Eastland Mall (Bloomington, Illinois)

Eastland Mall
Location Bloomington, Illinois, United States
Coordinates 40°29′10″N 88°57′21″W / 40.486126°N 88.955698°W / 40.486126; -88.955698Coordinates: 40°29′10″N 88°57′21″W / 40.486126°N 88.955698°W / 40.486126; -88.955698
Opening date February 16, 1967 (1967-02-16)[1]
Developer Copaken, White & Blitt
Owner CBL & Associates Properties
No. of stores and services 75 [2]
No. of anchor tenants 5 (3 open, 2 vacant) [2]
Total retail floor area 768,862 square feet (71,000 m2)[2]
No. of floors 1 (Bergner's has 2)
Website http://www.ishopeastlandmall.com/

Eastland Mall is an enclosed shopping mall in Bloomington, Illinois. Established in 1967 and expanded several times in its history, the mall includes Sears, Bergner's and Kohl's, with more than ninety inline tenants and a food court. The mall is owned and managed by CBL & Associates Properties.

History

Eastland Mall opened on February 16, 1967, anchored by JCPenney and Sears, both of which had moved from downtown Bloomington.[1] The mall was built on the east side of town, at the southwestern corner of East Empire Street (Illinois Route 9) and Veterans Parkway (formerly U.S. Route 66, now Interstate 55 Business Loop).[1] At the time, this intersection had only a gas station, although a Kmart store was also under development at the time.[1]

Eastland Mall housed many local and national tenants including Woolworth,[3] Kirlin's Hallmark Gold Crown[4] and a Walgreens drugstore, which relocated outside the mall in 1991.[5] Besides the two anchors, several of the mall's tenants had moved from downtown, including Singer Sewing Center[1] and Chadband's Diamond and Gold Center; the latter had been in business since 1892.[6] Other major tenants included a grocery store and movie theater.[1]

The mall was expanded several times in its history, first with a Bergner's department store in 1973, the first new department store to open in the city in more than thirty years.[7] Kohl's was added a decade later.[1] A food court was added in 1989[8] followed by a mall-wide renovation a year later,[9] Sears expanded its store in 1997,[10] and a Famous-Barr was added in November 1999[11] Famous-Barr became Macy's in 2006.[1] On January 4, 2017, Macy's announced that it would close its store at the end of March. It closed on March 31, 2017. After the announcement JCPenney also stated that they would be closing their store on July 31, 2017. This was later delayed for unknown reasons, and the store is now closing at the end of August. [12] The closure of Woolworth made way for an Old Navy store. Chattanooga, Tennessee-based CBL & Associates Properties acquired the mall from Copaken, White and Blitt in November 2005 along with two other malls.[13]

Community impact

A second mall, College Hills Mall, opened in nearby Normal in 1980. This smaller mall was an unsuccessful competitor, lacking the big chain stores present at Eastland;[14] over time, many stores such as MC Sports would relocate from College Hills to Eastland. College Hills Mall was demolished in 2005 for a new shopping mall called The Shoppes at College Hills.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Miller, Scott (3 May 2007). "Eastland Mall turns 40". The Pantagraph. Retrieved 28 September 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 "Eastland Mall fact sheet". CBL & Associates Properties. Retrieved 28 September 2009.
  3. ↑ "BYE WOOLWORTH: SPELL IT `BYE' NOW INSTEAD OF `BUY'". The Pantagraph. 1997-08-29. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
  4. ↑ "Kirlin's expanding Eastland Mall store". The Pantagraph. 14 July 1998. Retrieved 28 September 2009.
  5. ↑ "Walgreen readies for store switch". The Pantagraph. 22 November 1991. Retrieved 28 September 2009.
  6. ↑ "Chadband's closes store in Eastland Mall". The Pantagraph. 3 June 1989. Retrieved 28 September 2009.
  7. ↑ "Berner's celebrates anniversary". The Pantagraph. 2003-08-29. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
  8. ↑ "Eastland to see changes in stores". The Pantagraph. 17 January 1989. Retrieved 28 September 2009.
  9. ↑ "Eastland Mall celebration set". The Pantagraph. 26 August 1997. Retrieved 28 September 2009.
  10. ↑ "EXPANSION SLATED FOR B-N SEARS // 28 WORKERS TO BE ADDED". The Pantagraph. 1996-01-26. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
  11. ↑ "OPENING DAY // FAMOUS-BARR JOINES EASTLAND MALL LINEUP". The Pantagraph. 1999-11-07. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
  12. ↑ "Press Release - Macy’s, Inc.". investors.macysinc.com. Retrieved 2017-01-04.
  13. ↑ "CBL buying 3 malls for $516.9 million". The Chattanoogan. 18 October 2005. Retrieved 28 September 2009.
  14. ↑ "A tale of two malls: Eastland regional magnet". The Pantagraph. 20 August 2000. Retrieved 28 September 2009.
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