Mall of Abilene

Mall of Abilene is an enclosed shopping mall serving Abilene and a broad surrounding trade area in West Central Texas. The property occupies approximately 61 acres at the southwest corner of Buffalo Gap Road and U.S. Highways 83 and 84, also known as the Winters Freeway, on the south side of Abilene. Its location places it within a major commercial corridor and gives the center access to shoppers from outside the city as well as local residents. Development began in 1977, during a period of growth in southern Abilene. Paul Broadhead & Associates developed the project, which had an announced initial development cost of $28 million. The mall opened to shoppers in March 1979 with a tenant mix centered on department stores, specialty retail, entertainment, and food service. Its original anchor lineup included Dillard's, JCPenney, Sears, H. J. Wilson Co., and Grissom's. Several of these businesses later changed identities or functions as retail formats evolved: H. J. Wilson Co. became Service Merchandise, while the Grissom's space was subsequently associated with Dunlap's and later divided among Best Buy, Books-A-Million, and Ulta. The center's approximately 1 million square feet of gross leasable area supports a combination of large department-store spaces, junior anchors, specialty retailers, restaurants, and entertainment uses. The property has historically accommodated roughly 80 stores, excluding the cinema. Anchor and major-format occupants have included JCPenney, Dillard's, Best Buy, Ulta, and Books-A-Million. Dillard's operates two large spaces commonly identified as its North and South stores, with the former focused on men's merchandise and the latter on women's merchandise. A former Sears location became vacant after Sears announced in December 2018 that the store would close as part of a nationwide round of closures; the Abilene location closed in March 2019. Entertainment has been part of the mall's identity since its opening era. The original junior-anchor lineup included UA Theaters 6, and the former theater space was later converted into Premiere Cinema 10, a 15,000-square-foot cinema. Other early junior anchors included Beall's, Lerner's, and Luby's Cafeteria. Over time, the tenant mix shifted toward contemporary specialty apparel, sporting goods, beauty, electronics, books, restaurants, and family entertainment. Examples cited for the property include American Eagle Outfitters, Aeropostale, JD Sports, Hibbett Sports, Hot Topic, LensCrafters, Shoe Dept., Spencer Gifts, Victoria's Secret, Chuck E. Cheese, El Chico, and Joe Muggs inside Books-A-Million. Mall of Abilene functions primarily as a regional retail and leisure destination rather than as a product manufacturer or conventional consumer-goods brand. Its value proposition is based on tenant variety, department-store anchors, convenient highway access, and the ability to consolidate shopping, dining, and entertainment in one enclosed venue. A 2005 figure reported approximately 8.7 million annual visitors, illustrating the scale of the center at that time. Current ownership, management, executive leadership, and up-to-date visitor figures are not established in the supplied reference material.

Mall of Abilene was conceived during the expansion of Abilene's southern commercial area. Groundbreaking took place in 1977, with Paul Broadhead & Associates identified as the developer. The project was initially expected to cost $28 million and opened in March 1979 as a major enclosed shopping complex for the city and its surrounding communities. The original anchor lineup reflected the dominant American mall model of the late 1970s: Dillard's, JCPenney, Sears, H. J. Wilson Co., and Grissom's. Its early junior anchors and supporting tenants included Beall's, UA Theaters 6, Lerner's, Luby's Cafeteria, Chick-fil-A, Express, GNC, El Chico, Footaction, Motherhood Maternity, Spencer's, and Zales. The presence of department stores, apparel chains, restaurants, and a cinema gave the property a broad regional-retail role from its first years. Tenant identities and store formats changed over the following decades. H. J. Wilson Co. reopened as Service Merchandise in 1985. Grissom's was later replaced by Dunlap's, and the associated large-format space was eventually used by Best Buy, Books-A-Million, and Ulta. The mall also added or accommodated newer formats, including Ulta Beauty and Chuck E. Cheese. The former Luby's space became associated with Ulta Beauty, while the original UA Theaters 6 space was converted into Premiere Cinema 10, a 15,000-square-foot theater operation. By the period described in the reference material, the property contained nearly 1 million square feet of gross leasable area on a 61-acre site. It was reported to have approximately 80 stores, excluding the cinema, and to serve a 22-county trade area. Major occupants included JCPenney, two Dillard's stores, Best Buy, Ulta, and Books-A-Million. The two Dillard's locations are identified as a North store focused on men's merchandise and a South store focused on women's merchandise. A 2005 estimate placed annual visitation at 8.7 million people. The mall's later history also reflects the structural pressure on traditional department stores. On December 28, 2018, Sears announced that its Mall of Abilene store would close as part of a nationwide program involving 80 stores. The location closed in March 2019, and the former Sears space was subsequently described as vacant. Other retailers cited in the mall's tenant listings include Aeropostale, American Eagle Outfitters, JD Sports, Hibbett Sports, Hot Topic, LensCrafters, Shoe Dept., Spencer Gifts, Victoria's Secret, and various food and entertainment operators. Mall of Abilene remains documented as an enclosed shopping mall in Abilene, Texas. The supplied sources do not establish its current ownership, management company, executive team, current store count, or recent financial and visitation performance. Accordingly, those details are left unspecified.

• 2019

  Sears store closes

  [1]Mall of Abileneen.wikipedia.org

  The Sears location closed in March, leaving a former anchor space vacant.

• 2018

  Sears closure announced

  [1]Mall of Abileneen.wikipedia.org

  Sears announced that its Mall of Abilene store would close in a nationwide group of 80 planned store closures.

• 2005

  Reported annual visitation

  [1]Mall of Abileneen.wikipedia.org

  The mall was reported to attract approximately 8.7 million visitors per year.

• 1985

  Service Merchandise occupies former Wilson's identity

  [1]Mall of Abileneen.wikipedia.org

  The H. J. Wilson Co. location reopened as Service Merchandise.

• 1979

  Mall opens

  [1]Mall of Abileneen.wikipedia.org

  Mall of Abilene opened to shoppers in March with department-store anchors and a supporting lineup of junior anchors, specialty shops, dining, and cinema entertainment.

• 1977

  Development begins

  [1]Mall of Abileneen.wikipedia.org

  Ground was broken for the new shopping complex in southern Abilene. Paul Broadhead & Associates developed the project.

A regional enclosed shopping and entertainment destination serving Abilene and its surrounding 22-county trade area, with department-store anchors, specialty retail, restaurants, and cinema entertainment.

• Anchor retail · 1979

  Department-store retail

  The mall's department-store offering has historically been led by JCPenney and Dillard's. Dillard's operates two large locations identified as North and South stores, while JCPenney occupies another major anchor space. These stores provide broad assortments of apparel, accessories, home goods, and related merchandise, although exact current assortments are not specified in the supplied sources.

• Shopping mall retail · 1979

  Specialty retail

  Mall of Abilene's specialty-retail mix has included apparel, footwear, sporting goods, beauty, eyewear, books, gifts, and youth-oriented merchandise. Cited tenants include American Eagle Outfitters, JD Sports, Hibbett Sports, Hot Topic, LensCrafters, Shoe Dept., Spencer Gifts, Victoria's Secret, and Books-A-Million.

• Entertainment

  Premiere Cinema 10

  Premiere Cinema 10 is a cinema occupying a converted former UA Theaters 6 space. The theater is described as approximately 15,000 square feet and extends the mall's role beyond shopping into movie entertainment.

• Food and entertainment · 1979

  Dining and family entertainment

  Food and leisure uses have included El Chico, Chuck E. Cheese, Coastal Cookies, Dante's, Dippin' Dots, and Joe Muggs inside Books-A-Million. Earlier food-service tenants included Luby's Cafeteria and Chick-fil-A. The exact current status of each cited operator is not established by the supplied material.

• 2019

  Former Sears anchor space becomes vacantOther

  Background

  Sears announced in late 2018 that it would close the Mall of Abilene store as part of a nationwide closure program.

  Action taken

  The Sears store closed in March 2019, ending the department store's occupancy of its large anchor space.

  Aftermath

  The former Sears anchor was described as vacant in the cited mall information. No subsequent redevelopment or replacement tenant is identified in the supplied sources.

  Source

1. 1Mall of Abileneen.wikipedia.org