History
The mall was originally developed around 1973 when Homart Development Company, the real estate development subsidiary of Sears, Roebuck & Co. at the time, added a Sanger-Harris and several smaller stores to the existing Sears store that had been built in 1965. Homart retained Architectonics, Inc. to design the new building.[4] In August 1973, as part of the mall's grand opening celebration, the Thom McAn Shoe Store offered a free 8 oz. steak with any purchase of $5 or more. This promotion drew local and national media attention.
LaSalle Street Fund bought the mall in 1982 and oversaw continued expansion, including the addition of a fourth anchor store in 1983. September 1, 1985, marked the first legal Sunday shopping day in the State of Texas. It, like other area malls, celebrated the end of the state's 24-year-old blue law with entertainment and special promotions. Some smaller retailers objected to the new hours but mall officials informed them in writing of their contractual obligations to operate while the mall is open. January 1, 1987, was the first New Year's Day that the anchor stores were open for business on the holiday. Many smaller stores in the mall followed their lead, although it would be a few years before every store would be obligated to be open on the first day of the new year.
The mall's ownership and management has changed multiple times in the last two decades. The Macerich Company, a Santa Monica, California-based shopping center operator, purchased the mall in 1996 for a reported $85.5 million in cash and debt. Nearby demographic shifts and the continuing occupancy decline led owners to announce plans to redevelop the mall and surrounding area. Beginning around 2000, the neighborhoods near the mall became notably younger, poorer, and more ethnically diverse. According to the 2010 census, the surrounding neighborhood was 60% Hispanic with the percentage of white residents dropping from about 35% in 2000 to just under 25%.
In 2010, LNR Partners, Inc., of Miami, Florida, took possession of the mall when Macerich defaulted on $125 million in debt. Jones Lang LaSalle became responsible for mall management. The former space of Steve & Barry's reopened as Bontera Bazzar c. 2011, and was renamed El Mercado the following year. With a change in ownership during 2012, Jones Lang LaSalle ended their management involvement as a new owner, Beck Ventures, took management in-house. Beck Ventures purchased the 1.65 million square ft. property.[5]
In mid 2012, the mall began a new effort to create an artistic community. Dubbed "The Gallery at Midtown and Artists Studios," the wings remaining open were occupied by local artists' studios, galleries, and other creative groups.
Beginning December 2016, demolition of the mall site was slated to begin (exceptions were made at the time for AMC Valley View 16, Sears, and the studios for radio stations KBFB and KZMJs) and the surrounding real estate was set to be redeveloped into a mixed-use development that would be called Dallas Midtown. Much of these redevelopment plans have yet to come to fruition due to various conflicts. Demolition was temporarily halted in 2017, with the only locations demolished being a former parking garage and the space formerly occupied by Sanger-Harris/Foley's/Macy's, as the planned redevelopments stalled due to separate legal conflicts, zoning, and the loss of public sector incentives from the City of Dallas.
In May 2017, The Gallery and Studios were closed indefinitely. During 2017, each radio station closed their respective spaces and relocated to new, different locations. On July 16, 2017, the longest running anchor, Sears, closed its location, making AMC Theatres the only remaining anchor in operation and the only portion of the original mall site remaining accessible to the public.
In February 2019, the remaining tenants in the corridor to the former Sears and AMC Theatres were forced to vacate before the end of March 2019. In May 2019, with the former JCPenney and former Dillard's halfway through demolition, the former Sears corridor was blocked off from public access and was being prepared for demolition, with one entrance that was left open to allow public access to the AMC Theatres as a result of closure of the entrance by the former Sears site. The former sites of JCPenney, Macy's, Dillard's, Sears, and the corridors were then closed off from public access, along with the first floor that included the former food court.[6]
Construction of Dallas Midtown is currently slated for 2024.
AMC Valley View 16 (2004–2022)
In 2000, as part of a general redevelopment of the mall, Valley View Center Mall officials announced the addition of a 20-screen AMC movie theater as a fifth anchor. After several delays, construction for a 16-screen AMC movie theater began in June 2003 and officially opened on May 14, 2004. The grand opening was marked by a ceremonial "ticket-tearing" featuring Dat Nguyen and Jason Witten of the Dallas Cowboys. The stadium-style seating theater complex was not built on top of the Sears anchor store as originally planned. In fact, the AMC continued after the Sears store was razed. AMC announced a permanent closure of the theatre following showtimes on January 2, 2022.
Sears (1965–2017)
The 235055 sqft Sears, Roebuck and Company anchor predates the mall itself having been built in 1965. This Sears was built as a two-story freestanding store on what was then the far north fringe of Dallas County and the location was largely surrounded by pasture land. Seven years later, the Homart Development Company (a Sears division) built a Sanger-Harris department store on the site and connected it to Sears with a corridor of specialty retailers, creating Valley View Center.
