DIMOND CENTER
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 was developed by Texan transplants Joe and Patty Ashlock, under the auspices of Dimond Invest, Limited. The mall was built on a 33-acre site, located 6 miles south of the center city.
Originally a 2-level, fully-enclosed complex, the mall encompassed approximately 180,000 leasable square feet and housed thirty-six stores and services. It was anchored by a 1-level (42,100 square foot) Safeway supermarket and 1-level (37,700 square foot) Pay 'n Save Drug. Charter tenants included Health Nut, Nickelodeon Music, The Hub men's wear, Career Girl ladies' wear and Pier One Imports.
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 Drug and 1-level (66,800 square foot), Bellevue, Washington-based Lamonts.
A 6-story Professional Office Tower was added southeast of the existing mall in 1986-1987. It included an indoor ice rink, food court, 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 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 rebranded as a PayLess Drug in 1992. The chain was acquired, by Rite Aid Drug, in 1996, although stores retained their PayLess signage. Rite Aid shuttered all Alaska stores in 1998. The DIMOND CENTER store was 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.
Back 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 brought new Olive Garden and Chili's Grill & Bar restaurants. The project added approximately 11,400 square feet to the complex, which now encompassed around 736,600 leasable square feet.
The Gottschalks space was reconfigured with a new mall concourse flanked by stores such as Ulta Beauty, Claire's Boutique, A T & T and a relocated Forever 21. Ulta Beauty debuted on October 2, 2015. A 2-level (32,000 square foot) space in the Professional Tower was reconfigured to accommodate Swedish retailer H & M. Their store welcomed 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, which opened for business on March 19, 2018.
Sources:
The Alaska Dispatch News
Anchorage Daily News / "Business Question & Answer Column" / 2002 / Bill White / 2002
