Southgate Mall (Missoula)
Southgate Mall is a shopping mall located in Missoula, Montana. The shopping center originally opened in August 1978 with Hart-Albin, Hennessy's, Nordstrom Place Two and Sears as anchor stores. Today, the mall is anchored by AMC Theatres and Dillard's. An adjacent strip mall is anchored by Bed Bath & Beyond, Bob Ward's and Cost Plus World Market.
Sign above the main entrance | |
Location | Missoula, Montana |
---|---|
Opening date | August 2, 1978 |
Developer | George Lambros |
Management | Washington Prime Group |
Owner | Washington Prime Group |
No. of stores and services | 85 |
No. of anchor tenants | 2 |
No. of floors | 1 |
Website | Official website |
Southgate Mall is recognized as the largest enclosed shopping area in the region of Western Montana.[1]
History
Development and opening
The idea for an enclosed shopping mall in Missoula dates back to 1973, when Erickson Development Co., a Minnesota-based development firm, proposed a $15 million regional shopping center south of Buckhouse Bridge, along U.S. Highway 93.[2]
On February 9, 1977, developer George Lambros revealed plans to build a 398,000 square-foot shopping mall on 68 acres between U.S. Highway 93 and South Avenue in Missoula.[3] The Missoula City Council approved Lambors' plans on February 14, with construction expected to begin April 1.[4] On May 10, Hart-Albin, Hennessy's and Sears were confirmed as anchor stores.[5] An additional anchor, a two-level Nordstrom Place Two store, was confirmed in March 1978.[6] In July, after months of speculation, J. C. Penney was confirmed as the anchor for the mall's planned second phase.[7]
Southgate Mall's first tenant, Kings Table Restaurant, opened on June 28, 1978, with Sears following on July 12 and Hart-Albin on July 27.[8] Southgate Mall held its grand opening ceremony on August 2.[9] The mall's second phase, which added an additional 25 stores and anchor J. C. Penney, was completed between August and November 1979.[10] In August 1983, Pay 'n Save and Ernst Home Centers were added to the mall in a detached building south of the existing structure.[11]
Later years
In February 1987, Pay 'n Save announced the closure of its Southgate Mall store.[12] Another anchor store, Nordstrom Place Two, announced its closure in November 1988.[13] In April 1989, Hart-Albin relocated to the former Nordstrom Place Two building.[14] However, this new store was shut down just three months later.[15] Hart-Albin's original space was replaced by Lamonts in August 1989.[16] In April 1990, the vacant Pay 'n Save store was replaced with Fabricland.[17] By mid-1996, a Bob Ward's sporting goods store was constructed adjacent to the Fabricland and Ernst complex.[18]
In October 1996, Lamonts announced plans to close as part of the company's Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization effort.[19] One month later, Ernst Home Centers announced plans to liquidate and close all 53 stores.[20] Fabricland also exited the mall, in July 1998.[21] Later in 1998, Hennessy's was rebranded as Dillard's, following the retailer's acquisition of Hennessy's parent company Mercantile Stores.[22] By the end of the year, two Herberger's stores were added to the mall, replacing the vacant Lamonts and Hart-Albin spaces.[23]
Bed Bath & Beyond was added to the mall in 2007, replacing Fabricland.[24] Cost Plus World Market was added to the mall in early 2014, replacing Ashley HomeStore.[25] In March 2015, Sears announced the closure of its Southgate Mall store.[26] Montana's first H&M store opened at the mall in September 2015.[27]
Plans for a $64 million renovation and expansion the Southgate Mall were announced in 2015.[28] In April 2016, AMC Theatres (then known as Carmike Cinemas) announced plans to build a 900-seat dine-in movie theater at the mall.[29] The 45,000 square-foot theater will be built between the Mustard Seed restaurant and the former Sears property.[29] In February 2017, Lucky's Market confirmed plans to open a grocery store in a 32,000 square-foot portion of the Sears building.[30] Construction on the mall expansion was completed in 2018.[31] In April 2018, Herberger's parent company The Bon-Ton announced it will liquidate and close all 267 stores.[32] Plans for a second Dillard's store, replacing the Herberger's store in the center of the mall, were announced in February 2019.[33]
On January 17, 2020, it was announced that J. C. Penney would also be closing on April 24 as part of a plan to close 6 stores nationwide.[34] Four days later, Lucky's Market announced it will close in February.[35] On January 24, 2020, Scheels All Sports announced it will replace J. C. Penney in 2021.[36]
References
- "Southgate Mall - Missoula, Montana - Largest Enclosed Regional Shopping Mall in Western Montana". City Data.com.
- "Developers Plug for Regional Shopping Center". Missoulian. April 6, 1973.
- "Southgate Mall Construction Scheduled to Begin in April". Missoulian. February 10, 1977.
- "Southgate Mall Receives Clearance for Construction". Missoulian. February 15, 1977.
- "Southgate Mall Stores Announced at Luncheon". Missoulian. May 11, 1977.
- "Place Two Store to Open in Missoula". Missoulian. March 26, 1978.
- "J.C. Penney Plans Move to Mall". Missoulian. July 13, 1978.
- "Southgate Mall Is Opening". Missoulian. July 30, 1978.
- "Southgate Alive!". Missoulian. August 3, 1978.
- "Retail center shifts south with Penney's". Missoulian. November 4, 1979.
- "Southgate Mall Celebrates 5th Birthday". Missoulian. August 11, 1983.
- "Pay 'n Save closes Montana, Wyoming stores". Missoulian. February 28, 1987.
- "Place Two to close in January". Missoulian. November 9, 1988.
- "Hart-Albin due to switch". Missoulian. April 11, 1989.
- "Hart-Albin packs up, goes home". Missoulian. July 21, 1989.
- "Lamonts opens as Southgate anchor". Missoulian. August 2, 1989.
- "Picture the Progress". Missoulian. June 23, 1990.
- "Bob Ward to move near mall". Missoulian. June 21, 1995.
- "Lamonts store at Southgate Mall to shut down". Missoulian. October 25, 1996.
- "Ernst going out of business". Missoulian. November 13, 1996.
- "Fabricland newspaper ad". Missoulian. July 27, 1998.
- "Dillard's to Pay $2.9 Billion To Acquire Mercantile Stores". The Wall Street Journal. May 19, 1998.
- "Herberger's to double up at Southgate Mall". Missoulian. September 9, 1998.
- "Building boom". Missoulian. July 22, 2007.
- "World Market to open store near Southgate Mall". Missoulian. October 13, 2013.
- "Missoula Sears to close". KPAX-TV. March 9, 2015.
- "H&M announces opening day for Missoula store". Missoulian. September 1, 2015.
- "MRA clears way for Southgate Mall's $64 million project". Missoulian. September 16, 2015.
- "Carmike to build 900-seat dine-in movie theater at Southgate Mall". Missoulian. April 11, 2016.
- "Natural foods grocer to open at Southgate Mall". KPAX-TV. February 17, 2017.
- "New Southgate Mall theater and expansion nears completion". KPAX-TV. November 22, 2017.
- "Liquidators to wind down US department store chain Bon-Ton". CNBC. April 17, 2018.
- "Dillard's set to take over old Herberger's space in Southgate Mall". KPAX-TV. February 20, 2019.
- "JCPenney is closing 6 stores. See if your local store is on the list". Business Insider. January 17, 2020.
- "Missoula Lucky's Market to close". Missoulian. January 21, 2020.
- "Southgate Mall owner announces Scheels store coming to Missoula". NBC Montana. January 24, 2020.