Aurora Avenue North and North 205th Street
King County (Shoreline), Washington
The fifth regional-class shopping center in Greater Seattle was designed by John Graham, Junior. Open-air in format, the complex was developed by Aurora Shopping Center, Incorporated; a joint venture of Seattle's Backus Improvement Company and Continental, Incorporated. AURORA VILLAGE CENTER was built on 35 acres, located 13.9 miles north of the center city. The site, then in unincorporated King County, was directly south of the King-Snohomish County line.
Plans for the mall were announced in April 1959, with construction commencing on July 13, 1959. The 17 million dollar shopping venue was built in three phases. First phase stores included the Junior Boot Shop, a (21,000 square foot) Pay 'n Save Drug and (20,900 square foot) Big Bear-Lucky Stores supermarket. These welcomed first shoppers on April 6, 1960.
Stores in the mall's second phase included Ernst Hardware, Fuller Paint, a 1-level (40,000 square foot) J.C. Penney and 1-level (33,000 square foot) F.W. Woolworth. Grand openings for these were held on -or around- August 10, 1961. Store dedications continued into October 1961, when there were over thirty operational stores. These included Andy's Village Inn restaurant, Nordstrom's Shoes, the Bon Ton French Bakery, Singer Sewing Center, Turner Jewelers and the GI-EM Gift Shop.
The third, and final, mall construction phase added a 3-level (180,000 square foot), Seattle-based Frederick & Nelson department store. "Frederick's" opened, on the east end of the mall, on July 22, 1963. In 1967, Ernst Hardware relocated from a mall store into a freestanding (32,700 square foot) Ernst Home Center. It was built in the mall's south parking
area.
On March 29, 1974, a 2-level (71,000 square foot) Nordstrom was dedicated. It was the first unit in the Seattle-based chain to
be built as a bona fide Nordstrom department store (earlier locations
had operated under the Best's Apparel and Nordstrom Best banners). A parking deck was built adjacent to the new Nordstrom.
Shopping centers in the AURORA VILLAGE trade area included NORTHGATE CENTER (1950) {4.6 miles south, in King County (Seattle)}, AURORA SQUARE (1967) {2.2 miles southwest, in King County (Shoreline)} and ALDERWOOD MALL (1979) {4.7 miles northeast, in Snohomish County (Lynnwood)}.
Shopping centers in the AURORA VILLAGE trade area included NORTHGATE CENTER (1950) {4.6 miles south, in King County (Seattle)}, AURORA SQUARE (1967) {2.2 miles southwest, in King County (Shoreline)} and ALDERWOOD MALL (1979) {4.7 miles northeast, in Snohomish County (Lynnwood)}.
Lucky Stores and Pay 'n Save Drug moved from mall-based stores into a freestanding structure; this built east of the Ernst Home Center. The grocery store and pharmacy were open for business by 1977. AURORA VILLAGE was enclosed and climate-controlled soon after. Work commenced in March 1979 and was completed in 1980.
New retail area flanked mall entrances. Moreover, the Luxury Theatres Aurora Village 4 was installed in mall space vacated by Lucky Stores' move to a freestanding store. The multiplex showed first features on December 12, 1980. The newly-enclosed AURORA VILLAGE MALL encompassed approximately 510,000 leasable square feet and housed sixty stores and services.
Competition from larger, and more trendy, shopping venues caused AURORA VILLAGE MALL to begin to decline in the mid-1980s. The mall's owner, San Mateo, California's Fox & Carskadon Financial Corporation, proposed a face lift renovation. It never got past the planning stages. Maintenance was deferred by the mall's absentee landlord. J.C. Penney shuttered their store in 1986.
In 1987, the complex was sold to the Lynnwood, Washington-based Northwest Building Corporation. Again, renovation plans were announced that never come to fruition. The mall was re-sold in 1989. The British Columbia-based Pan Pacific Development Corporation became its new proprietor. Pan Pacific planned a major renovation, whereby the moribund mall would be demolished, leaving its two anchors standing. These would be worked into a 777,000 square foot, upscale mall with two levels of retail, a food court, multiplex cinema and over 140 stores and services.
A 370,000 square foot power center, known as AURORA VILLAGE CENTER, was built. Its 1-level (156,000 square foot) Costco welcomed first shoppers on June 30, 1994. Stores and services included Petco, Office Max, Big 5 Sporting Goods (a former mall tenant) and 1-level (130,000 square foot) Home Depot. The shopping center site became part of the newly-incorporated city of Shoreline in August 1995.
Sources:
The Seattle Times
The Catholic Northwest Progress (Seattle, Washington)
Financing for the project was never secured. Frederick & Nelson pulled up stakes in September 1991, setting off a store exodus. Nordstrom, the mall's final operational store, went dark on May 30, 1992. New York City-based Citicorp acquired the property by loan default in October 1992. They transferred the past-its-prime property to an agent, Lynnwood, Washington-based First Western Development.
They decided to raze the entire structure, with demolition commencing in late 1993.
A 370,000 square foot power center, known as AURORA VILLAGE CENTER, was built. Its 1-level (156,000 square foot) Costco welcomed first shoppers on June 30, 1994. Stores and services included Petco, Office Max, Big 5 Sporting Goods (a former mall tenant) and 1-level (130,000 square foot) Home Depot. The shopping center site became part of the newly-incorporated city of Shoreline in August 1995.
Sources:
The Seattle Times
The Catholic Northwest Progress (Seattle, Washington)
http://www.shorelineareanews.com
KIRO-TV Eyewitness News
https://www.movie-theatre.org / Mike Rivest
https://www.movie-theatre.org / Mike Rivest
https://www.cinematreasures.org
