All of the Big Three merchandising chains delved into the construction of shopping malls at one time or another. The Homart Development Company, a real estate arm of Sears & Roebuck, was formed in 1959. It became the largest and most prominent of the Big Three-derived mall development entities.
Operating out of Chicago, Homart built its first shopping mall in Fort Worth, Texas. SEMINARY SOUTH CENTER was officially dedicated in March 1962. By 1992, Homart had been a player in the creation of eighty shopping malls. The concern was sold to Chicago's General Growth Properties in late 1995.
JCP Realty, as its name would imply, was a real estate arm of the J.C. Penney Company. The concern was formed in 1971 and, during its early years, was headquartered in New York City. As a cost-cutting measure, the entire operations of the J.C. Penney Company were moved to Plano, Texas in the spring of 1988.
Montgomery Ward, in joint ventures with Indianapolis' Melvin Simon & Associates, co-developed several shopping malls in the mid-to-late 1960s, although no specific Montgomery Ward-based real estate division was ever formed.
HOMART-DEVELOPED MALLS:
*SEMINARY SOUTH CENTER, Fort Worth, TX (1962)
*CORONADO CENTER, Albuquerque, NM (1965)
*FLORENCE MALL, Florence, KY (1977)
JCP REALTY-DEVELOPED MALLS:
*PINELLAS SQUARE [joint venture with the Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation], Pinellas Park, FL (1977)
*SARASOTA SQUARE, [joint venture with Arlen Shopping Centers], Sarasota County, FL (1977)
*VISTA RIDGE MALL [joint venture with the Homart Development Company], Lewisville, TX (1989)
WARDS / SIMON-DEVELOPED MALLS:
*UNIVERSITY PLAZA, Fort Collins, CO (1964)
*MOUNDS MALL, Anderson, IN (1965)
*THE MALL (UNIVERSITY MALL), Little Rock, AR (1967)
In the 1960s, shopping malls began to be simultaneously anchored by combinations of Sears, J.C. Penney and Montgomery Ward stores. Here we have Southwestern Ohio's DAYTON MALL, which held its grand opening in early 1970. It featured Sears on one end and J.C. Penney on the other. Greater Detroit's SUMMIT PLACE MALL (1990) was anchored by all Big Three retailers.
*FLORENCE MALL, Florence, KY (1977)
JCP REALTY-DEVELOPED MALLS:
*PINELLAS SQUARE [joint venture with the Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation], Pinellas Park, FL (1977)
*SARASOTA SQUARE, [joint venture with Arlen Shopping Centers], Sarasota County, FL (1977)
*VISTA RIDGE MALL [joint venture with the Homart Development Company], Lewisville, TX (1989)
WARDS / SIMON-DEVELOPED MALLS:
*UNIVERSITY PLAZA, Fort Collins, CO (1964)
*MOUNDS MALL, Anderson, IN (1965)
*THE MALL (UNIVERSITY MALL), Little Rock, AR (1967)
In the 1960s, shopping malls began to be simultaneously anchored by combinations of Sears, J.C. Penney and Montgomery Ward stores. Here we have Southwestern Ohio's DAYTON MALL, which held its grand opening in early 1970. It featured Sears on one end and J.C. Penney on the other. Greater Detroit's SUMMIT PLACE MALL (1990) was anchored by all Big Three retailers.
