Washington Square (Oregon)

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Washington Square
Exterior of the mall
Exterior of the mall
Facts and statistics
Location Tigard, Oregon
Opening date 1974
Management The Macerich Company
Owner The Macerich Company &
OTPP
No. of stores and services 170 [1]
No. of anchor tenants 5
Total retail floor area 1,336,000 ft² mall [2] &
118,000 ft² plaza [3]
Parking 6,700[1]
No. of floors 2
Website shopwashingtonsquare.com/

Washington Square is a shopping mall in the Portland, Oregon suburb of Tigard. It is one of the top grossing malls per square foot in the United States, with sales of $716/ft².[2]

The mall is managed and co-owned by The Macerich Company, a real estate investment trust, and is anchored by Macy's, Nordstrom, JCPenney and Sears. A fifth anchor, Dick's Sporting Goods opened in March 2008.[3]

Contents

[edit] History

On May 3, 1972 plans for Oregon’s largest shopping mall at that time were announced by Winmar Pacific, Inc.[4] It was to be a 130 acre development with space for 100 stores. The mall itself was to include over 1,000,000 square feet on 85 acres in an L shape pattern. On August 16, 1973, Meier & Frank became the first tenant to open at the mall.[4] Sears and Lipmans then opened that November followed by Liberty House and Nordstrom during the summer of 1974.[4] J.C. Penney opened in 1975. The grand opening of the facility began on February 21, 1974.[4]

In 1979 Frederick & Nelson acquired and renamed the Lipmans chain, while Mervyn's was added in 1980. Following Frederick & Nelson's bankruptcy and store closure in January 1991, Nordstrom acquired the vacant space and demolished it, constructing a replacement for its existing store, which opened in 1994. At that time, the former Nordstrom space was acquired by the mall and reconfigured as a food court and additional retail space, coinciding with the renovation of the mall.

In 1999 the mall was sold by Safeco, a Seattle, Washington-headquartered insurance company to Pacific Premier Retail Trust, in itself a partnership of The Macerich Company and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan. Macerich, a Real Estate Investment Trust took over management of the property at this time. In 2005, Macerich opened a 100,000 ft² addition, housing 30 more stores and including The Cheesecake Factory. At the same time, other improvements were made throughout the mall and two new parking structures were added. Mervyn's closed in November 2005 and their location, which they owned, was sold to the mall. The site was refurbished and reopened as Dick's Sporting Goods in March 2008.

[edit] Layout

The current configuration has five department store anchors, 170 specialty shops & restaurants, and a food court. Some of the stores are located in an adjacent outdoor plaza known as "Washington Square Too". Most of the mall is on a single level; however, the anchor stores have multiple levels, the food court is on a second level, and the expansion in 2005 was built so that it could accommodate a second level addition at a later date.

TriMet maintains the Washington Square Transit Center on the mall's premises.

[edit] Anchors

Interior of the 2005 addition.
Interior of the 2005 addition.
  • JCPenney (210,585 ft²; opened 1980)
    • JCPenney Home Store (20,397 ft², outparcel location)
  • Macy's (242,505 ft²; opened 1973 as Meier & Frank, renamed 2006)
  • Nordstrom (180,000 ft²; opened 1974, relocated 1994)
  • Sears (211,937 ft²; opened 1974)
    • Sears Tire, Battery & Auto (16,600 ft², outparcel location)
  • Dick's Sporting Goods (90,000 ft²; opening March 2008)

[edit] Former anchors

  • Frederick & Nelson (120,000 ft²; closed 1991 and razed for Nordstrom)
  • Lipmans (opened 1974, became Frederick & Nelson 1979)
  • Meier & Frank (opened 1973, renamed Macy's 2006)
  • Mervyn's (89,309 ft²; opened 1980, closed November 2005, site of Dick's Sporting Goods)
  • original Nordstrom (108,000 ft²; opened 1974, replaced 1994, became food court and mall retail space)

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Countering the crunch, The Oregonian, August 27, 2006.
  2. ^ (2006 Annual report for The Macerich Company). SEC Form 10-K, Annual Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2006 (February 16, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-03-28.
  3. ^ Washington Square brings first Dick's Sporting Goods to Oregon (pdf) (February 5, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-03-28.
  4. ^ a b c d Shopping center contribute to fast-growing phenomenon. Hillsboro Argus, October 19, 1976.