Woodland Mall
An enclosed super-regional shopping mall in Kentwood, Michigan, serving the Grand Rapids metropolitan area.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
Woodland Mall is an enclosed super-regional shopping center in Kentwood, a southeastern suburb of Grand Rapids, Michigan. It occupies the intersection of 28th Street and East Beltline Avenue and is positioned as one of the principal retail destinations in western Michigan. The property combines an enclosed mall with freestanding stores, restaurants, entertainment venues, and other commercial uses on its surrounding site. The mall opened on March 13, 1968, with Sears and JCPenney as its principal anchors and a Kresge dime store in the Sears wing. Its original orientation ran from southwest to northeast. A 1975 expansion added a new central wing and a third anchor, Hudson's, giving the property a larger regional footprint. After Kresge closed in 1987, its space was subdivided for smaller retailers. Woodland underwent substantial repositioning during the late 1990s. The property received new flooring, lighting, ceiling treatments, decorative elements, and updated entrances. In 1999, it added the Cafes in the Woods food court and a children's play area. That year also brought the opening of RiverTown Crossings in nearby Grandville, creating the mall's first major direct competition in the broader Grand Rapids market. Earlier, developer Taubman Centers had opposed the competing project and considered a major Woodland renovation and a proposed Lord & Taylor anchor, but the Lord & Taylor plan was abandoned after a dispute involving Hudson's alleged approval rights. The center's anchor identity changed repeatedly. Hudson's became Marshall Field's in 2001 and Macy's in 2006 following corporate nameplate changes and an acquisition. Sears closed in 2017, and its building was demolished to make way for a major expansion. The replacement wing introduced Von Maur, which opened in October 2019. PREIT acquired Woodland Mall from Taubman Centers in 2006 and is identified as both owner and manager in the cited reference material. Woodland has also broadened its offer beyond traditional department-store retail. A 14-screen cinema, restaurants, a large Barnes & Noble, entertainment concepts, specialty food operators, and outdoor or outparcel retailers have helped make the property a mixed retail and leisure destination. Barnes & Noble opened a two-story mall location in October 2009, and H&M opened its first Michigan location outside Metro Detroit at Woodland in October 2013. REI opened in an outparcel in May 2019. By the 2020s, the tenant mix included national apparel, beauty, sporting-goods, food, entertainment, and specialty retailers. Additions and announced concepts included Carter's, Locker Room by Lids, Lovisa, Offline by Aerie, Rue21, Arula, Abercrombie & Fitch, LEGO, and other specialty brands. Main Event Entertainment and a LEGO store opened in August 2024, while the property also introduced what the reference describes as the world's largest Squishable store. The broader site has continued to attract restaurants and service businesses, including Texas de Brazil and Raising Cane's, with additional concepts such as Shake Shack and Portillo's identified in the reference material as future openings. Woodland Mall therefore functions not only as an enclosed shopping center but as a large-scale regional retail and entertainment campus.
History
Woodland Mall opened on March 13, 1968, at the northwestern corner of 28th Street and East Beltline Avenue in Kentwood, Michigan. The original enclosed center was laid out on a southwest-to-northeast axis, with Sears at one end and JCPenney at the other. Kresge operated in the Sears wing, reflecting the department-store and discount-retail model common to large American malls of the period. A separate center, Eastbrook Mall, stood across the intersection and is now known as Centerpointe Mall. In 1975, Woodland expanded with a new central wing oriented northwestward and anchored by Hudson's. The addition increased the mall's regional drawing power and established a three-anchor format. Kresge closed in 1987, after which its former premises were divided into smaller retail units. During the 1990s, developer Taubman Centers sought to protect Woodland's regional position as competition increased. Taubman attempted to prevent construction of RiverTown Crossings in Grandville, but voters supported the new development. In anticipation of the competitor's opening, Taubman proposed a comprehensive interior renovation and considered adding Lord & Taylor as a fourth anchor. Hudson's challenged the proposed anchor arrangement, asserting that it had approval rights over new anchor stores. The Lord & Taylor project did not proceed. Woodland nevertheless received extensive modernization work, including new flooring, ceiling treatments, lighting, decor, and entrances. RiverTown Crossings opened in 1999 and became Woodland's first substantial super-regional competitor in the Grand Rapids area. That same year, Woodland added the Cafes in the Woods food court near JCPenney and a play area in the Sears wing. The property subsequently pursued a broader mix of retail, dining, and entertainment uses. Hudson's was converted to Marshall Field's in 2001 as part of a corporate nameplate consolidation. In 2006, following the acquisition of Marshall Field's, the store became Macy's. Also in 2006, PREIT acquired Woodland Mall from Taubman Centers. A 14-screen movie theater and restaurants including Red Robin and On the Border were added to the southeastern portion of the mall. The cinema later changed ownership, with Celebration Cinema acquiring the complex in 2007. These additions helped shift Woodland from a conventional department-store mall toward a combined shopping, dining, and leisure destination. Barnes & Noble announced in 2008 that it would relocate from a nearby store to a new mall facility. The two-story bookstore opened in October 2009 and became one of the center's prominent specialty tenants. H&M opened in October 2013, described in the cited material as its first Michigan location outside Metro Detroit. The mall entered another redevelopment cycle after Sears announced its closure in January 2017. The Sears building was demolished and replaced by a major expansion intended to accommodate approximately 10 to 15 additional retailers and a new Von Maur department store. Von Maur opened on October 12, 2019. REI opened in an outdoor location on the property on May 17 of the same year. During the 2020s, Woodland continued to refresh its tenant roster with apparel, accessories, beauty, specialty, and family-oriented concepts. Additions or announced tenants included Carter's, Locker Room by Lids, Lovisa, Offline by Aerie, Rue21, Arula, Abercrombie & Fitch, LEGO, and other specialty retailers. On August 16, 2024, Main Event Entertainment and a LEGO store opened. A Squishable store described by the reference as the world's largest also opened in 2024. The surrounding property continued to develop restaurant and service uses, with Texas de Brazil and Raising Cane's identified in the reference as later additions and Shake Shack, Portillo's, Trendy Man, Pop Mart, and Swarovski identified as future or planned concepts. The mall remains an active regional retail property serving western Michigan.
- 2024
Main Event and LEGO open
[1]Main Event Entertainment and a LEGO store open at the property.
- 2019
Von Maur opens
[1]Von Maur opens as the anchor of the post-Sears expansion.
- 2019
REI opens an outparcel store
[1]REI adds an outdoor-focused store to the mall property.
- 2017
Sears redevelopment announced
[1]The Sears anchor is slated for closure and replacement by an expanded retail wing.
- 2013
H&M enters the wider Michigan market
[1]H&M opens its first Michigan store outside Metro Detroit at Woodland Mall.
- 2009
Barnes & Noble opens
[1]A two-story Barnes & Noble opens inside the mall.
- 2006
PREIT acquisition and entertainment expansion
[1]PREIT acquires the mall from Taubman, while a cinema and restaurants are added.
- 2006
Marshall Field's becomes Macy's
[1]The former Hudson's anchor adopts the Macy's name following an acquisition.
- 2001
Hudson's becomes Marshall Field's
[1]The Hudson's anchor changes name as part of a corporate nameplate consolidation.
- 1999
Food court and play area added
[1]Cafes in the Woods and a children's play area expand the mall's amenities.
Products and positioning
A large enclosed regional shopping and entertainment destination serving Grand Rapids and western Michigan, combining department stores, specialty retail, dining, entertainment, and outparcel development.
Retail property · 1968
Enclosed shopping mall
Woodland Mall's core offering is an enclosed regional shopping environment with department stores, specialty shops, services, food venues, and common areas. The center serves shoppers from Kentwood, Grand Rapids, and the wider western Michigan region.
Department stores · 1968
Department-store anchors
The property has historically relied on large anchor stores to generate regional traffic. Its anchor history includes Sears, JCPenney, Hudson's, Marshall Field's, Macy's, and Von Maur. JCPenney, Macy's, and Von Maur are identified in the reference material as current anchors.
Shopping · 1968
Specialty retail
Specialty retail at Woodland spans fashion, accessories, beauty, books, toys, electronics, sporting goods, and branded merchandise. The cited tenant mix includes Apple, Barnes & Noble, LEGO, H&M, REI, and other national and regional concepts.
Leisure and hospitality · 2006
Dining and entertainment
Woodland supplements shopping with restaurants, a cinema, and family entertainment. The reference material identifies Phoenix Theatres, Main Event Entertainment, The Cheesecake Factory, Red Robin, Texas de Brazil, and other food and leisure operators connected with the mall or its surrounding commercial site.
Brand decisions
2024
Main Event and LEGO openingsProduct launchBackground
Woodland continued to expand beyond conventional retail by adding family entertainment and branded specialty concepts.
Action taken
Main Event Entertainment and a LEGO store opened on August 16, 2024.
Aftermath
The additions reinforced the property's shopping-and-entertainment positioning.
2017
Sears replacement redevelopmentStrategyBackground
Sears announced the closure of its Woodland Mall anchor during a period of continuing department-store contraction.
Action taken
The Sears building was demolished and replaced with a larger wing planned for 10 to 15 retailers and a Von Maur anchor.
Aftermath
Von Maur opened in October 2019, and the redevelopment shifted the mall toward a refreshed, mixed retail format.
2006
PREIT acquires Woodland MallM&ABackground
The property changed ownership after being developed and held by Taubman Centers.
Action taken
PREIT acquired the mall from Taubman Centers and is identified in the reference as its owner and manager.
Aftermath
The property continued to add cinema, restaurant, specialty-retail, and later redevelopment components.
1997
Proposed renovation and Lord & Taylor anchorStrategyBackground
Taubman planned a broad interior renovation in response to the proposed RiverTown Crossings competition and considered Lord & Taylor as a fourth anchor.
Action taken
The renovation program was proposed, but the Lord & Taylor anchor was not built after Hudson's disputed the addition and claimed veto rights.
Aftermath
Woodland still received extensive modernization work, while RiverTown Crossings opened in 1999 as a major competing mall.
Recent events
PREIT amends mortgage loan secured by Woodland Mall[3]
Reported:
PREIT announced that it had entered into an amendment to the mortgage loan secured by Woodland Mall. The amendment extended the maturity date to December 10, 2021, with a 12-month extension option, revised the interest rate and reduced the guaranty to $10 million, subject to restrictions on lenders exercising rights and remedies.
Sources3 sources
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