South Virginia Street / US 359 and East Plumb Lane
Reno, Nevada
Original stores in SHOPPERS SQUARE, Reno's first regional shopping center, opened for business between November 1964 and September 1965. The complex, which spanned approximately 114,000 leasable square feet, featured a Mayfair Market grocery and Skaggs Drug Center.
A 47.3-acre potato field, located directly across East Plumb Lane, was developed as the first mall-type facility in the "Biggest Little City in the World." The PARK LANE CENTRE site was situated 1.2 miles south of downtown Reno. Ground was broken on November 5, 1964. Open-air in format, the single-level venue was developed by the Park Lane Centre Limited Partnership. This was a joint venture of Reno's Sonner Greenspan, Ben Edwards and A.J. Flagg.
Los Angeles' Victor Gruen Associates and Charles Luckman Associates designed mall structures. The first operational tenant, a 2-level (146,600 square foot) Sears, opened for business on September 29, 1965. A 2-level (21,000 square foot) Joseph Magnin and 2-level (20,000 square foot) Roos-Atkins debuted on November 17, 1966.
The mall proper was officially dedicated on March 9, 1967, with twenty-two operational stores. Among these were Pauson's men's wear, Motherhood Maternity, World of Toys, Huston's Shoes, The Swiss Colony, Zales Jewelers, Anita Shops and Kinney Shoes.
A second anchor department store was built on the south end of the complex. Comprising 3-levels and 157,000 square feet, Weinstock's was launched on July 31, 1967. A 2-level (34,000 square foot) F.W. Woolworth 5 & 10 welcomed first shoppers on August 1st. PARK LANE CENTRE now encompassed approximately 580,000 leasable square feet and contained thirty-five stores and services.
The focal point of PARK LANE CENTRE was its 19th-century-vintage Street Clock of Reno. This historic downtown landmark had been built by Boston's E. Howard Company and was installed on the Garden Mall shopping concourse during the mall's construction. A 2-level (16,000 square foot) store space near the southeast corner of the complex was fashioned into a sixteen-store mall-within-a-mall. Originally known as the International Pavilion, this fully-enclosed concourse was launched in December 1967. Eventually, the area would be promoted as the Pavilion Mall.
Over the years, Reno's metropolitan area expanded southward, with PARK LANE CENTRE being joined by two fully-enclosed shopping centers. OLD TOWN MALL {1.1 mile south, in Reno} opened in March 1976. MEADOWOOD MALL {2 miles south, also in Reno} was officially dedicated in March 1979.
By this time, PARK LANE CENTRE had been sold. A joint venture of the Santa Monica-based Macerich Company and Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, of Milwaukee, acquired the shopping complex in December 1977. As a keeping up with MEADOWOOD MALL measure, PARK LANE was fully-enclosed. The 5 million dollar roofing renovation commenced in May 1978, with a grand re-opening held on March 15, 1979. New stores in the renamed PARK LANE MALL included Xanadu Gifts, Rhodes Fish & Chips, Park Lane Florist, Wrangler Wranch and Health House.
The second PARK LANE renovation wrapped up in October 1986. New flooring and lighting were installed, with the main focus of the 2 million dollar project being on the mall's exterior. Four entrances were rebuilt. A fifth was added on the east side, making the Pavilion Mall concourse into a mall entry. The shopping center's exterior was also painted and re-landscaped.
Unfortunately, by the mid-1990s, PARK LANE MALL was starting to decline. Sears pulled up stakes on September 24, 1995, with Weinstock's going dark in March 1996. Woolworth's was shuttered in July 1997. Fresno-based Gottschalks remodeled the former Sears, demolished its freestanding Auto Center, and opened for business on March 30, 1996. In July, the vacant Weinstock's was demolished. A new movie megaplex was built on an adjacent pad. The Century 16 Park Lane Theatres showed its first features on August 14, 1998.
During this time frame, actor Max Baer, of CBS-TV's "The Beverly Hillbillies," was promoting a redevelopment of PARK LANE MALL as Jethro's Beverly Hillbillies Mansion & Casino. However, this plan for a hospitality, retail, gaming and entertainment megaplex never came to fruition.
By the early 21st century, PARK LANE MALL was in a pronounced state of decline. The final nail in the coffin came in March 2006, with the grand opening of the SUMMIT SIERRA lifestyle center {7 miles southeast, in Washoe ["Wash-oh"] County}. Macerich sold PARK LANE MALL to San Francisco-based M & H Realty Partners in July 2006. The mall proper closed on January 31, 2007. A wrecking ball began to swing in October. Gottschalks was left standing. Following its closing, on December 27, 2008, it was also demolished.
All that remained of PARK LANE MALL were the Century megaplex and two freestanding banks. These were to be worked into a mixed-use development, known as PARK LANE PROMENADE. Initial plans were announced in 2009. The new and improved, mixed-use facility would encompass approximately 500,000 leasable square feet of retail, hotel and restaurant space and be anchored by a 1-level (136,900 square foot) discount department store.
As it turned out, construction was delayed by The Great Recession and an impasse between Reno city officials and the developer, now known as Merlone Geier Properties. The mall site would sit abandoned and growing weeds for over 7 years.
In September 2016, Chip Bowlby, under the auspices of Reno Land, Incorporated, acquired the property. A new redevelopment plan was envisaged. The New Urbansism-style PARK LANE project would include 70,000 square feet of retail, 382,000 square feet of office space, 1,300 high-end residential units and a luxury hotel.
The 500 million dollar mixed-use facility would be built in two phases. During Phase 1, an initial 725 residential units would be built. During Phase 2, retail, hospitality and office structures would be added, along with an additional 510 apartments. Construction commenced in March 2019, with the first rental units becoming available in late 2020.
Sources:
Reno Gazette-Journal
www.onlinenevade.org
www.nevadabusinessreport.com
www.bigmallrat.com
Washoe County, Nevada tax assessor website
www.theurban.blogs.com
http://www.parklanelife.com
www.renodiscontent.com
www.rgj.com
