Southern Hills Mall

Coordinates: 42°26′46″N 96°21′11″W / 42.446°N 96.353°W / 42.446; -96.353

Southern Hills Mall is an enclosed regional shopping mall in Sioux City, Iowa. The mall draws approximately 6 million visitors each year, primarily from the Siouxland region of Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota.^[1]

History

Plans for an enclosed mall in Sioux City were discussed as early as 1969. However, these plans faced opposition by downtown advocates, including city council members who favored urban renewal in the downtown area instead.^[2] While General Growth Properties was forced to move its proposed mall site from the industrial area north of the Sioux Gateway Airport to the southern edge of the Morningside neighborhood because of a zoning change, local developers unveiled plans for two malls in the downtown area in the mid-1970s. One of them was a three-story mall at 4th and Nebraska streets that would be anchored by Brandeis, a now-defunct department store chain from Omaha. However, the city council began supporting General Growth's proposal after a new council was elected in 1977, and construction of Southern Hills Mall began after that. (Both of the proposed downtown malls were canceled, and the excavated site of Brandeis' mall would colloquially be known as "Lake Brandeis" before the 10-story Terra Plaza office tower was completed on that site in 1983.) Sioux City Journal writer Marcia Poole referred to this controversy as the "Great Sioux City Shopping Center Battle" in a 2003 book.^[3]

The $21 million Southern Hills Mall opened March 5, 1980. It was originally anchored by Target and Sears, with Younkers opening later.^[4] The mall would benefit from increased traffic from the nearby Sergeant Floyd Memorial Bridge after the Siouxland Veterans Memorial Bridge was forced to close during most of 1982 due to structural defects.^[5]

General Growth managed the mall until The Macerich Company took over the management duties in March 1998; Macerich and the Simon Property Group equally owned the mall, with Macerich responsible for management, until January 2012, when Simon and Macerich reached a deal that split up the malls owned by the Simon-Macerich joint venture. Some malls owned by the joint venture became completely Macerich owned and managed, while others, including Southern Hills, became completely owned and managed by Simon. JCPenney moved from downtown Sioux City to Target's anchor space in mid-2004, one year after Target moved to a free-standing Target Greatland store. Major tenants Scheels All Sports and Barnes & Noble also opened in 2003 and 2004 respectively.^[6]

In 2003, the National Park Service named Southern Hills Mall a national trail site after the mall commissioned 38 paintings that commemorate the Lewis and Clark Expedition's 200th anniversary.^[7]

Anchors and major tenants

• Barnes & Noble (25,000 sq. ft.)
• Carmike Cinema 12 (40,386 sq. ft.)
• JCPenney (100,000 sq. ft.)
• Scheels All Sports (59,360 sq. ft.)
• Sears (122,792 sq. ft.)
• Younkers (90,785 sq. ft.)

References

1. ↑ The Macerich Company. "Center Details: Southern Hills Mall". Retrieved 2006-11-11. 
2. ↑ Sorenson, Scott; B. Paul Chicoine (1982). Sioux City: A Pictorial History. Norfolk: Donning. p. 210. ISBN 0-89865-276-6.  Cite uses deprecated parameters (help)
3. ↑ Poole, Marcia (2003). Sioux City History: 1980-2002. Virginia Beach: Donning. pp. 17–20. ISBN 1-57864-203-5. 
4. ↑ Poole. Sioux City History: 1980-2002. pp. 24–25. 
5. ↑ Poole. Sioux City History: 1980-2002. p. 69. 
6. ↑ The Macerich Company (2004-04-01). "Barnes & Noble Opens at Southern Hills Mall in Sioux City; New JCPenney Store to Follow This Summer (press release)". 
7. ↑ Mitchell, Donna (May 2003). "Art History: Mural at Iowa mall recalls Lewis and Clark expedition through Siouxland area". Shopping Centers Today (International Council of Shopping Centers). 

External links

• Southern Hills Mall