A circa-2020 site plan shows the mega mall's new North East Expansion and Elevated Luxury Wing in shades of gray. With these modifications, the gross leasable area of SCOTTSDALE FASHION SQUARE stands at around 1.9 million leasable square feet, with a tenant list of 250 stores and services.
East Camelback and North Scottsdale Roads
Scottsdale, Arizona
The two malls at the northwest corner of Camelback and Scottsdale Roads operated on a competitive -but friendly- basis for several years. In May 1983, Phoenix-based Westcor bought the FASHION SQUARE complex. CAMELVIEW PLAZA was still owned by its original developer, Scottsdale-based Business Realty of Arizona.
Dillard's established a FASHION SQUARE presence when it acquired the Diamond's chain in 1984. However, the store would continue to operate under the Diamond's nameplate for over 2 years. Sakowitz in CAMELVIEW PLAZA was shuttered on March 9, 1986. Soon after, Dillard's began renovating that store.
A "double-header" was created, with the old Sakowitz becoming Dillard's Camelview, which sold women's and children's merchandise. Diamond's was reconfigured as Dillard's Fashion Square, which carried men's apparel and accessories, home furnishings and electronics. The dual-Dillard's operation made its debut on September 24, 1986. The stores were connected by a parking lot shopper's shuttle, known as The Dilly.
On August 12, 1986, ground was broken for an expansion of the CAMELVIEW PLAZA Bullock's. The store was enlarged with a 65,000 square foot, west side addition. When Bullock's was re-dedicated, on March 18, 1988, it encompassed 224,000 square feet.
SCOTTSDALE FASHION SQUARE would be expanded in three phases. On March 6, 1988, work began on the first phase; an expansion and renovation of Goldwaters. The A.J. Bayless and Revco (nee' Ryan-Evans) Drug stores where demolished. Goldwaters was expanded northward, with 90,000 square feet added. When this project was completed, on September 9, 1988, the newly-enlarged store encompassed 180,000 square feet.
Another major mall expansion got underway in the mid-1990s. This time, a connecting corridor was built onto the mall's south side, which extended over Camelback Road to a 3-level (235,000 square foot) Nordstrom. The new South Wing , which included two parking garages, was dedicated on September 25, 1998.
Meanwhile, Dillard's was busy renovating the vacant CAMELVIEW Bullock's. The store was expanded, taking in inline store area of the old CAMELVIEW PLAZA. When construction dust settled, the new Dillard's encompassed a whopping 365,000 square feet. It opened for business on August 8, 1998.
The previous Dillard's, in the FASHION SQUARE section of the mall, re-opened as a Sears on February 17, 1999. SCOTTSDALE FASHION SQUARE now comprised approximately 1,929,600 leasable square feet and was the largest shopping center in the Grand Canyon State.
The dawn of the 21st century brought more changes. Westcor Partners was absorbed by the Santa Monica-based Macerich Company in May 2002. Sears had been shuttered in January 2001 and re-opened -as a Macy's- in August 2002. Robinsons-May closed in June 2006.
On September 1, 2007, a 130 million dollar mall renovation got underway. The vacant Robinsons-May building was bulldozed, along with adjacent parking garages on the store's north and east sides. These were replaced by 2-levels of underground parking, topped off by a 2-level (65,000 square foot) Barney's New York and bi-level mallway addition housing eighteen store spaces.
The Barney's New York Expansion was officially dedicated on October 15, 2009. Joining the SCOTTSDALE FASHION SQUARE retail roster were tenants such as Love Culture, Aqua Beachwear, Arthur, Michael Stars, Ed Hardy, Modern Steakhouse and Marcella's Ristorante Pizzeria & Wine Bar. With the reconstruction, the gross leasable area of SCOTTSDALE FASHION SQUARE was increased to approximately 1,939,600 square feet.
A subsequent expansion got underway in July 2014. It added a 1-level (50,000 square foot) Dick's Sporting Goods, which was dedicated on July 17, 2015. The Harkins Camelview At Fashion Square 14 megaplex showed its first features on December 18, 2015. The two existing Harkins venues had been shuttered; the Fashion Square 7 on December 6 and CamelView 5 on December 10.
By late 2017, another mall renovation and expansion was underway. The shopping concourse between the Palm Court and Neiman Marcus was refurbished with new flooring, elevators, escalators, store fronts and ceilings. An Elevated Luxury Wing was created, which included a grand mall entrance and contained stores such as Trina Turk, Saint Laurent and the Breitling, Hublot and IWC Schaffhausen Swiss watch boutiques. Casual dining restaurants, including Ocean 44, Nobu and Toca Madera, joined the tenant list.
The first new stores opened for business in November 2018, with subsequent dedications being held over the next 3 years. SCOTTSDALE FASHION SQUARE now encompassed approximately 1,883,000 leasable square feet.
Sources:
The Arizona Republic (Phoenix, Arizona)
http://www.azcentral.com
www.hortonrealtyadvisors.com
www.westcor.com
www.fashionsquareredevelopment.com
Maricopa County, Arizona tax assessor website
www.scottsdalepublicart.org
www.macerich.com
https://fabulousarizona.com
"Scottsdale Fashion Square-North Expansion" prospectus / Nelsen Partners
"Scottsdale Fashion Square" article on Wikipedia
SCOTTSDALE FASHION SQUARE would be expanded in three phases. On March 6, 1988, work began on the first phase; an expansion and renovation of Goldwaters. The A.J. Bayless and Revco (nee' Ryan-Evans) Drug stores where demolished. Goldwaters was expanded northward, with 90,000 square feet added. When this project was completed, on September 9, 1988, the newly-enlarged store encompassed 180,000 square feet.
A second phase mall expansion got started on June 10, 1988. Two retail levels were added to the shopping concourse, with the facility being fully-enclosed. A 2,300-space parking garage was built and thirty new stores signed. This renovation was dedicated on November 10, 1989. New FASHION SQUARE tenants included The Disney Store, Eddie Bauer, Aeropostale, St. Croix, Brentano's Books and Z Gallerie.
Goldwaters had been rebranded as a Los Angeles-based J.W. Robinson's on February 26, 1989. Soon after, Westcor Partners embarked on the third (and final) phase of their 150 million dollar FASHION SQUARE expansion. A 2-level concourse was built that extended from the west end of FASHION SQUARE, crossed over North Goldwater Boulevard, and connected to the east entrance of CAMELVIEW PLAZA. This concourse, which housed 100 stores and services, was completed in stages.
Goldwaters had been rebranded as a Los Angeles-based J.W. Robinson's on February 26, 1989. Soon after, Westcor Partners embarked on the third (and final) phase of their 150 million dollar FASHION SQUARE expansion. A 2-level concourse was built that extended from the west end of FASHION SQUARE, crossed over North Goldwater Boulevard, and connected to the east entrance of CAMELVIEW PLAZA. This concourse, which housed 100 stores and services, was completed in stages.
One of these added a 3-level (236,000 square foot) Dillard's to the FASHION SQUARE mall. This new mercantile was built on the north side of the existing Dillard's Fashion Square. The new Dillard's, dedicated on June 20, 1990, consolidated the individual women's and men's operations, which were shuttered.
The vacant Dillard's Fashion Square was sectioned into inline stores, including a 9-bay Food Court and Harkins Fashion Square Luxury 7. This venue showed its first features on March 15, 1991, with the Food Court also welcoming its first diners. The mall marriage expansion and renovation was completed in April 1991. By this time, Neiman Marcus was remodeling the vacant Dillard's Camelview store. A grand opening was held on October 19, 1991.
Although now physically linked, the FASHION SQUARE and CAMELVIEW mall's continued to operate under their original names. Westcor purchased CAMELVIEW PLAZA in August 1995 and renamed the entire (1,400,000 square foot) merged mall SCOTTSDALE FASHION SQUARE. Robinson's had morphed into a Robinsons-May on January 31, 1993. The CAMELVIEW Bullock's was shuttered on May 31, 1995 and sat vacant for over 2 years.
Another major mall expansion got underway in the mid-1990s. This time, a connecting corridor was built onto the mall's south side, which extended over Camelback Road to a 3-level (235,000 square foot) Nordstrom. The new South Wing , which included two parking garages, was dedicated on September 25, 1998.
Meanwhile, Dillard's was busy renovating the vacant CAMELVIEW Bullock's. The store was expanded, taking in inline store area of the old CAMELVIEW PLAZA. When construction dust settled, the new Dillard's encompassed a whopping 365,000 square feet. It opened for business on August 8, 1998.
The previous Dillard's, in the FASHION SQUARE section of the mall, re-opened as a Sears on February 17, 1999. SCOTTSDALE FASHION SQUARE now comprised approximately 1,929,600 leasable square feet and was the largest shopping center in the Grand Canyon State.
The dawn of the 21st century brought more changes. Westcor Partners was absorbed by the Santa Monica-based Macerich Company in May 2002. Sears had been shuttered in January 2001 and re-opened -as a Macy's- in August 2002. Robinsons-May closed in June 2006.
On September 1, 2007, a 130 million dollar mall renovation got underway. The vacant Robinsons-May building was bulldozed, along with adjacent parking garages on the store's north and east sides. These were replaced by 2-levels of underground parking, topped off by a 2-level (65,000 square foot) Barney's New York and bi-level mallway addition housing eighteen store spaces.
The Barney's New York Expansion was officially dedicated on October 15, 2009. Joining the SCOTTSDALE FASHION SQUARE retail roster were tenants such as Love Culture, Aqua Beachwear, Arthur, Michael Stars, Ed Hardy, Modern Steakhouse and Marcella's Ristorante Pizzeria & Wine Bar. With the reconstruction, the gross leasable area of SCOTTSDALE FASHION SQUARE was increased to approximately 1,939,600 square feet.
A subsequent expansion got underway in July 2014. It added a 1-level (50,000 square foot) Dick's Sporting Goods, which was dedicated on July 17, 2015. The Harkins Camelview At Fashion Square 14 megaplex showed its first features on December 18, 2015. The two existing Harkins venues had been shuttered; the Fashion Square 7 on December 6 and CamelView 5 on December 10.
By late 2017, another mall renovation and expansion was underway. The shopping concourse between the Palm Court and Neiman Marcus was refurbished with new flooring, elevators, escalators, store fronts and ceilings. An Elevated Luxury Wing was created, which included a grand mall entrance and contained stores such as Trina Turk, Saint Laurent and the Breitling, Hublot and IWC Schaffhausen Swiss watch boutiques. Casual dining restaurants, including Ocean 44, Nobu and Toca Madera, joined the tenant list.
The first new stores opened for business in November 2018, with subsequent dedications being held over the next 3 years. SCOTTSDALE FASHION SQUARE now encompassed approximately 1,883,000 leasable square feet.
Sources:
The Arizona Republic (Phoenix, Arizona)
http://www.azcentral.com
www.hortonrealtyadvisors.com
www.westcor.com
www.fashionsquareredevelopment.com
Maricopa County, Arizona tax assessor website
www.scottsdalepublicart.org
www.macerich.com
https://fabulousarizona.com
"Scottsdale Fashion Square-North Expansion" prospectus / Nelsen Partners
"Scottsdale Fashion Square" article on Wikipedia
FAIR USE OF IMAGES:
The photographs from the Arizona Memory Project / Scottsdale Historical Society and AZ Central illustrate a key moment in the mall's history that is described in the article. The images are of lower resolution than the originals (copies made would be of inferior quality). The images are not replaceable with free-use or public-domain images. The use of the images does not limit the copyright owners' rights to distribute them in any way. The images are being used for non-profit, informational purposes only and their use is not believed to detract from the original images in any way.
