.gif)
Southridge Mall (Iowa)
Encyclopedia
Southridge Mall is an enclosed regional shopping mall
on the south side of Des Moines
, Iowa
. It attracts roughly 3.3 million visitors per year, with a primary trade area consisting of most of the city of Des Moines and areas to its south and east.
As of Summer 2011, Southridge is anchored by Sears
, Target
, and Younkers
, with one vacant anchor was JCPenney. Tenants on the outparcels include Hy-Vee, PETCO
, Toys "R" Us, and a 12-screen theater owned by Carmike Cinemas
.
announced plans to build a new mall at the intersection of Southeast 14th Street and Army Post Road. The mall was known as Army Post Plaza during the planning and construction stages, but it was renamed Southridge Mall shortly before construction was completed.
Southridge Mall opened on October 15, 1975, two months after Valley West Mall
opened in West Des Moines
. Younkers was the first anchor to open, with Sears following in 1977. An expansion in 1978 added Montgomery Ward
as a third anchor, while a Richman Gordman
department store became the mall's fourth anchor in 1982. Plans to add Dillard's
to Southridge in 1987 were immediately opposed by Younkers, who claimed that the store's lease limited Southridge to four department stores. Younkers sued Southridge's management over this issue, but a federal magistrate
ruled against Younkers in June 1990 even though Dillard's backed out of its plan to build at Southridge before the ruling. After the failure to attract Dillard's, Target became the mall's fifth anchor in 1992 while the rest of the mall was renovated; the expansion increased Southridge's floor space to just over 1 million square feet (93,000 m²). Richman Gordman closed in 1992 after the chain declared bankruptcy
, and JCPenney moved from downtown Des Moines to Southridge two years later to replace that anchor spot. Montgomery Ward closed its stores at Southridge and Merle Hay
Malls during that chain's first round of bankruptcy in 1999, and Wards' 109,000-square foot (10,100 m²) space at Southridge remained vacant until it was demolished in April 2006. On January 24, 2011 it was announced that JCPenney will close their store in June 2011, except one JCPenney store in Des Moines at Valley West Mall
will remain open.
General Growth Properties, which was originally based in Des Moines, sold Southridge to the Equitable Life Assurance Society in 1984 as part of its real estate investment trust
liquidation that year. General Growth continued to manage Southridge until a partnership of the Simon Property Group
and The Macerich Company
acquired the mall in March 1998 as part of a 12-mall deal. Macerich manages the mall as part of the deal.
The occupancy rate at Southridge has declined in recent years, as competition from Jordan Creek Town Center
and other shopping areas such as Merle Hay Mall
have affected the mall's business. Renovation work in late 2006 and 2007 resulted in a new children's play area in the food court, Wi-Fi
access, new seating areas, and remodeled restrooms. Steve & Barry's
opened a new 31000 square feet (2,880 m²) store near JCPenney on October 24, 2007, but that store closed at the end of 2008 as the chain liquidated its remaining stores. Despite its still-strong anchor line-up, by December 2009, 40 out of 91 inline store spaces were reported as vacant. Some of the empty storefronts at Southridge have been filled with tenants that are not usually associated with malls, such as churches, offices, and an animal shelter. In 2009, US News and World Report named Southridge as one of 84 "endangered malls" due to its low sales per square foot and vacancy rate.
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...
on the south side of Des Moines
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
. It attracts roughly 3.3 million visitors per year, with a primary trade area consisting of most of the city of Des Moines and areas to its south and east.
As of Summer 2011, Southridge is anchored by Sears
Sears Holdings Corporation
Sears Holdings Corporation is a retail conglomerate formed in 2005 by the merger of Sears, Roebuck and Co., of Hoffman Estates, Illinois, with Kmart Holdings Corporation, of Troy, Michigan...
, Target
Target Corporation
Target Corporation, doing business as Target, is an American retailing company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, behind Walmart. The company is ranked at number 33 on the Fortune 500 and is a component of the Standard & Poor's...
, and Younkers
Younkers
Younkers is an American department store chain founded as a family-run dry goods business in 1856 in Keokuk, Iowa. The retailer has since evolved over more than 150 years to include a presence in locations throughout Iowa and surrounding states in the Midwest region of the United States...
, with one vacant anchor was JCPenney. Tenants on the outparcels include Hy-Vee, PETCO
PETCO
PETCO is a chain of retail stores that offers pet supplies and services such as grooming and dog training. Founded in 1965 and incorporated in Delaware, it is headquartered in San Diego, California...
, Toys "R" Us, and a 12-screen theater owned by Carmike Cinemas
Carmike Cinemas
Carmike Cinemas Inc. is a motion picture exhibitor headquartered in Columbus, Georgia in the United States of America. As of December 31, 2010 it operates or has an interest in 239 theaters with 2,236 screens in 35 states, making it the fourth largest theatre company in the United States.Carmike...
.
History
On March 6, 1972, General Growth PropertiesGeneral Growth Properties
General Growth Properties, Inc. is a publicly traded real estate investment trust in the United States. It is based in Chicago, Illinois at 110 North Wacker Drive, a historic building designed by architectural firm Graham, Anderson, Probst & White...
announced plans to build a new mall at the intersection of Southeast 14th Street and Army Post Road. The mall was known as Army Post Plaza during the planning and construction stages, but it was renamed Southridge Mall shortly before construction was completed.
Southridge Mall opened on October 15, 1975, two months after Valley West Mall
Valley West Mall
Valley West Mall is an enclosed super-regional shopping mall in West Des Moines, Iowa.-History:Frederick Watson, a developer from Minneapolis, Minnesota, first unveiled plans for Valley West Mall in 1971...
opened in West Des Moines
West Des Moines, Iowa
West Des Moines is a city in Polk, Dallas, and Warren counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 46,403; a special census taken in the spring of 2005 counted 51,744 residents and the United States Census Bureau estimated that 53,889 residents lived there in...
. Younkers was the first anchor to open, with Sears following in 1977. An expansion in 1978 added Montgomery Ward
Montgomery Ward
Montgomery Ward is an online retailer that carries the same name as the former American department store chain, founded as the world's #1 mail order business in 1872 by Aaron Montgomery Ward, and which went out of business in 2001...
as a third anchor, while a Richman Gordman
Gordmans
Gordmans Stores is a chain of mid-western off-price department stores founded and headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. Today, Gordmans operates 66 stores in 16 states in the United States.-Beginnings:...
department store became the mall's fourth anchor in 1982. Plans to add Dillard's
Dillard's
Dillard's, Inc. is a department store chain in the United States, with 330 stores in 29 states. Headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas, Dillard's locations are concentrated in Texas and Florida; with a major presence in other states including Arizona, Iowa, Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, Missouri,...
to Southridge in 1987 were immediately opposed by Younkers, who claimed that the store's lease limited Southridge to four department stores. Younkers sued Southridge's management over this issue, but a federal magistrate
Magistrate
A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
ruled against Younkers in June 1990 even though Dillard's backed out of its plan to build at Southridge before the ruling. After the failure to attract Dillard's, Target became the mall's fifth anchor in 1992 while the rest of the mall was renovated; the expansion increased Southridge's floor space to just over 1 million square feet (93,000 m²). Richman Gordman closed in 1992 after the chain declared bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
, and JCPenney moved from downtown Des Moines to Southridge two years later to replace that anchor spot. Montgomery Ward closed its stores at Southridge and Merle Hay
Merle Hay Mall
Merle Hay Mall is an enclosed super-regional shopping mall in Des Moines, Iowa, in the United States. Opened in 1959, it is the oldest regional shopping center in Iowa, and was the largest mall in Iowa in terms of gross leasable area before the 2004 opening of Jordan Creek Town Center in...
Malls during that chain's first round of bankruptcy in 1999, and Wards' 109,000-square foot (10,100 m²) space at Southridge remained vacant until it was demolished in April 2006. On January 24, 2011 it was announced that JCPenney will close their store in June 2011, except one JCPenney store in Des Moines at Valley West Mall
Valley West Mall
Valley West Mall is an enclosed super-regional shopping mall in West Des Moines, Iowa.-History:Frederick Watson, a developer from Minneapolis, Minnesota, first unveiled plans for Valley West Mall in 1971...
will remain open.
General Growth Properties, which was originally based in Des Moines, sold Southridge to the Equitable Life Assurance Society in 1984 as part of its real estate investment trust
Real estate investment trust
A real estate investment trust or REIT is a tax designation for a corporate entity investing in real estate. The purpose of this designation is to reduce or eliminate corporate tax. In return, REITs are required to distribute 90% of their taxable income into the hands of investors...
liquidation that year. General Growth continued to manage Southridge until a partnership of the Simon Property Group
Simon Property Group
Simon Property Group, Inc. is an American commercial real estate company, ranked #1 in the United States as the largest real estate investment trust. Simon is a fully integrated real estate company which operates from five retail real estate platforms: regional malls, Premium Outlet Centers, The...
and The Macerich Company
The Macerich Company
Macerich is a self-managed Real Estate Investment Trust headquartered in Santa Monica, California.It traces its antecedents to the MaceRich Real Estate Company founded in New York in 1964 by Mace Siegel and Richard Cohen, who combined their first names to name their company...
acquired the mall in March 1998 as part of a 12-mall deal. Macerich manages the mall as part of the deal.
The occupancy rate at Southridge has declined in recent years, as competition from Jordan Creek Town Center
Jordan Creek Town Center
Jordan Creek Town Center is a super-regional shopping mall and lifestyle center in the American city of West Des Moines, Iowa. It is the largest shopping complex in the state of Iowa with a total gross leasable area of . It is also the fourth largest shopping complex in the Midwest, and the 23rd...
and other shopping areas such as Merle Hay Mall
Merle Hay Mall
Merle Hay Mall is an enclosed super-regional shopping mall in Des Moines, Iowa, in the United States. Opened in 1959, it is the oldest regional shopping center in Iowa, and was the largest mall in Iowa in terms of gross leasable area before the 2004 opening of Jordan Creek Town Center in...
have affected the mall's business. Renovation work in late 2006 and 2007 resulted in a new children's play area in the food court, Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...
access, new seating areas, and remodeled restrooms. Steve & Barry's
Steve & Barry's
Steve & Barry's was an American retail clothing chain, featuring casual apparel. By mid-2008, the chain operated 276 stores in 39 states. The company was headquartered in Port Washington, New York. The company liquidated all of its stores throughout 2008....
opened a new 31000 square feet (2,880 m²) store near JCPenney on October 24, 2007, but that store closed at the end of 2008 as the chain liquidated its remaining stores. Despite its still-strong anchor line-up, by December 2009, 40 out of 91 inline store spaces were reported as vacant. Some of the empty storefronts at Southridge have been filled with tenants that are not usually associated with malls, such as churches, offices, and an animal shelter. In 2009, US News and World Report named Southridge as one of 84 "endangered malls" due to its low sales per square foot and vacancy rate.
Major Anchors
- SearsSears, Roebuck and CompanySears, 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...
(107,385 sq ft.) - TargetTarget CorporationTarget Corporation, doing business as Target, is an American retailing company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, behind Walmart. The company is ranked at number 33 on the Fortune 500 and is a component of the Standard & Poor's...
(112,530 sq ft.) - YounkersYounkersYounkers is an American department store chain founded as a family-run dry goods business in 1856 in Keokuk, Iowa. The retailer has since evolved over more than 150 years to include a presence in locations throughout Iowa and surrounding states in the Midwest region of the United States...
(101,041 sq ft.)
Former Anchors
- JCPenney (63,517 sq ft.) (closed June 2011, space is now vacant)
- Montgomery WardMontgomery WardMontgomery Ward is an online retailer that carries the same name as the former American department store chain, founded as the world's #1 mail order business in 1872 by Aaron Montgomery Ward, and which went out of business in 2001...
(closed 1999 due to entire chain bankruptcy, demolished April 2006) - Steve and Barry's (closed late 2008 due to entire chain bankruptcy, space is now vacant)