Town Center at Boca Raton
An upscale enclosed shopping mall in Boca Raton, Florida, anchored by major American department stores.
Last updated August 24, 2026
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Overview
Town Center at Boca Raton is an upscale enclosed shopping mall in Boca Raton, Florida, located immediately west of Interstate 95 along Glades Road. Often called Boca Town Center or simply Town Center, it serves the western Boca Raton area and the wider Palm Beach County and South Florida markets. The property is owned and operated by Simon Property Group, which has controlled the mall since 1998. The mall opened on August 13, 1980, after being developed by Federated Stores, the parent company of Burdines, on land associated with Arvida Corporation. Its original retail concept was a one-story, approximately 100-store center with a Mediterranean Revival architectural character. Atriums, living vegetation, fountains, and a prominent round black station clock were among the early design features. Burdines opened before the rest of the mall, while Jordan Marsh and Sears joined as additional department-store anchors around the opening period. Over time, the property evolved from a regional shopping center into a large, high-end super-regional mall. Anchor changes reflected department-store mergers, closures, relocations, and repositioning. Jordan Marsh was replaced by Mervyns and later by a substantially expanded Saks Fifth Avenue. The former Burdines became Burdines-Macy's and ultimately Macy's. Lord & Taylor was replaced by Neiman Marcus in 2005, while Nordstrom opened its first Florida location at the center in 2000. Macy's later expanded to three floors, and the mall added parking structures, remodeled entrances, larger food-court seating, and other customer-oriented improvements. The current anchor lineup includes Macy's, Nordstrom, Bloomingdale's, Neiman Marcus, and Saks Fifth Avenue. The center also includes specialty retail, restaurants, services, family amenities, and lifestyle-oriented components. The Terrace at Town Center, completed in the late 2000s, added tenants such as Crate & Barrel and a fitness operator, extending the property beyond a conventional enclosed mall format. A children's playground and newer post-lockdown additions further broaden the center's use as a leisure and community destination. Town Center is described as the largest enclosed conventional shopping mall in Palm Beach County and one of the largest shopping centers by total area in South Florida, behind Sawgrass Mills and Aventura Mall. Its competitive position is based on a concentration of luxury and premium department stores, a broad specialty-retail mix, substantial parking, and access to affluent consumers in Boca Raton and nearby communities. The mall has also been associated with serious public-safety incidents. A series of kidnappings and murders in or near the property during 2007 generated national attention and remained unsolved. In 2019, reports of sounds resembling gunfire prompted a major emergency response and evacuation; investigators later attributed the noise to a balloon popping on a janitor's cart rather than an attack. These incidents form part of the property's public history but do not define its retail operations. After Sears announced its closure, the former anchor site became the subject of a redevelopment dispute. Sears Holdings and later Transformco proposed an open-air mixed-use concept, while Simon challenged the proposal on the basis of a prior agreement limiting the site's use. In 2025, Transformco sold the former Sears property to Simon, according to the cited reference material. Simon subsequently publicized plans for a mixed-use redevelopment involving a hotel, luxury apartments, retail, restaurants, a parking structure, and a pedestrian-oriented Main Street. The proposal remained subject to municipal planning and approval processes described in the reference material.
History
Town Center at Boca Raton opened on August 13, 1980, in western Boca Raton, Florida, on land associated with Arvida Corporation. Federated Stores, then the parent company of Burdines, developed the shopping center as western Boca Raton was experiencing substantial growth. The site lies west of Interstate 95 on Glades Road, giving the property strong road access and helping it develop into a regional retail destination. Burdines opened in June 1979, before the main mall was completed. The original center was a one-story enclosed mall with approximately 100 stores and a Mediterranean Revival design. Its interior incorporated landscaped atriums, fountains, and a distinctive round black clock. Jordan Marsh and Sears served as additional early anchors, with Sears opening on October 29, 1980. The anchor roster changed repeatedly as department-store companies merged, retrenched, or repositioned their real-estate portfolios. Jordan Marsh closed in 1991 following the collapse of its parent company and was replaced by Mervyns in 1992. Mervyns then closed in 1995. Saks Fifth Avenue took over the site and constructed a substantially larger store, including a new entrance connected to the parking structure; the replacement was completed after a multiyear construction period ending in 1999. The mall's redevelopment continued with the arrival of Nordstrom in 2000. The project created Florida's first Nordstrom location and involved demolition of the original Jordan Marsh building, a new concourse, and reconfigured parking. Garages were added or expanded near Nordstrom, Burdines, and Saks Fifth Avenue. These changes helped move Town Center toward a more premium, destination-oriented operating model. Lord & Taylor left the mall in 2004 during the retailer's retreat from markets outside the Northeast. Neiman Marcus replaced it and opened in 2005, after having sought a Boca Raton presence for many years. Burdines was converted first to Burdines-Macy's in 2003 and then to Macy's in 2005. The same period brought changes to the food court, remodeled entrances with exterior canopies and decorative towers, and improvements intended to make the center more visually prominent from surrounding roads and parking areas. In 2007, an additional garage was completed near Bloomingdale's and the Terrace at Town Center lifestyle component opened. The Terrace introduced a more open-air, mixed-use character and included tenants such as Crate & Barrel and a fitness club. Macy's expanded to a third floor during the same general period. Waldenbooks operated at the mall before closing in 2010. Simon Property Group has owned and operated the mall since 1998. During the 2000s and 2010s, Town Center maintained a strong department-store lineup consisting of Macy's, Nordstrom, Bloomingdale's, Neiman Marcus, and Saks Fifth Avenue. The property is regarded as the largest enclosed conventional mall in Palm Beach County and one of the largest shopping centers in South Florida by total area. The mall's history also includes several serious incidents in 2007. A woman was kidnapped and murdered in March, and in December Nancy Bochicchio and her seven-year-old daughter, Joey, were kidnapped and later found bound and fatally shot in a vehicle in the mall parking area. In August, another woman and her young child were abducted and restrained in a vehicle before the woman was forced to withdraw cash. The cases shared similarities and received national media attention, but the murders remained unsolved and no definitive forensic finding established that all incidents were committed by one offender. Sears announced the closure of its store in January 2018. In 2019, Sears Holdings proposed redeveloping the site as The Collection at Boca Town Center, an approximately 250,000-square-foot open-air concept combining retail, dining, and entertainment. Simon opposed the proposal, citing a 1985 agreement that it said restricted use of the space to traditional retail. The dispute continued after Transformco succeeded Sears Holdings. In October 2019, a false active-shooter alarm caused a major emergency response. Shoppers reported sounds resembling gunfire, prompting a mall-wide panic, evacuation, and SWAT searches. Police found no evidence of a shooting and determined that a balloon attached to a food-court janitorial cart had produced the noise. A man suffered a trauma injury while evacuating, and some people sustained minor injuries in the confusion. The post-lockdown period brought additional tenant announcements and family amenities, including a 1,700-square-foot children's playground. According to the supplied reference material, Transformco sold the former Sears property to Simon in 2025. Simon then announced plans for a larger mixed-use project, including a 197-room, eight-story hotel, a seven-story building with 374 luxury apartments, more than 157,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, a parking garage, and a Main Street-style pedestrian area. The plan covered approximately 31.6 acres and was described as subject to city review and development approval.
- 2025
Simon acquires the former Sears property
[1]The reference material states that Transformco sold the former Sears property to Simon, enabling Simon to pursue its own redevelopment concept.
- 2019
The Collection redevelopment proposal emerges
[1]Sears Holdings proposed replacing the former Sears site with a large open-air retail, dining, and entertainment development.
- 2018
Sears announces closure
[1]Sears announced that its Town Center anchor would close, leaving a major redevelopment site.
- 2007
Terrace at Town Center opens
[1]The lifestyle component and additional parking facilities expanded the property's retail and mixed-use footprint.
- 2005
Neiman Marcus opens
[1]Neiman Marcus replaced Lord & Taylor, while the former Burdines location became Macy's.
- 2000
Nordstrom opens its first Florida store
[1]A new Nordstrom anchor opened as part of a major mall reconfiguration and expansion.
- 1998
Simon Property Group takes ownership and operation
[1]Simon Property Group became the mall's owner and operator.
- 1980
Town Center opens
[1]The enclosed shopping mall opened on August 13 with about 100 stores and anchors including Burdines, Jordan Marsh, and Sears.
- 1979
Burdines opens ahead of the mall
[1]The future mall's first major anchor, Burdines, opened in June 1979 before completion of the main shopping center.
Products and positioning
Upscale super-regional enclosed shopping mall serving Boca Raton, Palm Beach County, and the broader South Florida market.
Retail property · 1980
Enclosed shopping mall
The core offering is a large enclosed shopping environment combining department stores, specialty retailers, dining, services, landscaped public areas, and parking. Its premium anchor lineup gives the center a destination-shopping role within Palm Beach County and South Florida.
Lifestyle retail · 2007
The Terrace at Town Center
The Terrace is an open-air lifestyle component added to the broader mall complex in 2007. It extended the property beyond a conventional enclosed mall by incorporating additional retail, home-furnishing, fitness, and dining-oriented uses.
Brand decisions
2025
Simon acquires the former Sears propertyM&ABackground
The former Sears anchor and its surrounding redevelopment site remained subject to a long-running disagreement over future use.
Action taken
According to the supplied reference material, Transformco sold the property to Simon Property Group.
Aftermath
Simon advanced plans for a mixed-use district combining hotel, residential, retail, restaurant, pedestrian, and parking components.
2019
Simon challenges the proposed Sears-site redevelopmentStrategyBackground
After Sears announced its closure, Sears Holdings proposed an open-air retail, dining, and entertainment development on the former anchor site.
Action taken
Simon Property Group sought to block the proposal, arguing that a 1985 agreement limited the property's use to traditional retail.
Aftermath
The dispute continued after Transformco succeeded Sears Holdings. Later reference material states that Simon ultimately acquired the former Sears property and pursued a separate mixed-use plan.
Recent events
- 2025
Simon acquires former Sears property and advances mixed-use redevelopment plans[1]
M&A
The former Sears property was sold to Simon, according to the reference material. Simon then publicized a concept involving hospitality, residential, retail, restaurant, pedestrian, and parking components.
- 2019
Proposed redevelopment of former Sears site creates dispute with Simon[1]
Lawsuit
Sears Holdings proposed a large open-air retail, dining, and entertainment project for the former Sears site. Simon Property Group objected, arguing that the proposal conflicted with a prior agreement governing use of the property.
- 2019
2019 active-shooter scare is determined to be a false alarm[1]
Other
Reports of popping sounds caused shoppers and employees to flee and led to a SWAT search of the mall. Investigators found no gunfire; the sound was traced to a balloon that popped on a janitor's cart.
- 2018
Sears announces closure of its Town Center at Boca Raton store[1]
Leadership change · Other
Sears announced that its anchor location at Town Center at Boca Raton would close, creating a major redevelopment opportunity within the mall complex.
Sources2 sources
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