Westroads Mall
| Location | Omaha, Nebraska, United States |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 41°15′59″N 96°4′6″W / 41.26639°N 96.06833°WCoordinates: 41°15′59″N 96°4′6″W / 41.26639°N 96.06833°W |
| Opening date | August 1, 1968[1] |
| Developer | John Wiebe[1] |
| Management | General Growth Properties[2] |
| Owner | General Growth Properties (51%), Ivanhoe Cambridge (49%) |
| No. of stores and services | 135[3] |
| No. of anchor tenants | 4[3] |
| Total retail floor area | 1,200,000 sq ft (110,000 m2)[4] |
| Parking | 5,106 |
| No. of floors | 3 of retail[3] |
| Website | Westroads Mall |
Westroads Mall is an enclosed shopping mall with over 135 stores located in Omaha, Nebraska at the intersection of 100th and Dodge Streets (U.S. Route 6). It is the largest mall in the state of Nebraska,[5] with 14.5 million customer visits annually.[3]
History
Designed by real estate developer John Wiebe, Westroads cost $25 million to build, including $15 million for store inventories & fixtures. It was officially dedicated on August 1, 1968. The fully enclosed mall originally housed 68 tenants, later expanding to approximately 120 at the end of its first full year. During the mall's early years, it was home to a chapel as well as a heliport on the roof. Original inline stores included Bishops Cafeteria, Doktor Pet Center, Orange Julius, United Sporting Goods and a J.G. McCrory 5 and 10.
The original shopping complex was divided into themed concourses, such as The Boston Mall, Central Park Mall, Italia Mall and Alpine Mall. In 1973, the basement level was remodeled into Bicentennial Square, a mall within a mall. It included the Westroads Dinner Theatre and several Colonial-motif tenants. The Grand Cafe Food Court was installed in a shuttered sporting goods store, on the mall's Main Level, This culinary complex opened for business in May 1991.
Prudential Insurance Co. purchased the mall from Wiebe for $45 Million in 1977. In 1997, General Growth Properties bought the mall from Prudential. Today, the mall is owned by both General Growth Properties[1] (51% share) and Canadian property development company Ivanhoe Cambridge (49% share);[6] it continues to be managed by General Growth Properties on behalf of the venture.
The mall has been renovated several times: in 1990, 1995, 1999 and 2003. Currently the mall is undergoing an extensive renovation (2013-2014). Westroads is Nebraska's largest shopping mall[3] with a gross leasable area of 1.2 million square feet.[4]
The lower level is a Forever 21 Super Store which opened in December 2012, formally it was a family entertainment center, Tilt, complete with an arcade and indoor miniature golf course.
Anchors
Mall anchors include:[3]
- JCPenney (177,200 sf) Opened 1968.
- Von Maur (179,000 sf) Opened August 1995.
- Younkers (177,600 sf) [in former Montgomery Ward/The Jones Store] Opened October 2003.
- Dick's Sporting Goods (84,000 sf) [in old Galyan's Sporting Goods] Opened October 2005.
- AMC Theatres (73,000 sf) [built on old Kilpatrick's-Younkers space] (was Rave Cinemas) Opened November 2008.
- Forever 21 (25,000 sf) Opened December 2012.
Former anchors
- Kilpatrick's (200,000 sf) Opened November 1967, converted to Younkers 1982. Shuttered October 2003.
- Brandeis (80,000 sf) Opened October 1972. Converted to Younkers Juniors August 1987. Store shuttered and converted to mall space.
- Montgomery Ward (177,600 sf) Opened 1968. Shuttered November 1997. Rebuilt as The Jones Store.
- The Jones Store (177,600 sf) Opened October 1999. Shuttered August 2003.
- Galyan's Sporting Goods (84,000 sf) Opened August 2003. Converted to Dick's Sporting Goods October 2005.
Movie theaters
The first theater in the mall, the Fox Westroads, opened in November 1967. Originally a single screen theater, it was converted to the dual screen Fox Twin in 1976. It is now closed.[7] The mall was also home to a small multiplex called the AMC WestSix, which showed its first features in January 1969. It was merged with the Fox Twin in 1983, with the combined venues going as the AMC Westroads 8 until December 1997 when AMC opened the Oak View Plaza 24 Theaters near Oak View Mall. However, in November 2008 a new 14 screen multiplex operated by AMC Theatres, previously Rave Motion Pictures opened in the site of the former Younkers.[8]
Shooting
On December 5, 2007, a man later identified as Robert A. Hawkins entered the Von Maur anchor store with a rifle and began firing. One report indicated that at least 25 rounds had been fired. Nine people were killed (including the gunman), and five people injured, all within Von Maur. Westroads security responded quickly and safely.[9][10] The mall reopened on December 8, 2007, while anchor store Von Maur reopened December 20, 2007.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Westroads Mall a landmark in Omaha". Retrieved 2007-12-06.
- ↑ "Westroads Mall - About Us". Archived from the original on 2007-12-02. Retrieved 2007-12-05.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 "Westroads Mall facts". Retrieved 2007-12-05.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Westroads Mall, International Council of Shopping Centers. Accessed December 5, 2007.
- ↑ Ardy Friedberg and Monica Davey, "Gunman at an Omaha Mall Kills 8 and Himself". New York Times, December 6, 2007. Retrieved on 12/6/2007.
- ↑ "Ivanhoe Cambridge - Investments - North America". Retrieved 2010-12-22.
- ↑ http://cinematreasures.org/theater/21470/
- ↑ Keenan, J. "Movie theater coming to Westroads", Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved 12/14/07.
- ↑ "Westroads Mall Shooting 2007-12-05". Retrieved 2007-12-05.
- ↑ "Man opens fire at Omaha Mall, Killing 8". The San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2007-12-08. Retrieved 2007-12-05.