Lafayette Square Mall
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Lafayette Square Mall | |
| Mall facts and statistics | |
|---|---|
| Location | Indianapolis, Indiana, USA |
| Opening date | 1968 |
| Developer | Edward J. DeBartolo Sr. |
| Management | Simon Property Group |
| Owner | Simon Property Group |
| No. of anchor tenants | 3 |
| No. of floors | 1 |
| Website | http://www.simon.com/mall/default.aspx?ID=167 |
Lafayette Square Mall is a shopping center in Indianapolis, Indiana owned by Simon Property Group. It is currently anchored by Macy's, Sears, Burlington Coat Factory and Steve & Barry's. The L.S. Ayres store was officially renamed Macy's on September 9, 2006.
[edit] History
This mall was built by Edward J. DeBartolo Sr. and opened in April 1968. Only two anchor stores were originally built; JC Penney in the south end, and Sears on the north. William H. Block (in mid-mall) was opened in 1969. An expansion in 1974 saw a wing added east of Sears. This wing added Ohio-based Lazarus as well as about eight new stores including Radio Shack. In 1975 a Kroger grocery store connected to the mall was demolished to make way for another expansion that included L.S. Ayres on the south end close to JCPenney.
This was the first totally enclosed shopping mall in Indiana and one of the first in the United States.
Soon after this mall opened, DeBartolo decided to capitalize off of its success and planned two additional yet similar malls on opposite sides of town. DeBartolo broke ground on the northeast side of Indianapolis for what was to become Castleton Square, opening in 1972. Washington Square on the east side of Indianapolis opened in 1974.
Simon Property Group merged with the DeBartolo company in 1996. A 1996 renovation of Lafayette Square did not improve the general state of the mall. In recent years, the area around the mall has become blighted, primarily due to new retail developments in Plainfield, a rapidly growing suburb located to the west of Indianapolis. Today, the mall now is about 70-80% occupied. The demographics of the area surrounding the mall have shifted dramatically since the 1990s. It is unclear if this has led to the mall's gradual decline.
Several major tenants have left the mall in recent years. In the 1970's, Block's was acquired by Lazurus, and the combined company retained the Block's store, renamed it Lazarus, and sold the original Lazarus to Montgomery Ward. In 1993, G.C. Murphy vacated its store in the mall. Ward's moved out in 1996, and was replaced by a Burlington Coat Factory store. Lazurus closed its doors in 2002 and their former store is now a church. Most recently, JC Penney moved out in 2004.
