Crestwood Court
A former regional shopping mall in Crestwood, Missouri, that was later demolished and replaced by redevelopment projects.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
Crestwood Court was a regional shopping mall in Crestwood, Missouri, in the St. Louis metropolitan area. Opened in 1957 as Crestwood Plaza, it became the first major regional mall in the St. Louis area and was among the early American shopping centers designed with more than one department-store anchor. Its original department-store tenants included Scruggs, Vandervoort and Barney, which later became Famous-Barr and then Macy's, and Sears. A third anchor, Stix Baer & Fuller, was added during a 1967 expansion and later became a Dillard's store. The center began as an open-air retail complex. Its design included a split-level parking arrangement that allowed customers to enter both levels of the anchor stores directly, an approach that was unusual for the period. The mall was enclosed in 1984 as retail patterns and consumer expectations changed. Over the following decades, it went through several ownership and naming changes. Westfield Group acquired the property in 1998 and renamed it Westfield Shoppingtown Crestwood. In 2008, after an unsuccessful earlier attempt to sell the property, ownership passed to Centrum Properties and the center adopted the Crestwood Court name. Crestwood Court's long-term decline became increasingly visible in the early 2000s and accelerated after 2006, when numerous smaller tenants began to leave. Dillard's closed in 2007 after declining sales, removing what had been described as the mall's most popular store. Famous-Barr had converted to Macy's in 2006, but Macy's closed in 2009. Sears, the last major anchor, shut its store in April 2012. Centrum explored a lifestyle-center redevelopment and attempted to attract nontraditional, arts-oriented tenants, including galleries and dance studios, but the property continued to lose occupants. By late 2012, LensCrafters was the only remaining tenant, and the mall's interior concourses were closed in July 2013. LensCrafters closed in September of that year, leaving the center entirely vacant. Redevelopment efforts were complicated by disagreements over project design, public incentives, and the use of tax-increment financing. Centrum's proposed redevelopment encountered opposition from Crestwood's board of aldermen, and the company did not secure the public support it sought. UrbanStreet acquired the property at an online auction in April 2014 for $3.6 million and later proposed a mixed-use project combining retail, housing, entertainment, services, open space, and community gardens. The plan remained unsettled for several years, including a proposal valued at approximately $79 million, while local officials, residents, and the Lindbergh School District debated the appropriate public role in financing residential development. Demolition began in May 2016 and was completed in October 2017, ending the physical existence of the mall. In 2018, UrbanStreet planted prairie grass on the vacant site while it reconsidered the suspended redevelopment proposal. A Dierbergs grocery store opened on part of the former mall site on March 28, 2023, and residential construction was reported to be underway around the same period. Crestwood Court is therefore best understood as a defunct shopping-center brand and a significant example of the rise, enclosure, decline, and attempted repurposing of a mid-century American regional mall.
History
Crestwood Court began as Crestwood Plaza in 1957, when St. Louis-area developers Louis and Milton Zorensky created the region's first major regional shopping mall. The original complex included Scruggs, Vandervoort and Barney, a local department store that later became Famous-Barr and eventually Macy's, along with Sears. Its split-level parking design gave shoppers direct access to both levels of the anchor stores and reflected the experimentation taking place in postwar American retail architecture. The Zorenskys later developed Northwest Plaza, another major St. Louis-area shopping center, which opened in 1963. A 1967 expansion added Stix Baer & Fuller as a third anchor. The property was also involved in a 1975 lease dispute concerning a Kroger supermarket. Kroger had moved across the street in 1972 and subleased its former mall space to Tipton Electronics. The mall owners sought to end Kroger's lease, while Kroger sought to preserve its sublease arrangement. The court ruled in Kroger's favor. Crestwood Plaza was initially open-air, but it was enclosed in 1984. Its tenant mix changed as department stores consolidated and specialty retail evolved. Woolworth closed in 1988, and its space was subsequently divided among smaller stores. Westfield Group acquired the property in 1998 and introduced the Westfield Shoppingtown Crestwood name. In 2006, Famous-Barr became Macy's. Westfield explored a sale to Somera Capital Management in 2006, but that transaction did not close. Westfield later sold two other St. Louis-area malls to CBL & Associates Properties in 2007 without including Crestwood. The mall's decline became pronounced in the early 2000s and accelerated in 2006. Dillard's closed in 2007 because of declining sales, and Macy's closed in 2009. Centrum Properties acquired the property in 2008 and renamed it Crestwood Court. The new owner considered transforming the traditional mall into a lifestyle center. Because replacing lost department stores proved difficult, Centrum also sought an alternative identity for portions of the property by bringing in art galleries, dance studios, and other arts-related tenants. Those efforts did not reverse the vacancy trend. Sears closed in April 2012, leaving LensCrafters as the only remaining tenant by late that year. The interior concourses were closed on July 11, 2013, while LensCrafters continued to operate from an exterior entrance. Its closure on September 16, 2013, left the property fully vacant. A redevelopment proposal from Centrum encountered resistance from Crestwood's board of aldermen, particularly over requested public tax incentives, and the plan was treated as abandoned. UrbanStreet acquired Crestwood Court through an online auction in April 2014 for $3.6 million, considerably below Centrum's reported $17.5 million purchase price in 2008. In 2015, the city released UrbanStreet's initial proposal for a mixed-use replacement featuring retail, residential buildings, entertainment, service businesses, open space, and community gardens. The project faced continued debate over public financing. The Lindbergh School District opposed the use of tax-increment financing for residential components, while city officials moved forward procedurally with UrbanStreet as the selected developer. Demolition began in May 2016 and concluded in October 2017. The proposed replacement remained stalled, and in 2018 UrbanStreet planted prairie grass on the cleared site to reduce erosion while reconsidering the suspended project. The proposed redevelopment had been described as a roughly $79 million combination of retail, dining, entertainment, and housing, but it did not proceed in the form initially contemplated. A Dierbergs grocery store opened on March 28, 2023, and residential construction was reported to be underway around the same period. Crestwood Court's history illustrates the lifecycle of a postwar regional mall: pioneering suburban retail development, enclosure and expansion, anchor-store dependence, prolonged vacancy, demolition, and partial reuse through new mixed-use plans.
- 2023
Dierbergs opens
[1]A Dierbergs grocery store opens on part of the former mall site on March 28.
- 2018
Prairie grass is planted on the site
[1]UrbanStreet plants prairie grass while the larger redevelopment proposal remains suspended.
- 2017
Demolition is completed
[1]The former shopping mall is fully demolished by October.
- 2016
Demolition begins
[1]Physical demolition of the former mall starts in May.
- 2015
Mixed-use redevelopment plan is released
[1]UrbanStreet's concept includes retail, housing, entertainment, services, open space, and community gardens.
- 2014
UrbanStreet purchases the property
[1]UrbanStreet acquires the vacant site at an online auction for $3.6 million.
- 2013
The mall becomes vacant
[1]The concourses close in July and LensCrafters, the last tenant, closes in September.
- 2012
Sears closes
[1]The final major department-store anchor ends operations in April.
- 2009
Macy's closes
[1]Macy's shuts its location, leaving Sears as the only remaining major anchor.
- 2008
Centrum Properties acquires the mall
[1]The property changes hands and is renamed Crestwood Court.
Products and positioning
Originally positioned as a major regional shopping destination for the St. Louis area, Crestwood Court later shifted toward an arts-oriented and redevelopment-focused identity as conventional department-store retail declined.
Retail · 1957
Department-store retail
The center was built around large department-store anchors, beginning with Scruggs, Vandervoort and Barney and Sears. Later anchor brands included Famous-Barr, Macy's, Stix Baer & Fuller, and Dillard's. These stores supplied apparel, home furnishings, cosmetics, accessories, and other general merchandise and were central to the mall's regional-destination positioning.
Retail · 1957
Specialty retail and services
Crestwood Court housed smaller specialty retailers and service businesses alongside its anchor stores. As department stores departed, vacancy increased and the remaining tenant mix became less conventional. LensCrafters was the final operating tenant and maintained an exterior-facing location until September 2013.
Arts and services · 2008
Arts-oriented tenant program
During Centrum Properties' attempted repositioning, parts of the largely vacant mall were offered to art galleries, dance studios, and related creative tenants. This was an effort to create activity and a new identity after conventional retail anchors had disappeared, but it did not restore the mall as a functioning regional shopping center.
Brand decisions
2016
Proceed with mall demolitionOtherBackground
The property was completely vacant and redevelopment as a functioning enclosed mall was no longer viable.
Action taken
Demolition began in May 2016 and was completed in October 2017.
Aftermath
The former mall site became available for new uses, including later grocery and residential development.
2015
Propose mixed-use redevelopmentStrategyBackground
The former mall had been vacant since 2013 and could no longer be sustained as a conventional enclosed shopping center.
Action taken
UrbanStreet proposed a project combining retail and residential uses with entertainment, service retail, open space, and community gardens.
Aftermath
The proposal remained subject to public debate over tax-increment financing and residential development, and the mall was ultimately demolished without the full project being delivered in its proposed form.
2014
Sell the vacant property through an auctionM&ABackground
Centrum's redevelopment effort had stalled after Crestwood officials declined to provide the requested public tax incentives.
Action taken
The vacant property was sold to UrbanStreet through an online auction.
Aftermath
UrbanStreet advanced a new mixed-use concept involving retail, housing, entertainment, services, open space, and community gardens.
Purchase price. $3.6 million (April 2014)
2008
Pursue lifestyle-center and arts-oriented repositioningStrategyBackground
The mall was experiencing increasing vacancies and had lost momentum as a conventional department-store shopping destination.
Action taken
Centrum Properties considered a lifestyle-center redevelopment and filled portions of the mall with art galleries, dance studios, and other arts-related occupants.
Aftermath
The repositioning did not halt the decline. Sears closed in 2012, and the center became completely vacant in 2013.
1984
Enclose the open-air shopping centerStrategyBackground
Crestwood Plaza originally operated as an open-air mall, while enclosed regional shopping centers were becoming an increasingly important retail format.
Action taken
The property was converted into an enclosed mall.
Aftermath
The enclosure extended the center's traditional mall format, but it did not prevent the later loss of department-store anchors and tenants.
Sources1 sources
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