway was a mid-level department store chain headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1896 by English-born Arthur Letts Sr., and named after what was once the city's main shopping street, the Broadway became a dominant reta ...
. All of the anchors opened in 1973, with the exception of Sears which opened in 1974. The mall had an
ice skating rink An ice rink (or ice skating rink) is a frozen body of water or an artificial sheet of ice where people can ice skate or play winter sports. Ice rinks are also used for exhibitions, contests and ice shows. The growth and increasing popularity of ...
on the ground level overlooked by the mall's food court, which was designed to resemble the
fuselage The fuselage (; from the French language, French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds Aircrew, crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an Aircraft engine, engine as wel ...
of an
airliner An airliner is a type of airplane for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. The modern and most common variant of the airliner is a long, tube shaped, and jet powered aircraft. The largest ...
. The ice rink closed in 1990, the large space where it once sat was filled, and the balcony that overlooked it was filled to house more seating in the food court. The food court was also redesigned and now no longer resembles an airliner fuselage. In 1974, the mall opened a triple-screen movie theater by
General Cinema Corporation General Cinema Corporation, also known as General Cinema, GCC, or General Cinema Theatres, was a chain of movie theaters in the United States. At its peak, the company operated about 1,500 screens, some of which were among the first theaters ce ...
. The theater was acquired by Harkins Theatres in March 1999, and converted to a 12-screen theater. Over time, the mall's anchors have changed as a result of acquisitions and consolidation amongst department stores. Diamond's was converted to
Dillard's Dillard's, Inc. is an American department store chain with approximately 267 stores in 29 states and headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas. Currently, the largest number of stores are located in Texas with 57 and Florida with 42. The company a ...
in 1984. Rhodes Brothers was converted to Liberty House in 1974, then to
Joske's Joske's, founded by German immigrant Julius Joske in 1867, was a department store chain originally based in San Antonio, Texas, San Antonio, Texas. In December 1928, Hahn Department Stores acquired the company along with the Titche-Goettinger dep ...
in 1984. After Joske's was acquired by Dillard's in early 1987, the location became a second Dillard's, and then a
JCPenney Penney OpCo LLC , Trade name, doing business as JCPenney (colloquially Penney's and abbreviated JCP) is an American department store chain store, chain with 649 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. It is managed as part of the Catalys ...
. JCPenney moved to
Christown Spectrum Mall Christown Spectrum is a mall in Phoenix, Arizona, United States, located at 1703 W. Bethany Home Road. It is the city's oldest operating mall and was the third shopping mall built in the city. Its name is derived from Chris-Town Mall and Phoenix ...
in 2007 and left the former location of JCPenney vacant until Metrocenter's ultimate closure, when it became a Life Storage. The Broadway was acquired by Federated Department Stores in 1996, and converted to a
Macy's Macy's is an American department store chain founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. The first store was located in Manhattan on Sixth Avenue between 13th and 14th Streets, south of the present-day flagship store at Herald Square on West 34 ...
. Goldwater's was converted to J.W. Robinson's in 1989, which became
Robinsons-May Robinsons-May was an American department store chain founded in 1993 with the merger of J. W. Robinson's and May Company California. It retained the former May headquarters in Los Angeles, California, and operated in Southern California, Arizo ...
in 1993. In 2005, Macy's closed its store at the former Broadway site, which returned to the mall a year later, at the Robinsons-May building after the
May Department Stores The May Department Stores Company was an American holding company of department stores founded in 1877 by David May. It operated several regional department stores throughout the United States, which were managed as distinct business divisions ...
were acquired by Macy's in 2006. In January 2015, Macy's announced it was closing its Metrocenter location for the second time in ten years by early spring, citing a nationwide reorganization. The store closed in June. Dillard's was converted to a clearance center in 2009, closing the first level of its store. In June 2014, it was announced that a Walmart Supercenter would open, taking over the space occupied by the vacant Broadway building. The Broadway building was demolished and construction for the Supercenter began on July 20, 2016. The new Supercenter opened in October 2017, though it is not accessible from the mall. On May 31, 2018, it was announced that Sears would be closing in September 2018 as part of a plan to close 72 stores nationwide, which left the mall without any original anchors. Only Dillard's Clearance Center and Walmart (which has no mall entrance) were the remaining anchors until Dillard's closed in 2023. On February 22, 2023, it was announced that
Dillard's Dillard's, Inc. is an American department store chain with approximately 267 stores in 29 states and headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas. Currently, the largest number of stores are located in Texas with 57 and Florida with 42. The company a ...
Clearance Center would be closing as part of a plan to close 3 stores nationwide. Dillard's Clearance Center closed on April 15, 2023. On May 29, 2023, Harkins Theatres closed their Metrocenter location permanently, leaving Walmart and Life Storage as the last remaining businesses on the property. The latter has since been rebranded to CubeSmart Self Storage.


List of anchor stores


References

*
Arizona Republic ''The Arizona Republic'' is an American daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. History Early years The newspap ...
: :
September 30, 1973
p. K1 : September 1, 1972 : June 9, 1972 : May 6, 2006 : July 25, 2008 * * * * * * {{Shopping malls in Arizona Shopping malls in Arizona 1973 establishments in Arizona 2020 disestablishments in Arizona Buildings and structures in Phoenix, Arizona Companies disestablished due to the COVID-19 pandemic Shopping malls in Maricopa County, Arizona Tourist attractions in Phoenix, Arizona Shopping malls established in 1973 Defunct shopping malls in the United States Shopping malls disestablished in 2020 Demolished buildings and structures in Arizona