Kingston Pike / US 11 and 70 and Morrell Road
Knoxville, Tennessee
As Chattanooga was opening its first interior mall in early 1972, Knoxville was preparing theirs for completion, as well. Plans for an enclosed shopping mall for Greater Knoxville had been announced in June 1965. After several red tape-type hurdles were overcome, ground was broken on May 28, 1969. The 60-acre mall site was located 8 miles west of downtown Knoxville and was owned by Oliver Smith, Doctor John L. Montgomery and Mrs. P. A. McGinnis, all hailing from the Marble City.
WEST TOWN MALL was designed by Robert W. Kahn Associates, of New York City. The complex was originally being developed by a joint venture of Knoxville's Oliver Smith and Detroit's Chrysler Development Corporation. Stamford, Connecticut's Ralph Biernbaum took over the project in March 1970.
Comprised of a single retail level, a fully-realized WEST TOWN MALL would encompass approximately 900,000 leasable square feet and house seventy-five stores and services. A 2-level (181,000 square foot), Knoxville-based Miller's became the first operational store on March 13, 1972.
A mall-wide dedication was held on August 2, 1972. Kyle Testerman (Mayor of Knoxville) was keynote speaker at the event. Speeches were also given by the Chamber of Commerce President, J.C. Penney President and Ralph Biernbaum. Two WEST TOWN anchors opened as part of the festivities; a 2-level (176,800 square foot) J.C. Penney and 1-level (30,000 square foot), Alcoa, Tennessee-based Proffitt's.
Charter WEST TOWN tenants included Frankenberger's apparel, M.S. McLellan for Men, Kimball's Jewelers, Gateway Books, J. Riggings, Spencer Gifts, Record Bar, Morrison's Cafeteria, a Merle Norman Cosmetic Studio and Hamilton National Bank.
Freestanding structures included a Penneys Auto Center, Sears Auto Center, Miller's Auto Center, an A & P supermarket and Westview Towers apartment complex. The ABC Southeastern Theatres WesTown UltraVision Theatre, a northeast parking area outparcel, debuted on December 20, 1972. The final charter anchor, a 2-level (199,000 square foot) Sears, welcomed first customers on July 25, 1973.
WEST TOWN MALL was an instant success. It did not encounter a retail rival until the completion of EAST TOWNE MALL / KNOXVILLE CENTER {11.7 miles northeast, in Knoxville}, in 1984.
The first anchor rebranding at WEST TOWN took place in February 1988, when Miller's became an Allentown, Pennsylvania-based Hess's. This store was shuttered in November 1992. Soon after, Proffitt's began expanding their store. This addition would include a new northern entrance for the mall and small corridor of inline stores.
As Proffitt's was expanding, Dillard's was renovating and enlarging the vacant Hess's building. They added 64,500 square feet and held their WEST TOWN grand opening on November 3, 1993. The store now encompassed 243,000 square feet.
The Youngstown, Ohio-based Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation had purchased an ownership share of WEST TOWN MALL in April 1991. In the following October, they announced a major expansion of the property. A thirty-two store South Wing would be added, which would be anchored by Parks-Belk and a new J.C. Penney. Site preparation was underway by March 1992.
In August 1993, it was announced that the proposed Parks-Belk at WEST TOWN MALL would actually open as a Birmingham-based Parisian. A 2-level (147,000 square foot) J.C. Penney became the first operational South Wing store on July 16, 1994. Parisian followed on September 12th.
Meanwhile, Proffitt's had been renovating their WEST TOWN MALL store over a 3-year period. After enlarging toward the north and east, they ended up incorporating the adjacent Spinnaker's Restaurant and North Mall entrance corridor. When construction dust settled on September 17, 1995, Proffitt's encompassed 103,000 square feet.
During the flurry of expansion activity, Sears built a new Auto Center west of the original location. Moreover, the mall's Food Court, fashioned out of the former Frankenberger's in the 1980s, had new space added. A second phase of mall expansion involved the original Penney's. During 1994, its lower level had been carved into an extension of the East Wing corridor and eleven inline stores. In May 1997, construction commenced on an 80,000 square foot Regal multiplex and FunScape family entertainment center.
These were built on top of the lower level of the old Penney's; the original upper level of the store having been removed. The Regal West Town Mall Cinema 9 & FunScape opened November 6, 1998 (the original UltraVision venue had been shuttered and demolished in 1990). A 6-level parking garage, built adjacent to the new cinema, was included in the mall expansion project.
With the completion of construction, WEST TOWN MALL encompassed 1,330,000 leasable square feet. It surpassed Greater Memphis' WOLFCHASE GALLERIA (with 1,267,000 leasable square feet) and became the largest enclosed shopping center in the Volunteer State.
In 1996, the mall's owner, now known as the DeBartolo Realty Corporation, merged with the Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group. An entity known as the Simon DeBartolo Group was formed. This title was used until 1998, when the company officially reverted to the original Simon Property Group heading.
By the dawn of the 21st century, WEST TOWN MALL was firmly established as the preeminent shopping mall in East Tennessee. TURKEY CREEK {6.2 miles west, in Farragut}, was officially dedicated in 2004. This new lifestyle center provided some degree of commercial competition for WEST TOWN, but did not result in any sort of decline of that shopping hub.
Stores in the Proffitt's chain, including the WEST TOWN MALL location, were rebranded by Charlotte-based Belk on March 8, 2006. Belk soon acquired stores in the Parisian chain. After some shuffling of merchandise, the old Proffitt's became a Belk Women store; the previous Parisian, a Belk Men, Home & Kids. The newly-reconfigured WEST TOWN Belk stores were officially dedicated September 12, 2007.
The Cheesecake Factory was built at the mall's East Entrance, This store opened for business June 23, 2013 and added 8,000 square feet to the gross leasable area of the complex. It now encompassed 1,338,000 square feet and contained over 150 stores and services under its roof.
Simon announced a major renovation of their WEST TOWN property in September 2017. During the indoor-outdoor refurbishment, the mall's four entrances were rebuilt, with a fifth entry created. The existing food facility was reconfigured as a "Dining Pavilion."
Common areas of the mall received new flooring, lighting and signage, with all surfaces being repainted. The upper level megaplex was shuttered in January 2018. It was reconfigured as the Regal Cinebarre West Town Mall. The new dine-in cinema and remodeled mall were officially dedicated with the "Grand Re-opening Mix & Mingle", which was held July 19, 2018.
The piece de resistance of the remodeling was the replacement of Sears with a Dick's House of Sport. Sears had pulled up stakes at WEST TOWN on January 6, 2019. The building was demolished. A 2-level (100,000 square foot) House of Sport was built. This interactive store included 24,000 square feet of outdoor area. The facility was officially dedicated on June 4, 2021.
Sources:
Sources:
The Knoxville News-Sentinel
http://www.cinematreasures.org
http://www.simon.com / Simon Property Group
http://www.metropulse.com / "It's A Mall, Mall, Mall, Mall World" / Jack Neely
http://www.weeklywire.com / "Deconstructing The Mall" / Joe Tarr
https://www.knoxnews.com
https://www.prnewswire.com
https://www.knoxnews.com
https://www.mallscenters.com
"West Town Mall" article on Wikipedia
