East Dimond Boulevard and Old Seward Highway
Anchorage, Alaska
The fourth shopping mall in Alaska's City of Lights and Flowers was dedicated on August 12, 1977. DIMOND CENTER, developed by Texan transplants Joe and Patty Ashlock, was constructed on a 33- acre site, located 6 miles south of center city Anchorage. Originally a 2-level interior mall of 180,000 leasable square feet, the venue was anchored by a 1-level (42,100 square foot) Safeway supermarket and 1-level (37,700 square foot) Pay 'n Save Drug.
A major expansion was announced in July 1981, which would add 231,000 square feet to the west and north end of the shopping hub. The project included an enlarged (52,900 square foot) Pay 'n Save and 1-level (66,800 square foot), Bellevue, Washington-based Lamonts.
DIMOND CENTER was rededicated on September 15, 1982. With its 20 million dollar renovation, the shopping hub covered approximately 411,000 square feet. It surpassed the size of Anchorage's NORTHWAY MALL and became the largest shopping center in the state.
A 6-story Professional Office Tower was added southeast of the existing mall in 1986-1987. It included an indoor ice rink, athletic club, bowling alley, 3 floors of retail and 3 floors of office suites. The next renovation installed a movie multiplex in an expansion of the mall's Upper Level. The Act III Dimond Center 9 showed its first features on June 18, 1997. The venue was rebranded by the Regal chain in the year 2000.
By the turn of the century, several stores at DIMOND CENTER had changed nameplates. Pay 'n Save had been shuttered in 1999 and divided into eight retail spaces, two of which were leased to The Gap and Old Navy. Safeway was rebranded, as an Alaska Marketplace grocery, on October 15, 1999. This store closed in September of the year 2000.
The Lamonts chain was acquired by Fresno-based Gottschalks in July of the same year. The DIMOND CENTER store was remodeled and opened, as a Gottschalks, on September 7, 2001. It closed on, or around, July 12, 2009. Meanwhile, the Dimond Center Hotel was added as a mall outparcel. At the same time, the Safeway-Alaska Marketplace was demolished and replaced with a 1-level (46,000 square foot) Best Buy. This store began business in October 2002.
The lifestyle-power center movement eventually made its way to America's Last Frontier. The open-air GLENN SQUARE MALL {2.3 miles northeast) opened in March 2007. This was followed by the initial phase of TIKAHTNU COMMONS {7.1 miles northeast}, whose first stores opened between October 2008 and April 2009. The open-air TIKAHTNU project eventually encompassed 900,000 leasable square feet, making it Alaska's largest shopping venue.
At DIMOND CENTER, part of the Gottschalks space was temporarily tenanted. Los Angeles-based Forever 21 opened a store in August 2009. A small renovation of the mall was done between 2012 and 2014. This added new Olive Garden and Chili's Grill & Bar restaurants. The project added approximately 22,000 square feet to the complex, which now encompassed around 728,000 leasable square feet.
The Gottschalks space was reconfigured with a new mall corridor, flanked by a relocated Forever 21 and new Foot Locker, Ulta Beauty, Claire's Boutique and A T & T stores. Foot Locker opened its doors on June 12, 2015, followed by Ulta Beauty, on October 2nd.
A 2-level (32,000 square foot) space in the Professional Office Tower was reconfigured to accommodate Swedish retailer H & M. Their store welcomed its first patrons on July 16, 2015. A (45,000 square foot) section on LEVEL 2 was reconfigured as a Dave & Buster's Grand Sports Cafe. It opened for business on March 19, 2018.
Sources:
The Alaska Dispatch News
A 6-story Professional Office Tower was added southeast of the existing mall in 1986-1987. It included an indoor ice rink, athletic club, bowling alley, 3 floors of retail and 3 floors of office suites. The next renovation installed a movie multiplex in an expansion of the mall's Upper Level. The Act III Dimond Center 9 showed its first features on June 18, 1997. The venue was rebranded by the Regal chain in the year 2000.
By the turn of the century, several stores at DIMOND CENTER had changed nameplates. Pay 'n Save had been shuttered in 1999 and divided into eight retail spaces, two of which were leased to The Gap and Old Navy. Safeway was rebranded, as an Alaska Marketplace grocery, on October 15, 1999. This store closed in September of the year 2000.
The Lamonts chain was acquired by Fresno-based Gottschalks in July of the same year. The DIMOND CENTER store was remodeled and opened, as a Gottschalks, on September 7, 2001. It closed on, or around, July 12, 2009. Meanwhile, the Dimond Center Hotel was added as a mall outparcel. At the same time, the Safeway-Alaska Marketplace was demolished and replaced with a 1-level (46,000 square foot) Best Buy. This store began business in October 2002.
The lifestyle-power center movement eventually made its way to America's Last Frontier. The open-air GLENN SQUARE MALL {2.3 miles northeast) opened in March 2007. This was followed by the initial phase of TIKAHTNU COMMONS {7.1 miles northeast}, whose first stores opened between October 2008 and April 2009. The open-air TIKAHTNU project eventually encompassed 900,000 leasable square feet, making it Alaska's largest shopping venue.
At DIMOND CENTER, part of the Gottschalks space was temporarily tenanted. Los Angeles-based Forever 21 opened a store in August 2009. A small renovation of the mall was done between 2012 and 2014. This added new Olive Garden and Chili's Grill & Bar restaurants. The project added approximately 22,000 square feet to the complex, which now encompassed around 728,000 leasable square feet.
The Gottschalks space was reconfigured with a new mall corridor, flanked by a relocated Forever 21 and new Foot Locker, Ulta Beauty, Claire's Boutique and A T & T stores. Foot Locker opened its doors on June 12, 2015, followed by Ulta Beauty, on October 2nd.
A 2-level (32,000 square foot) space in the Professional Office Tower was reconfigured to accommodate Swedish retailer H & M. Their store welcomed its first patrons on July 16, 2015. A (45,000 square foot) section on LEVEL 2 was reconfigured as a Dave & Buster's Grand Sports Cafe. It opened for business on March 19, 2018.
Sources:
The Alaska Dispatch News
The Directory of Major Malls / 1982 / MJJTM Publications / Suffern, NY
http://www.dimondcenter.comhttp://dimondcenter.com (website on Internet Archive Wayback Machine)
Anchorage Times / "Major Expansion to Double Size of Dimond Mall" / Patti Epler / July 10, 1981
Anchorage Daily News / "Business Question & Answer Column" / 2002 / Bill White / 2002
"Dimond Center" article on Wikipedia
Anchorage Times / "Major Expansion to Double Size of Dimond Mall" / Patti Epler / July 10, 1981
Anchorage Daily News / "Business Question & Answer Column" / 2002 / Bill White / 2002
"Dimond Center" article on Wikipedia
