Animas Valley Mall

Animas Valley Mall is an enclosed regional shopping center in Farmington, New Mexico, and the largest shopping center in the Four Corners region. The mall serves customers from northwestern New Mexico and nearby parts of Arizona, Colorado, and Utah, although its documented operating market is regional rather than national. Its tenant mix combines department stores, off-price retail, specialty merchants, beauty retailers, food and service businesses, and entertainment. The project was first announced in 1980 as a major retail development for Farmington. Early plans called for five anchor stores, with Sears, Dillard's, Bealls, and H. J. Wilson Co. among the proposed anchor tenants. Gottlieb Corp developed the center, while Alan B. Feingold Architects was responsible for its design. The mall opened in 1982 as scheduled, establishing an enclosed retail destination in the Four Corners area. Over time, the property’s anchor and tenant structure changed in response to broader shifts in American department-store retailing. Its principal anchors have included Dillard's, JCPenney, Ross, and Animas Cinema 10. Sears remained an anchor for many years, but its Farmington location was included in Sears Holdings’ nationwide store-closure program announced in 2019 and closed on February 3, 2020. Plans were filed in 2019 for Hobby Lobby to renovate and occupy the former Sears space, but the proposed redevelopment had not occurred as of May 2023. The tenant base also expanded during the 2010s. Hibbett Sports opened a store in May 2016, followed by Ulta Beauty in October of the same year. These additions reflected the mall’s continuing effort to maintain a broad mix of apparel, sporting goods, cosmetics, and beauty-related retail alongside its traditional department-store anchors and entertainment offerings. Ownership and management of the property have changed several times. The mall was originally associated with General Growth Properties. In 2012, Rouse Properties was spun off from General Growth Properties, and Animas Valley Mall became part of the Rouse portfolio. Brookfield Properties acquired Rouse Properties in 2016. In summer 2023, Brookfield Properties no longer owned the mall and ownership was transferred to Kohan Retail Investment Group. Publicly available reference material does not establish a separate current operating company, a listed security, or a precise corporate headquarters for the mall itself. Animas Valley Mall remains a physical retail and entertainment hub centered on Farmington. Its significance is primarily geographic: it functions as a regional commercial destination in a relatively dispersed market, rather than as a national consumer brand. Current anchor and cinema listings include Dillard's, JCPenney, Ross, and Animas Cinema 10, while the former Sears space represents an unresolved redevelopment opportunity in the documented period.

Animas Valley Mall was announced in 1980 as a planned enclosed regional shopping center for Farmington, New Mexico. The project was conceived as a major retail destination for the Four Corners region, with early plans identifying five anchor positions and naming Sears, Dillard's, Bealls, and H. J. Wilson Co. among the intended anchor tenants. Gottlieb Corp developed the center, and Alan B. Feingold Architects designed the building. The mall opened as scheduled in 1982. Its enclosed format and department-store orientation gave Farmington a substantial regional retail facility in a market spread across parts of New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and Utah. Over the following decades, the center developed a tenant mix combining department stores, specialty stores, value retail, services, food, and entertainment. Documented anchor and major destination tenants have included Dillard's, JCPenney, Ross, and Animas Cinema 10. The property's ownership history followed the consolidation of the U.S. shopping-center industry. It was owned by General Growth Properties until Rouse Properties was separated from General Growth Properties in 2012. Rouse subsequently became part of Brookfield Properties when Brookfield acquired it in 2016. The mall added new specialty retailers in 2016. Hibbett Sports opened in May, and Ulta Beauty followed in October. These openings expanded the center's sporting-goods and beauty categories and demonstrated continued tenant recruitment beyond the traditional department-store anchors. A major change came with the closure of Sears. On November 7, 2019, Sears announced that its Animas Valley Mall store would close as part of a nationwide program involving 96 locations. The store closed on February 3, 2020. Hobby Lobby filed plans with the City of Farmington in 2019 to renovate the former Sears space, but the proposed redevelopment had not been carried out as of May 2023. By summer 2023, Brookfield Properties had ceased to own the property, and ownership had transferred to Kohan Retail Investment Group. Available reference material does not provide a detailed account of the transfer terms or identify individual executives responsible for the property. The mall continues to be described as an active enclosed regional center, with Dillard's, JCPenney, Ross, and Animas Cinema 10 identified as its principal anchors or destination tenants.

• 2023

  Ownership transfers to Kohan Retail Investment Group

  [1]Animas Valley Mallen.wikipedia.org

  By summer 2023, ownership had moved from Brookfield Properties to Kohan Retail Investment Group.

• 2020

  Sears store closes

  [1]Animas Valley Mallen.wikipedia.org

  The Sears location closed on February 3 after being included in a nationwide store-closure plan.

• 2016

  Brookfield acquires Rouse Properties

  [1]Animas Valley Mallen.wikipedia.org

  Brookfield Properties acquired Rouse Properties, adding the mall to the Brookfield-associated portfolio.

• 2016

  Hibbett Sports and Ulta Beauty join the tenant mix

  [1]Animas Valley Mallen.wikipedia.org

  Hibbett Sports opened in May and Ulta Beauty opened in October.

• 2012

  Rouse Properties is spun off from General Growth Properties

  [1]Animas Valley Mallen.wikipedia.org

  The property became associated with Rouse Properties after that company was separated from General Growth Properties.

• 1982

  Animas Valley Mall opens

  [1]Animas Valley Mallen.wikipedia.org

  The mall opened on schedule after development by Gottlieb Corp and architectural design by Alan B. Feingold Architects.

• 1980

  Mall project announced

  [1]Animas Valley Mallen.wikipedia.org

  Plans for Animas Valley Mall were announced as a major enclosed regional shopping development in Farmington, with several department-store anchors proposed.

A regional enclosed shopping and entertainment center serving Farmington and the wider Four Corners market, with department-store anchors, value-oriented retail, specialty shops, beauty, sporting goods, and cinema entertainment.

• Department store

  Dillard's

  A department-store anchor offering apparel, accessories, beauty products, home merchandise, and related consumer goods. Dillard's is one of the mall's documented principal anchors.

• Department store

  JCPenney

  A department-store anchor serving broad household and apparel needs, including clothing, accessories, beauty, and home-related merchandise.

• Off-price retail

  Ross

  An off-price retailer offering discounted apparel, footwear, accessories, and selected home merchandise. Ross contributes a value-oriented component to the mall's anchor mix.

• Cinema entertainment

  Animas Cinema 10

  A multiplex cinema destination associated with the mall, providing film exhibition and entertainment alongside the center's retail uses.

• Beauty retail · 2016

  Ulta Beauty

  A beauty retailer selling cosmetics, skincare, haircare, fragrance, and related products. The Animas Valley Mall location opened in October 2016.

• Sporting-goods retail · 2016

  Hibbett Sports

  A sporting-goods and athletic-footwear retailer. Its mall location opened in May 2016 and expanded the center's sports and footwear offering.

• 2023

  Change in mall ownershipM&A

  Background

  Brookfield Properties no longer owned the mall by summer 2023.

  Action taken

  Ownership was transferred to Kohan Retail Investment Group.

  Aftermath

  Kohan Retail Investment Group became the documented owner, while transaction terms and subsequent redevelopment plans were not specified in the available source.

  Source

• 2020

  Sears anchor closureOther

  Background

  Sears included the Animas Valley Mall location in a nationwide plan to close 96 stores.

  Action taken

  The Farmington Sears store closed on February 3, 2020.

  Aftermath

  The closure left a large former anchor space and prompted later redevelopment planning.

  Source

• 2019

  Proposed redevelopment of the former Sears spaceStrategy

  Background

  The closure of Sears created a vacant anchor unit at the mall. Hobby Lobby filed plans with the City of Farmington to renovate the space.

  Action taken

  Hobby Lobby proposed renovations and a possible use of the former Sears premises, but the planned work did not occur during the period documented by the reference material.

  Aftermath

  The former Sears space remained an unresolved redevelopment opportunity as of May 2023.

  Source

1. 1Animas Valley Mallen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Animas Valley Mall official websiteanimasvalleymall.com