East Hills Mall

East Hills Mall
Location St. Joseph, Missouri
Coordinates 39°46′28″N 94°48′02″W / 39.77452°N 94.80059°WCoordinates: 39°46′28″N 94°48′02″W / 39.77452°N 94.80059°W
Opening date 1965
Developer Sherman Dreiseszun
Owner MD Management
No. of stores and services 50+
No. of anchor tenants 4
Total retail floor area 611,630 square feet[1]
No. of floors 1

East Hills Mall is an enclosed shopping mall in St. Joseph, Missouri, US. Opened in 1965, the mall currently features J.C. Penney, Dillard's, Gordmans, and Sears as its anchor stores.

History

East Hills Mall was built by Sherman Dreiseszun in 1965 as one of the first malls in the Midwestern United States.[2] Original tenants included Montgomery Ward, J. C. Penney, Safeway Inc., Katz Drug, Woolworth's, and Hirsch Brothers department store.[3] The mall was expanded in 1988, and Dillard's and Sears were added then.[4]

Throughout the 1990s East Hills lost many tenants, including Woolworth's, Sunglass Hut, A&W, and Osco Drug (formerly Katz Drug). Montgomery Ward closed in 2001, when that retail chain declared bankruptcy. By 2005 a locally-owned furniture retailer located in that space, and later closed. [5] From 2005 to 2008, Gadzooks, Famous Footwear, Waldenbooks, Lerner New York, f.y.e., and Coach House Gifts were other tenants to leave East Hills. The mall was renovated extensively in 2008 and 2009 with the addition of a food court, and in 2011 Gordmans opened in the former Montgomery Ward space. Throughout 2012 and 2013 many other new tenants were announced and opened, including Charlotte Russe, Justice, and Victoria's Secret. Off Broadway Shoes (in precisely the former location of Osco Drug), Charming Charlie, The Children's Place, and Body Central were also new tenants recruited to East Hills.[6]

In 2014, East Hills Mall gained notoriety for a criticized ad that went viral on the Internet.[7][8]

References

  1. Map at mdmgt.com
  2. State has 'mall fever'. St. Joseph News-Press. October 27, 1981
  3. CSA Super Markets. Lebhar-Friedman. April 1964.
  4. East Hills :: About Us :: 3702 Frederick Avenue, St. Joseph, MO. 64506 :: (816) 279-5667. Shopeasthills.com. Retrieved on 2013-10-29.
  5. Furniture store going into former Montgomery Ward. St. Joseph News-Press. July 8, 2005
  6. New Tenants Announced At East Hills Mall. St. Joseph Post (2012-08-13). Retrieved on 2013-10-29.
  7. Moss, Caroline (August 18, 2014). "This Shopping Center's Commercial Jingle Is A Painful Reminder That Malls Are Doomed". Business Insider. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  8. "East Hills, US shopping centre, gains viral fame with cringe-worthy back-to-school commercial". Melbourne Herald-Sun. August 19, 2014. Retrieved August 19, 2014.

External links