The Great Mall of the Great Plains

The Great Mall of the Great Plains was a large shopping and entertainment complex in Olathe, Kansas, United States. It opened on August 14, 1997, after construction began the previous year, and was designed as a value-oriented megamall combining outlet retail, conventional mall stores, big-box merchants, restaurants, and family entertainment. The project was co-developed by Glimcher Realty Trust and Jordan Robert Perlmutter & Co., with Glimcher serving as owner and manager during the mall's early years. At opening, the center contained approximately 150 stores and was promoted as the largest outlet mall in Kansas. Its tenant mix included Burlington Coat Factory, Dillard's, DSW, Eddie Bauer Outlet, Foozles Bookstore, Group USA Clothing Company, Kitchen and Co., Linens 'n Things, Marshalls, Old Navy, Oshman's Supersports USA, and a Jeepers family entertainment center. The complex also offered a 12-restaurant Marketplace food court, a 16-screen Dickinson Theatres cinema, a Game Zone arcade, and indoor miniature golf. Stores were organized along a half-mile racetrack-style circulation plan divided into four themed courts: Fashion, Home and Hobby, Sports and Adventure, and Techtainment. A dead-end corridor was reserved for a proposed expansion that would have added more restaurants and entertainment and increased the complex to more than one million square feet, but the expansion was never completed. The mall experienced a strong initial response, attracting more than one million visitors during its first several months and more than 1.5 million visitors according to accounts of its opening period. Its performance weakened over time, however, as the Kansas City-area retail market became increasingly saturated, consumer shopping patterns changed, and the economic downturn placed pressure on retailers. Anchor and specialty tenants were progressively replaced, relocated, or closed. The center attempted to broaden its uses through entertainment venues, an alternative high school operated by the Olathe School District, a driver-license office, and a municipal sales-tax increase intended to support improvements. The Great Recession accelerated the mall's deterioration. Several retailers closed unprofitable locations or entered bankruptcy, while occupancy fell to approximately 63 percent in 2010 and about 35 percent by 2015. Glimcher disclosed in a 2008 Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it wanted to sell the property. After years of decline, the mall announced in February 2015 that it would close. Most remaining tenants left during the spring and summer, the food court shut down in June, and the final operating attractions closed in August. The mall formally closed on September 18, 2015, although Burlington Coat Factory remained on the site for several more years. Demolition began on July 11, 2016, and was substantially completed by January 2017, apart from the Burlington building. A proposed 2018 replacement project called Mentum envisioned a town center with retail, restaurants, hotels, offices, a 4,000- to 5,000-seat arena, an ice rink, interactive golf, and rock-climbing facilities. That redevelopment did not proceed. Garmin, an Olathe-based technology company, acquired the property in October 2021, reportedly in connection with possible headquarters expansion. Burlington Coat Factory closed in January 2023, leaving the former mall site vacant apart from hotels and restaurants around its perimeter.

The Great Mall of the Great Plains was conceived as a large-scale value-oriented shopping and entertainment destination for the Olathe area and the wider Kansas City metropolitan market. Glimcher Realty Trust and Jordan Robert Perlmutter & Co. co-developed the project, with the concept combining outlet stores, ordinary mall tenants, large-format retailers, dining, and entertainment in a format associated with the megamalls developed by the former Mills Corporation. Construction began in 1996. The opening was initially planned for March 1997, but leasing issues delayed the launch until August 14, 1997. The completed mall contained about 150 stores and was arranged in a half-mile racetrack pattern. Its interior was divided into four themed areas—Fashion, Home and Hobby, Sports and Adventure, and Techtainment—to give the large complex a distinctive navigational and merchandising structure. The original tenant roster included Burlington Coat Factory, Dillard's, DSW, Eddie Bauer Outlet, Foozles Bookstore, Group USA Clothing Company, Kitchen and Co., Linens 'n Things, Marshalls, Old Navy, Oshman's Supersports USA, and Jeepers. Other facilities included a 12-restaurant Marketplace food court, a 16-screen Dickinson Theatres cinema, a Game Zone arcade, and indoor glow-in-the-dark miniature golf. An unfinished northwest corridor was intended to support a future expansion with additional restaurants and entertainment, but the proposed extension never opened. The mall initially drew substantial traffic. Reports describe more than one million visitors during its first few months and more than 1.5 million visitors during its broader opening period. This early performance did not persist. The local retail market became more competitive and saturated, while changes in shopping habits and a downturn in the economy weakened the position of many mall retailers. Kitchen and Co. was the first anchor to leave, closing in 1998 and later being replaced by Off Fifth Saks Fifth Avenue Outlet. Dillard's converted to a clearance format before closing in 2001, when VF Outlet took over the space. Old Navy also shifted toward an outlet format before closing in 2003. Management repeatedly changed the tenant and amenity mix in an attempt to maintain traffic. Oshman's former space was used for Cosmic Mini Golf and later Steve & Barry's. Jeepers was renovated as Zonkers, an amusement center, in 2006. Cosmic Mini Golf moved between several vacant spaces, while other tenants—including Hibbett Sports, Treasure Hunt, Famous Labels, Book Warehouse, Monkey Bizness, and a Kansas driver-license office—occupied former retail units. The Olathe School District also established an alternative high school inside the mall. These adaptations provided new uses but did not reverse the center's structural decline. The Great Recession intensified the problem. Retailers closed less profitable locations, and some entered bankruptcy. Steve & Barry's filed for bankruptcy in late 2008 and closed its mall store in early 2009. Glimcher Realty Trust, which had owned and managed the property during its principal operating period, stated in an early 2008 SEC filing that it wanted to sell the mall. Occupancy was approximately 63 percent in 2010. Olathe approved a 1.5-cent sales-tax increase on mall-store transactions that year to help fund improvements, but the measure was later terminated in 2013. By 2014, several replacement tenants had also left. On February 16, 2015, the mall announced that it would close in the autumn. At that point occupancy had fallen to approximately 35 percent. Tenants were given time to close or relocate, and the food court ceased operation on June 7. Cosmic Mini Golf closed on June 13. By July, only a small group of businesses remained, including Burlington Coat Factory, B&B Theatres, Sportibles, Zonkers, and the driver's-license office. Sportibles relocated, Zonkers closed on August 2, and B&B Theatres closed on August 17. The mall officially shut on September 18, while the driver's-license office moved out in December. Burlington remained as the final store on the property. Demolition commenced on July 11, 2016, and by January 2017 the mall had been removed except for the Burlington structure. A redevelopment announced in January 2018 under the name Mentum proposed a smaller town center with retail, restaurants, hotels, offices, an arena seating 4,000 to 5,000 people, an ice rink, interactive golf, and rock-climbing facilities. The scheme did not come to fruition. In October 2021, Garmin, headquartered in Olathe, indicated that it had acquired the property, apparently for potential corporate-campus expansion. Burlington closed in January 2023, leaving the former mall parcel vacant except for hotels and restaurants located around its edges.

• 2023

  Last remaining store closes

  [1]The Great Mall of the Great Plainsen.wikipedia.org

  Burlington Coat Factory closed in January, ending the site's remaining mall retail operation.

• 2021

  Garmin acquires the property

  [1]The Great Mall of the Great Plainsen.wikipedia.org

  Garmin indicated that it had acquired the former mall property, potentially for headquarters expansion.

• 2018

  Mentum redevelopment announced

  [1]The Great Mall of the Great Plainsen.wikipedia.org

  A proposed mixed-use town center was announced but never developed.

• 2017

  Main mall structure removed

  [1]The Great Mall of the Great Plainsen.wikipedia.org

  The mall was demolished by January, apart from the Burlington Coat Factory building.

• 2016

  Demolition starts

  [1]The Great Mall of the Great Plainsen.wikipedia.org

  Demolition began on July 11.

• 2015

  Closure and final operating period

  [1]The Great Mall of the Great Plainsen.wikipedia.org

  The mall announced closure in February and completed its shutdown on September 18 after most tenants and attractions departed.

• 2013

  Mall sales-tax increase ends

  [1]The Great Mall of the Great Plainsen.wikipedia.org

  The special sales-tax increase associated with the mall was terminated.

• 2010

  Municipal support measure approved

  [1]The Great Mall of the Great Plainsen.wikipedia.org

  Olathe approved a 1.5-cent sales-tax increase on mall-store purchases to support mall improvements.

• 2008

  Owner seeks a sale

  [1]The Great Mall of the Great Plainsen.wikipedia.org

  Glimcher disclosed plans to sell the property as the mall faced tenant losses and declining performance.

• 2006

  Jeepers becomes Zonkers

  [1]The Great Mall of the Great Plainsen.wikipedia.org

  The Jeepers family entertainment venue was renovated and relaunched as Zonkers amusement center.

• 2001

  Dillard's clearance center closes

  [1]The Great Mall of the Great Plainsen.wikipedia.org

  Dillard's Clearance Center closed and was replaced by VF Outlet several months later.

• 1998

  First anchor departure

  [1]The Great Mall of the Great Plainsen.wikipedia.org

  Kitchen and Co. closed, beginning a long sequence of anchor and specialty-store changes.

• 1997

  Mall opens

  [1]The Great Mall of the Great Plainsen.wikipedia.org

  The Great Mall of the Great Plains opened on August 14 with approximately 150 stores, restaurants, entertainment facilities, and a 16-screen cinema.

• 1996

  Construction begins

  [1]The Great Mall of the Great Plainsen.wikipedia.org

  Construction started on the planned value-oriented megamall in Olathe, Kansas.

A value-oriented regional megamall combining outlet stores, traditional mall retail, big-box shopping, dining, and family entertainment.

• Retail format · 1997

  Outlet and value retail

  The mall's central proposition was a value-focused mix of outlet and discount retail. Original and later tenants sold apparel, footwear, sporting goods, books, housewares, linens, furniture-related merchandise, and specialty products. The format combined outlet operators such as Burlington Coat Factory, Eddie Bauer Outlet, DSW, VF Outlet, and Off Fifth with conventional mall and big-box retailers.

• Food service · 1997

  Marketplace food court

  The Marketplace was a food court containing 12 restaurant locations and served as one of the mall's principal gathering and dining areas. It was part of the original opening configuration but was emptied and closed on June 7, 2015, before the mall's final shutdown.

• Cinema · 1997

  Dickinson Theatres

  The mall included a 16-screen Dickinson Theatres cinema. The theater was later rebranded as B&B Theatres and became one of the final active businesses at the property before closing on August 17, 2015.

• Family entertainment · 2006

  Zonkers Family Entertainment Center

  Originally opened as Jeepers, the family entertainment venue was renovated and relaunched as Zonkers in 2006. It offered amusement-oriented activities and remained among the mall's final attractions, closing on August 2, 2015.

• Indoor recreation · 2003

  Cosmic Mini Golf

  Cosmic Mini Golf was an indoor glow-in-the-dark miniature-golf attraction that occupied several former retail spaces as the mall's tenancy changed. It closed on June 13, 2015.

• 2021

  Garmin property acquisitionM&A

  Background

  The former mall site remained without a completed replacement development after the Mentum proposal failed to proceed.

  Action taken

  Garmin indicated that it had acquired the property, apparently to support possible expansion of its Olathe headquarters.

  Aftermath

  The former mall parcel ceased to function as a shopping-center property.

  Source

• 2018

  Mentum replacement proposalStrategy

  Background

  Following demolition, developers sought to replace the former mall with a smaller mixed-use destination.

  Action taken

  The announced plan included stores, restaurants, hotels, offices, a 4,000- to 5,000-seat arena, an ice rink, interactive golf, and rock climbing.

  Aftermath

  The redevelopment was never completed, and the property was later acquired by Garmin.

  Source

• 2015

  Decision to close the mallStrategy

  Background

  Occupancy had fallen to approximately 35 percent after years of retailer departures, changing shopping habits, market saturation, and economic pressure.

  Action taken

  The mall announced on February 16 that it would close in the fall and gave remaining tenants time to close or relocate.

  Aftermath

  The complex closed on September 18, 2015, followed by demolition beginning in July 2016.

  Source

• 2010

  Temporary mall sales-tax increasePrice change

  Background

  The mall was operating with declining occupancy and needed investment to improve its physical condition and attract customers.

  Action taken

  Olathe approved a 1.5-cent increase in sales tax applied to purchases at mall stores.

  Aftermath

  The measure was later terminated in 2013 and did not prevent the mall's eventual closure.

  Source

1. 1The Great Mall of the Great Plainsen.wikipedia.org