Southwest Center Mall
 |
|
| Location |
Dallas in Dallas County, Texas,  United States
|
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 32°39′33″N 96°52′42″W / 32.65914°N 96.878407°WCoordinates: 32°39′33″N 96°52′42″W / 32.65914°N 96.878407°W |
| Opening date | 1975 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 4 (2 vacant) |
| Total retail floor area | 1,084,528 sq ft (100,755.9 m2) (100,755 m²) |
| No. of floors | 2 |
Southwest Center Mall (formerly Red Bird Mall) is a shopping mall located in Dallas, Texas. Originally owned by the DeBartolo family, it opened in 1975. It was, and remains, the only major one located in the southern half of Dallas. Its original name, Red Bird Mall, came from the Red Bird area of Dallas in which it is located.
Initially, it was anchored by four department stores:
Later, Montgomery Ward added a store near the Sears location, on the same side as Dillard's, but it was swiftly replaced by a Burlington Coat Factory. Many of the stores were either opening their first ones in the southern sector of Dallas, or relocated from older shopping centers in the area.
The mall did well in the beginning, despite its location in the relatively undeveloped southern portion of Dallas. It is located near the intersection of U.S. Route 67 and Interstate 20 at 3662 W. Camp Wisdom Road. As early as the mid-1980s, demographics began to change dramatically in the area surrounding it, and at the same time a perception of crime began to brand the area so shoppers began taking their business elsewhere. And, in 1988, another regional one, The Parks Mall in Arlington, opened just 15 miles west.
DeBartolo attempted to remodel the mall in 1996, in an attempt to rejuvenate the look. It was then sold to NAAMCO Financial, a California investment group. It was at this time that NAAMCO, in an attempt to attract new tenants, gave it a small refurbishment and new name – Southwest Center Mall. The name changed in 1997. A new food court was added under the reign of DeBartolo. The addition was finished and occupied in 1998 at the northwest entrance. With a price tag of $18 million, it took up the lion's share of updates; upon its change of hands and change of name. In addition, though, Dillard’s increased their store size from 100,000 to 150,000 square feet (14,000 m2), and Sears renovated their entire store in 1998. Montgomery Ward left the mall when it liquidated, and JCPenney closed its store in 2001. This marked the beginning of the end of the mall as stores such as Sam Goody and Old Navy (which had moved in in 2000) closed their locations in 2003 with other big name stores following suit including Dillards.
...
Wikipedia