Fair Oaks Mall
Encyclopedia
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
just outside the City of Fairfax, Virginia
Fairfax, Virginia
The City of Fairfax is an independent city forming an enclave within the confines of Fairfax County, in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Although politically independent of the surrounding county, the City is nevertheless the county seat....
. It is located at the intersection of Interstate 66
Interstate 66
Interstate 66 is an Interstate Highway in the eastern United States. As indicated by its even route number, it runs in an east–west direction. Its western terminus is at Middletown, Virginia, at an intersection with Interstate 81; its eastern terminus is in Washington, D.C., at an...
and U.S. Route 50
U.S. Route 50
U.S. Route 50 is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching just over from Ocean City, Maryland on the Atlantic Ocean to West Sacramento, California. Until 1972, when it was replaced by Interstate Highways west of the Sacramento area, it extended to San Francisco, near...
. The mall has a Gross leasable area
Gross leasable area
Gross leasable area in the retail development industry is a term applied to shopping malls, lifestyle centers, outlet malls and other retail centers to indicate the amount of floor space available to be rented...
(GLA) of 1574000 sq ft (146,229.4 m²).
In August 2007 it was announced by Taubman Centers
Taubman Centers
Taubman Centers is an owner of United States upscale regional malls and has headquarters in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. The Taubman Asia subsidiary is headquartered in Hong Kong. It has the highest selling portfolio of malls in any mall company in the United States.Taubman was founded in 1950 by...
that preliminary plans were in the works to expand the mall by 34%.
History
Fair Oaks Mall officially opened on July 31, 1980. The 1400000 square feet (130,064.3 m²) mall, developed by The Taubman CompanyTaubman Centers
Taubman Centers is an owner of United States upscale regional malls and has headquarters in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. The Taubman Asia subsidiary is headquartered in Hong Kong. It has the highest selling portfolio of malls in any mall company in the United States.Taubman was founded in 1950 by...
, opened in the midst of a recession, with only four of six anchor stores in operation (Hecht's
Hecht's
Hecht's, also known as Hecht Brothers, Hecht Bros. and the Hecht Company, was a large chain of department stores located mainly in the mid-Atlantic and southern region of the United States....
, JCPenney, Sears
Sears, Roebuck and Company
Sears, officially named Sears, Roebuck and Co., is an American chain of department stores which was founded by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck in the late 19th century...
, and Woodward & Lothrop
Woodward & Lothrop
Woodward & Lothrop was a department store chain headquartered in Washington, D.C. Woodward & Lothrop was Washington, D.C.'s first department store, opening in 1887. Woodies, as it was often nicknamed, maintained stores in the Mid-Atlantic United States...
) and 15 other storefronts occupied, leaving three fourths of the storefronts empty. The two remaining anchors opened shortly after; Garfinckel's
Garfinckel's
Garfinckel's was a prominent department store chain based in Washington, D.C., that catered to a clientele of wealthy consumers. It declared Chapter 11, in June 1990, and ceased operations in 1990.-History:...
on August 21, 1980, and Lord & Taylor
Lord & Taylor
Lord & Taylor, colloquially known as L&T, or LT, based in New York City, is the oldest upscale, specialty-retail department store chain in the United States. Concentrated in the eastern U.S., the retailer operated independently for nearly a century prior to joining American Dry Goods...
in Spring 1981. Developers expected 60 to be occupied by the Christmas season and 100 by the following year. Upon opening, it was the largest mall in the Washington, D.C. area. It included the first suburban Washington location of the British homegoods store, Conran's.
In 1982, the Fair Oaks Mall was one of the first sites used by Sears
Sears, Roebuck and Company
Sears, officially named Sears, Roebuck and Co., is an American chain of department stores which was founded by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck in the late 19th century...
as part of its effort to offer financial services
Financial services
Financial services refer to services provided by the finance industry. The finance industry encompasses a broad range of organizations that deal with the management of money. Among these organizations are credit unions, banks, credit card companies, insurance companies, consumer finance companies,...
to customers, including stocks, bonds, insurance and real estate, from its Dean Witter
Dean Witter Reynolds
Dean Witter Reynolds was an American stock brokerage and securities firm catering to retail clients. Prior to its acquisition, it was among the largest retail firms in the securities industry with over 9,000 account executives and was among the largest members of the New York Stock Exchange...
, Allstate
Allstate
The Allstate Corporation is the second-largest personal lines insurer in the United States and the largest that is publicly held. The company also has personal lines insurance operations in Canada. Allstate was founded in 1931 as part of Sears, Roebuck and Co., and was spun off in 1993...
and Coldwell Banker
Coldwell Banker
Coldwell Banker is a large real estate franchise founded in 1906 in San Francisco.Coldwell Banker has an international presence, with offices on six continents, 46 countries and territories...
subsidiaries.
In 1987, the mall's owners attempted to evict Garfinckel's
Garfinckel's
Garfinckel's was a prominent department store chain based in Washington, D.C., that catered to a clientele of wealthy consumers. It declared Chapter 11, in June 1990, and ceased operations in 1990.-History:...
and a related company, Raleigh Stores Holding, Inc., claiming that the store owners had not received the landlord's permission to assign the lease after Allied Stores, Inc.
Allied Stores
Allied Stores was a department store chain in the United States. It was founded in the 1930s as part of a general consolidation in the retail sector by B. E. Puckett. See also Associated Dry Goods. It was the successor to Hahn's Department Stores, a holding company founded in 1928...
divested some lines of business.
In 1988, seeking to reach out to a broader range of patrons, the Fairfax library system opened a 10,000 volume branch at the Fair Oaks Mall. The mall also contains a Virginia DMV
DMV
The initials DMV can stand for either:*Department of Motor Vehicles or Division of Motor Vehicles, the US state-level agency*Deserted medieval village*Deutsche Mathematiker-Vereinigung, the German Mathematical Society...
customer service center.
Anchors
- J.C. PenneyJ.C. PenneyJ. C. Penney Company, Inc. is a chain of American mid-range department stores based in Plano, Texas, a suburb north of Dallas. The company operates 1,107 department stores in all 50 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. JCPenney also operates catalog sales merchant offices nationwide in many...
(257,000 square feet) - Lord & TaylorLord & TaylorLord & Taylor, colloquially known as L&T, or LT, based in New York City, is the oldest upscale, specialty-retail department store chain in the United States. Concentrated in the eastern U.S., the retailer operated independently for nearly a century prior to joining American Dry Goods...
(127,000 square feet) - Macy'sMacy'sMacy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States...
- 2 locations (formerly Hecht'sHecht'sHecht's, also known as Hecht Brothers, Hecht Bros. and the Hecht Company, was a large chain of department stores located mainly in the mid-Atlantic and southern region of the United States....
; 309,000 square feet) - Sears (121,000 square feet)