Richardson Square Mall

Peak years

The single-level mall first opened in 1977 on Plano Road. At one point, the mall had four full anchors: Montgomery Ward, Dillard's, Titche-Goettinger (which became Joske's in 1979), and Sears. The Sears building was constructed several years before the mall and operated as a standalone store.^[2] The mall also included the Richardson Square I-II-III movie theater (owned by General Cinema),^[3] a video arcade directly across from it, and two bookstores (Waldenbooks and B. Dalton). Food vendors were grouped in the entrance corridors at each end of the mall—by Sears and Montgomery Ward—and included Chick-fil-A, Orange Julius, Hot Sam Pretzels, and Bresler's Ice-Cream.

The mall was closed on Sundays until September 1, 1985, when the Texas blue law was repealed.^[4]

In 1981, the much larger Collin Creek Mall opened in nearby Plano, but Richardson Square continued to be popular and fully occupied through the rest of the 1980s. A small free-standing strip of stores was built in 1984-85 on the outer corner of the property closest to Lloyd V. Berkner High School. Tenants included a realtor and dry cleaning business, but most of the stores were never leased.

In 1987, the Joske's chain was purchased by Dillard's, and the Joske's location in the mall became a second Dillard's. Dillard's maintained both its store and the former Joske's location, which it would close in 1995.

Decline

Stores began rapidly closing in the early 1990s. By 1993, the property was at about 60% occupancy. A new tenant during this phase was French bakery Cafe Partier.^[5]

In 1998, the mall was remodeled,^[6] with many new tenants and a food court added, as well as a Barnes & Noble bookstore which occupied the space of half a dozen stores. The entrance corridor near Sears, formerly occupied by a movie theater, video arcade, and several food vendors, became a Stein Mart. Shortly thereafter Montgomery Ward filed for bankruptcy and closed its stores.^[7] The former Ward's pad was demolished and converted into a Super Target. Stein Mart, Oshman's, and several other small stores soon closed as well. The mall continued to operate until Garland's Firewheel Town Center opened in 2005. Dillard's, Old Navy, and Barnes & Noble all relocated to Firewheel.^[8]

Richardson Square Mall was demolished in 2007, except for Sears, which remains in operation as part of the subsequent Richardson Square retail center. The loss of the mall was significant for the city, but, in 2006, with the announcement that Simon Properties would be renovating the site, city leaders expressed optimism that the new development would flourish.^[9]