Western Plaza Shopping Center
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Western Plaza Shopping Center is a shopping mall in Amarillo, Texas, United States. It opened in 1968 with a construction cost of approximately US$13 million.[1] Western Plaza was once a main shopping point in Amarillo, but from the 1980s to 2000s has suffered stores leaving its complex.
The mall opened with White & Kirk (a local department store), Woolco, and Montgomery Ward as its anchor stores. In the 1970s, White & Kirk was converted to Sakowitz, which in turn was converted to Dunlaps before closing in the 2000s. Woolco closed in the early 1980s and was replaced with Wilsons, a catalog showroom that later became Service Merchandise. After Service Merchandise closed, it briefly served as a nightclub before closing. The mall was also home to the first Hastings Entertainment store in the chain.
In addition, Western Plaza also had a business college, Academy of Professional Careers. As of July 2006, the only establishment in the mall is the Graham Central Station night club. Western Plaza lost its stores either from the the more up-to-date Westgate Mall or they would moved to a new location outside a shopping mall environment.[2] In 2005, it was announced Western Plaza will be demolished and be replaced with a retail center called Western Crossing, expected to be open in early to mid 2008. The new retail center will include 10 buildings for retail, restaurant and office use. Some of the stores that will be moving to Western Crossing is Petco, Michaels, and Burlington Coat Factory and the resturant Cheddar's along with a sepreate buliding for Grahams Central Station and a office buliding.
[3] In June 2006, the signs of the mall were taken down.[4]
The mall and its land is owned by Santa Ana, California-based company, Triple Net Properties since 2001.[5] Western Plaza's past owners include: Mattie Hedgecoke Properties, Southmark Corporation of Dallas, Texas, Spigel Properties of San Antonio, Texas, and General Electric Capital Corporation, the financial arm of General Electric.[1]
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b "GE forecloses on Western Plaza mall." Amarillo Globe-News. Retrieved July 18, 2006.
- ^ "2 businesses set to leave Western Plaza." Amarillo Globe-News. Retrieved July 18, 2006.
- ^ "New shopping center set for Western Plaza." Amarillo Globe-News. Retrieved July 18, 2006.
- ^ "Sign coming down." Amarillo Globe-News. Retrieved July 18, 2006.
- ^ "Western Plaza to be sold." Amarillo Globe-News. Retrieved July 18, 2006.
