Northridge Mall is a defunct shopping mall located in the northern part of Milwaukee, Wisconsin that opened in 1973 and closed in 2003.
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Northridge was built on the corner of North 76th street and Brown Deer Road in Milwaukee in 1973, three years after its sister mall, Southridge Mall opened in 1970. Both were financed and owned by Senator Herb Kohl and part of the Taubman Centers. It was a two level mall with four anchors: JCPenney, Sears, Boston Store, and Younkers. The Younkers store was originally Gimbels, which became Marshall Field's in 1986, then Prange's in 1989, then Younkers in 1992. With newer and more upscale malls doing better than Northridge, stores and main anchors began to close. Younkers was the first to leave the mall in 2000, followed by JCPenney, then Sears, and finally the mall closed in 2003 with the closing of Boston Store.
Planning and design for Northridge Mall, and the nearby adjoining Northridge Lakes, were conceived primarily by Milwaukee Architect William Wenzler and Assoc. Evident in the planning, and overall design, were references to Frank Lloyd Wrights Prairie style architecture. To the extent that economics, and realities of apartment dwelling building type would allow. As well, there are vague, yet appropriate, practical characteristics and similarities to FLW's Usonian Village concepts. The development, and its unique design concepts, were never well received by a majority of Milwaukee and nearby Ozaukee County residents.
Recently, developers have been revitalizing parts of the old Northridge Mall under the new name Granville Station. The former Sears store was razed, and a Menards home improvement store and Pick 'n Save supermarket now occupy the site. Also, a Value City furniture store moved into a portion of the old Boston Store building, but closed in May 2009. The rest of the mall remains vacant.
On December 30, 2009, it was announced that Chinese property owners, the Toward Group, along with investors, are planning on remodeling and opening the "Chinese Mall of North America." It would be an entire mall dedicated to Chinese retailers selling clothes, toys, furniture, electronics, and more. There would also be wholesale stores included in the plan. When it opens, 200 retailers could be ready for business, with a total of 300-500 total when the mall is at full capacity. It would be the largest of its kind in the United States, appealing to people from Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Illinois. It is being referred to as "Milwaukee's Chinatown." [1]
As of November 2011 The Toward Group has been unable to attract enough tenants and is planning to sell the property. New ideas for development are being sought.[2]
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