A rendering from September 1971 shows the prospective CLEARWATER MALL as an L-shaped structure with three anchor stores. The completed complex would turn out to be a pistol-shaped structure with four.
Drawing from Blackburn Brothers Development

Mobile-based Gayfers anchored the north end of CLEARWATER MALL with a 2-level -149,000 square foot- store. It opened, in April 1973, as the mall's first operational tenant.

Drawing from Mercantile Stores Company, Incorporated Annual Report 1972

The Charlotte-based  Ivey's chain anchored the center of the center. Montgomery Ward presided over the mall's south end.

Peter Lind Hayes and Mary Healy, stars of stage, screen and television, officiated at the November 1973 grand opening of CLEARWATER MALL.
Photo from Wikipedia / National Broadcasting Company

South Florida's Burdines would add a fourth anchor to CLEARWATER MALL. When completed, the store encompassed 2 levels and 160,000 square feet. It was Burdines' first Northern Florida expansion store. Others would follow in Tampa and St. Petersburg.

Drawing from Federated Department Stores, Incorporated