Mall of America

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mall facts and statistics
Mall of America

Location	Bloomington, Minnesota, United States
Opening date	August 11, 1992
Developer	Melvin Simon and Associates
Management	Triple Five Group
Owner	Triple Five Group, Melvin Simon and Associates
No. of stores and services	520+
No. of anchor tenants	4
Total retail floor area	2.5 million sq ft. (230,000 m²)
Parking	20,000 spaces, including 2 7-story ramps and overflow surface lots.
No. of floors	4
Website	http://www.mallofamerica.com

Mall of America (also MOA, MoA, or the Megamall) is a shopping mall located in the Twin Cities suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. It is just southeast of the junction of Interstate 494 and Minnesota State Highway 77, and is across the interstate from the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport. Directly across the street to the north of the Mall is a huge IKEA superstore.

The mall became the largest shopping mall in total area in the United States when it opened in 1992; however, the mall has never been the largest in the world (at the time it opened, it was #2 globally)^{[citation needed]}. Larger shopping malls exist in Turkey (Cevahir Mall), China, India, Japan, and Canada (West Edmonton Mall), Philippines (Mall of Asia, SM North EDSA, SM Megamall), Malaysia (Berjaya Times Square, 1 Utama, Mid Valley Megamall), and South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, California and King of Prussia Mall in suburban Philadelphia have more retail space. Mall of America is, however, the most visited shopping mall in the world with more than 40 million visitors annually (or roughly eight times the population of the state of Minnesota).^[1]

1 Mall design
2 The Park at MOA
3 History
4 Notable attractions
5 Anchors
6 Former Anchors
7 Gallery of Images
8 See also
9 Citations
10 External links

[edit] Mall design

Lego masterpieces are on display for visitors at the Mall of America.

Mall of America has a gross area of 4.2 million sq ft. (390,000 m²), with 2.5 million sq ft. (230,000 m²) available as retail space.

The mall is a nearly symmetrical building, with a roughly rectangular floor plan. Over 520 stores are arranged along three levels of pedestrian walkways on the sides of the rectangle, with a fourth level on one side. Four "anchor" department stores are located at the corners. The mall employs over 12,000 workers.

Two nearly identical seven story parking ramps on east and west sides provide approximately 13,000 parking spaces. Parking lots on the north and south of the building, along with nearby overflow parking, bring the total number of spaces up to approximately 20,000.

The mall is used as a major transportation hub in the region, with bus and light rail service linking the mall to other destinations. Regular public transit service is provided by Metro Transit and other area bus lines, and nearby Mystic Lake Casino offers free shuttles to their establishment. The primary bus/rail station for scheduled local service is in the lower level of the eastern parking ramp. There, the Hiawatha Line light rail line connects the mall to the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport and from there to downtown Minneapolis (another major shopping destination in the region, particularly during weekdays). The mall is being discouraged as a park and ride facility, and overnight parking is banned to prevent passengers taking the train to the airport. Commuters are encouraged to use the nearby 28th Avenue Station's parking lot.

Despite Minnesota's cold winters, the mall is unheated. Heat is allowed in through skylights above The Park at MOA. Heat is produced by lighting fixtures, other electric devices and also by employees and guests of the mall in sufficient amounts to keep it comfortable. Only the mall's entrances are heated. In fact, even during the winter, air conditioning systems need to be run nonstop during peak hours to ensure a comfortable shopping environment.

[edit] The Park at MOA

Main article: The Park at MOA

The Park at MOA, formerly Knott's Camp Snoopy, February 2000

The Park at MOA is an indoor theme park in the center of the mall. The park features two roller coasters among numerous other rides and attractions, and is the largest indoor theme park in America. Unlike many indoor amusement parks, The Park at MOA has a great deal of natural foliage in and about the park, and its floor has a wide variance in height - the highest ground level in the park is 15 feet above the lowest. This allows for a far more naturalistic experience than would normally be possible in an indoor amusement park.

Until January 19, 2006, the park was called Camp Snoopy, and the theme of the park involved Snoopy and other comic strip characters from Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz, who was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. During the fall Halloween season, its name was temporarily changed to "Camp Spooky," changing to a temporary Halloween-decor. Paul Bunyan and Yogi Bear, not associated with Peanuts, are still featured at the current "Park at MOA".

[edit] History

The concept was designed and built by Triple Five Group, owned by the Ghermezian brothers of Canada, who also own the biggest shopping mall in North America, the West Edmonton Mall. Mall of America is located on the former site of Metropolitan Stadium, where the Minnesota Vikings and Minnesota Twins played until the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome opened. The teams left Met Stadium in 1982. A plaque in The Park at MOA commemorates the former location of home plate. One seat from Met Stadium was placed in Mall of America at the exact location (including elevation) it occupied in the stadium, to commemorate a 520 foot home run hit by hall-of-famer Harmon Killebrew on June 3, 1967. There are no corresponding references to the Vikings, although some have suggested that a statue of Armen Terzian might be appropriate.

In 1986, The Bloomington Port Authority signed an agreement with the Ghermezian Organization.

Groundbreaking for the mall took place on June 14, 1989. Organizations involved include Melvin Simon and Associates, Teachers Insurance and Annuity, the Triple Five Group, and the office of architect Jon Jerde.

The mall opened its doors to the public on August 11, 1992.Even before opening, Mall of America had earned several nicknames, including "The Megamall" (or "The Megamess" during construction), "Sprawl of America", "Hugedale" (in reference to the four major "Dale" shopping malls within the Twin Cities, Rosedale, Southdale, Ridgedale and Brookdale) and, simply, "The Mall".

During it's run as an all encompassing entertainment and retail venue, certain aspects-most notably bars and smoking-have come under scrutiny. A Mardi Gras themed bar, Fat Tuesdays, shut its doors in late 1999 due to indecent exposure and other alcohol related offenses. Following that verdict were other problems, such as foot traffic within the Mall after the bars (all located on the fourth floor) had closed for the evening. The Mall storefronts were closed, however. A citywide smoking ban in 2004, together with Minneapolis' "Block E" development, helped the Mall of America lose virtually all of it's fourth floor clientele. Hooters restaurant and the AMC movie theatre are the only establishments remaining. In 2003, after a protracted six year legal battle between Simon Properties, the managing general partner of the property, and the Ghermezian brothers/Triple Five Group, over majority ownership of the site, a federal appeals judge ruled in favor of the Ghermezians, effectively transferring control and planning authority of the mall back to its original conceptualizer^[2]. The dispute stemmed from a 1999 purchase of Teacher's Insurance 27.5% equity stake by Simon Properties, giving them majority ownership. The Ghermezians claimed they were never told of the deal and sued Simon, citing fiduciary responsibility.

On November 3, 2006, the Ghermezians gained full control of Mall of America, spending US$1 billion to do so. Simon Properties continued to manage the mall for 90 days.

The ruling cleared the way for Triple Five to begin work on what is being called "Phase II", the development of the parcel of land north of the mall, the former site of the Met Center.

Mall of America Phase II concept.

Phase II, in current form, includes a dinner theatre, ice rink, three hotels, and a waterpark; similar in design to the West Edmonton Mall. The plan has been impeded by outside forces, however. Questions have arisen among Bloomington city officials as to the fiscal ability of the Ghermezians to finish Phase II. [1]

Groundbreaking for Phase II is set for early spring 2007, and the construction will integrate the existing IKEA store into Phase II as one of its new anchor stores.

Since its inception, Minnesotans have had mixed reactions to the mall. Many have embraced it as an ultimate shopping destination. Others dislike the fact that such a gaudy monument to consumerism has been built in their state.

[edit] Notable attractions

14-screen AMC movie theater
The Park at MOA, indoor amusement park
Underwater Adventures Aquarium
Numerous full service restaurants
A wedding chapel (called Chapel of Love)
Mall of America campus of National American University
Lego Imagination Center
Race for the Cure is held at Mall of America on Mother's Day.
The River Church at Mall of America
Rainforest Cafe
Dinosaur Walk Museum
On-site childcare for mall shoppers and employees
Formerly contained the restaurants Hulk Hogan's Pastamania and Planet Hollywood
A.C.E.S. flight simulations
NASCAR Silicon Motor Speedway
Aquamassage
Minnesota Vikings locker room
The home plate plaque in Park at MOA denoting the exact spot of home plate at Metropolitan Stadium
Paul Bunyan's Log Chute, above which the seat to which Harmon Killebrew hit his longest homerun at Metropolitan Stadium still sits