Jordan Creek Town Center

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Facts and statistics
Jordan Creek Town Center


Location	West Des Moines, Iowa, United States
Opening date	August 4, 2004
Developer	General Growth Properties
Management	General Growth Properties
Owner	General Growth Properties
No. of stores and services	158 (as of May 2008)^[1]
No. of anchor tenants	3
Total retail floor area	1,340,000 sq ft (124,000 m²) ^[2]
Parking	8,900 spaces^[2]
No. of floors	2
Website	www.jordancreektowncenter.com

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 1,340,000 square feet (124,000 m²).^[2] The center is named after Jordan Creek, a tributary of the Raccoon River that was named after James Cunningham Jordan, the first person to settle in what is now West Des Moines. Its developer, General Growth Properties, has referred to Jordan Creek as a "retail resort" that combines elements of enclosed malls with outdoor and non-retail components.^[3]

It is the 19^th largest shopping mall in the United States by gross leasable area.

1 History
2 Layout
3 See also
4 References
5 External links

[edit] History

Around 1995, the family of local businessman Art Wittern proposed the "Village at Oakbrook" to the city of West Des Moines on the 200-acre (0.81 km²) site that the Witterns owned at 74th Street (later renamed Jordan Creek Parkway) and E.P. True Parkway. The village would have contained a mixture of commercial, residential, and office development that was intended to attract upscale retailers similar to those at Country Club Plaza in Kansas City. In 1999, following the success of Coral Ridge Mall in eastern Iowa, General Growth Properties chose the Wittern site for its proposed "town center" concept.^[4]

General Growth unveiled plans for Jordan Creek Town Center in May 2000. Two of the Des Moines metropolitan area's existing malls, Merle Hay Mall and Valley West Mall, promptly sued the city of West Des Moines, claiming that it was illegal to use public money from tax increment financing to make improvements around the mall. The Iowa Supreme Court dismissed the lawsuit on February 27, 2002,^[5] allowing construction of the $200 million complex to begin later that year.

Jordan Creek Town Center opened on August 4, 2004, attracting nearly 17 million shoppers in its first year.^[6] Jordan Creek led to short-term sales declines at the three existing regional malls in the Des Moines area (Merle Hay, Valley West, and Southridge) while accounting for nearly 37 percent of taxable sales at the four malls during the last three months of 2004.^[7] Jordan Creek also had an impact on sales tax revenues in Dallas County, which jumped from $16.7 million in fiscal 2004 to $33.7 million in fiscal 2006.^[8] It has also spawned other new commercial developments in West Des Moines such as the West Glen Town Center near Interstate 35 and a new Wells Fargo office complex south of the mall.

In May 2007, Iowa State University economists David Swenson and Liesl Eathington released a study showing that retail sales in the Dallas County portion of West Des Moines had increased by over $310 million, or 503.7 percent, during Jordan Creek's first two years of operation. At the same time, sales in the city of Des Moines decreased by nearly $194 million (5.2 percent) while sales in the Polk County portion of West Des Moines decreased by $22 million (2.4 percent). Smaller Dallas County cities like Adel and Perry also experienced declines in retail sales during this period.^[9]^[10]

Jordan Creek Town Center has been part of the Hy-Vee Triathlon's 40K bicycle course since 2007.^[11] In 2008 the Drake Relays' pole vaulting competitions were held inside Jordan Creek Town Center for the first time.^[12]

[edit] Layout

The town center has 158 retailers and is composed of three districts:

The Shopping District is a two-level enclosed shopping center anchored by Younkers , Dillard's, and Scheels All Sports; Younkers replaced Famous-Barr when they pulled out of the project a year before the mall opened.^[13] Other tenants of the Shopping District include Abercrombie & Fitch, Apple, Barnes & Noble, the Cheesecake Factory, Pottery Barn, and Williams-Sonoma. The mall also includes a 20-screen movie theater complex run by Century Theatres, a food court that offers free wireless internet access, and a children's play area. A fourth anchor space between Younkers and Scheels was part of the original plans for the mall, but no retailer has committed to that space yet and the fourth anchor remains unbuilt.

The Shopping District at Jordan Creek Town Center, looking north from the lake

The Lake District features a 3.5 acre (14,000 m²) lake with walking trails, a boardwalk with waterfront dining, a Residence Inn by Marriott hotel, an amphitheater, and several casual dining restaurants.
The Village District has an open-air design with big box stores and smaller specialty retailers. Bed Bath & Beyond, Best Buy, Costco, DSW, Old Navy, and PETCO are the big-box anchors of this district, while smaller retailers like Party America and Buffalo Wild Wings are also found here.