West Airport Freeway and North Belt Line Road
Irving, Texas
1971 was a shopping mall banner year in the Texas Metroplex! Four fully-enclosed, regional-class shopping centers were dedicated; NORTH EAST MALL {in Hurst} in March, IRVING MALL {in Irving} in August, FORUM 303 MALL {in Arlington} in September and TOWN EAST MALL {in Mesquite} in October.
Plans for IRVING MALL had been announced in March 1969. The single-level shopping center, designed by Dallas' Gordon Siebeck & Associates, was developed by Indiana's Melvin Simon & Associates (the precursor of today's Simon Property Group). It was built on a 71-acre tract, located 13 miles northwest of the Dallas Central Business District. The site was adjacent to the Route 183 / Airport Freeway.
The first operational stores were a 3-level (190,000 square foot), Dallas-based Titche-Goettinger ["Tiytch Get-injer"] and 1-level (93,600 square foot) Sears. These were dedicated on February 3, 1971. The IRVING MALL "Titche's", described at the time as a "fashion wonderland," included a Budget Store, Jetport Grille & Coffee Shop, Pharmacy and Activity Hall community room.
Titche's grand opening festivities included a personal appearance by 12-year-old Anissa Jones; "Buffy" on CBS-TV's "Family Affair." She presided over a "Buffy Cinderella (Fashion) Show," held on February 13. This included a Mrs. Beasley doll giveaway. IRVING MALL celebrated its official grand opening on August 4, 1971. The 750,000 square foot shopping center now featured three anchor stores; the aforementioned Titche's and Sears as well as a 2-level (160,000 square foot) J.C. Penney.
Irving, Texas
1971 was a shopping mall banner year in the Texas Metroplex! Four fully-enclosed, regional-class shopping centers were dedicated; NORTH EAST MALL {in Hurst} in March, IRVING MALL {in Irving} in August, FORUM 303 MALL {in Arlington} in September and TOWN EAST MALL {in Mesquite} in October.
Plans for IRVING MALL had been announced in March 1969. The single-level shopping center, designed by Dallas' Gordon Siebeck & Associates, was developed by Indiana's Melvin Simon & Associates (the precursor of today's Simon Property Group). It was built on a 71-acre tract, located 13 miles northwest of the Dallas Central Business District. The site was adjacent to the Route 183 / Airport Freeway.
The first operational stores were a 3-level (190,000 square foot), Dallas-based Titche-Goettinger ["Tiytch Get-injer"] and 1-level (93,600 square foot) Sears. These were dedicated on February 3, 1971. The IRVING MALL "Titche's", described at the time as a "fashion wonderland," included a Budget Store, Jetport Grille & Coffee Shop, Pharmacy and Activity Hall community room.
Titche's grand opening festivities included a personal appearance by 12-year-old Anissa Jones; "Buffy" on CBS-TV's "Family Affair." She presided over a "Buffy Cinderella (Fashion) Show," held on February 13. This included a Mrs. Beasley doll giveaway. IRVING MALL celebrated its official grand opening on August 4, 1971. The 750,000 square foot shopping center now featured three anchor stores; the aforementioned Titche's and Sears as well as a 2-level (160,000 square foot) J.C. Penney.
Among the forty-eight charter tenants were Graham's men's wear, Chess King, Casual Corner, Colbert-Volk apparel, Toy Carnival, Corrigan's Jewelers, Cullum & Boren Sporting Goods, The Sun Garden Cafeteria (which was operated by J.C. Penney) and a J.G. McCrory 5 & 10. The mall would eventually house seventy-eight stores and services.
The General Cinema Corporation Irving Mall Cinema I & II, was an in-mall venue. It showed its first features on November 17, 1971. This theater was reconfigured as the Irving Mall Cinema I-II-III in 1976.
Commercial competition came from SIX FLAGS MALL (1970) {7.3 miles southwest, in Arlington}, VALLEY VIEW CENTER (1973) and GALLERIA DALLAS (1982) {12 miles northeast, in Dallas}, THE PARKS AT ARLINGTON (1988) {13.4 miles southwest, in Arlington}, VISTA RIDGE MALL (1989) {11.3 miles north, in Lewisville} and -eventually- GRAPEVINE MILLS (1997) {8.9 miles northwest, in Grapevine}.
The first anchor rebranding at IRVING MALL transpired on February 4, 1979, when Titche's became a San Antonio-based Joske's. This store was shuttered in 1987. On November 8, 1989, it re-opened as a Houston-based Foley's. Simon had embarked on a West Wing mall expansion in the early 1980s, which would include a 2-level (81,700 square foot) Mervyn's and 2-level (103,600 square foot) Dillard's. Mervyn's opened on November 11, 1983, followed by Dillard's, which debuted on March 14, 1984.
The new West Wing, a 2-level structure, included a Food Court and General Cinema Corporation Irving Mall Cinema IV-V-VI-VII. The new movie house showed its first features October 26, 1984. Now a superregional shopping complex, IRVING MALL housed approximately 1,010,800 leasable square feet. Dillard's expanded its store (to 207,600 square feet) in the late 1980s.
A second mall renovation got underway in March 1998, to the tune of 20 million dollars. Space in the North Wing was rebuilt into the General Cinema Corporation Irving Mall 14. This stadium seating venue held its grand opening on December 18, 1998. Cinema I-II-III and Cinema IV-V-VI-VII had been shuttered in August 1997 and September 1998, respectively, in anticipation of the new megaplex. It would be rebranded, as an American Multi-Cinema venue, in mid-2002.
A third remodeling of IRVING MALL was done in 2004. This involved gutting much of the First Level of the West Wing. The existing Food Court was moved northeast, being rebuilt as an 8-bay facility. A (32,800 square foot) Circuit City, taking much of the original Food Court area, was dedicated August 13, 2004.
A subsequent remodeling of IRVING MALL got underway in May 2008 and was completed in November. This project included refurbishment of interior spaces with new carpeting, remodeled restrooms and a children's play area. On the exterior, new mall entrances, landscaping and signage were installed. The shopping facility now encompassed approximately 1,120,000 leasable square feet and contained 123 tenant spaces.
The Simon Property Group created a spin-off Real Estate Investment Trust in May 2014. Known as the Washington Prime Group, it assumed ownership of forty-four of Simon's "Grade B" shopping centers, including IRVING MALL. In early 2015, the newly-formed Washington Prime Group merged with Columbus, Ohio's Glimcher Realty Trust.
Meanwhile, Mervyn's vacant lower floor was reconfigured as the Las Lomas Irving Banquet Halls Event Center. This facility welcomed its first patrons in March 2014. Plans for a Boise-based Winco Foods store were announced in August 2016. The (54,000 square foot) grocery was to be built on the north side of the IRVING MALL Sears, taking the place of its Auto Center. Apparently, plans for the WinCo store were abandoned.
The General Cinema Corporation Irving Mall Cinema I & II, was an in-mall venue. It showed its first features on November 17, 1971. This theater was reconfigured as the Irving Mall Cinema I-II-III in 1976.
Commercial competition came from SIX FLAGS MALL (1970) {7.3 miles southwest, in Arlington}, VALLEY VIEW CENTER (1973) and GALLERIA DALLAS (1982) {12 miles northeast, in Dallas}, THE PARKS AT ARLINGTON (1988) {13.4 miles southwest, in Arlington}, VISTA RIDGE MALL (1989) {11.3 miles north, in Lewisville} and -eventually- GRAPEVINE MILLS (1997) {8.9 miles northwest, in Grapevine}.
The first anchor rebranding at IRVING MALL transpired on February 4, 1979, when Titche's became a San Antonio-based Joske's. This store was shuttered in 1987. On November 8, 1989, it re-opened as a Houston-based Foley's. Simon had embarked on a West Wing mall expansion in the early 1980s, which would include a 2-level (81,700 square foot) Mervyn's and 2-level (103,600 square foot) Dillard's. Mervyn's opened on November 11, 1983, followed by Dillard's, which debuted on March 14, 1984.
The new West Wing, a 2-level structure, included a Food Court and General Cinema Corporation Irving Mall Cinema IV-V-VI-VII. The new movie house showed its first features October 26, 1984. Now a superregional shopping complex, IRVING MALL housed approximately 1,010,800 leasable square feet. Dillard's expanded its store (to 207,600 square feet) in the late 1980s.
A second mall renovation got underway in March 1998, to the tune of 20 million dollars. Space in the North Wing was rebuilt into the General Cinema Corporation Irving Mall 14. This stadium seating venue held its grand opening on December 18, 1998. Cinema I-II-III and Cinema IV-V-VI-VII had been shuttered in August 1997 and September 1998, respectively, in anticipation of the new megaplex. It would be rebranded, as an American Multi-Cinema venue, in mid-2002.
A third remodeling of IRVING MALL was done in 2004. This involved gutting much of the First Level of the West Wing. The existing Food Court was moved northeast, being rebuilt as an 8-bay facility. A (32,800 square foot) Circuit City, taking much of the original Food Court area, was dedicated August 13, 2004.
Foley's was "Macy-ated" on February 9, 2006. Mervyn's shuttered their IRVING MALL location during their retail retreat of the same month. J.C. Penney had closed their IRVING MALL store April 28, 2001. The building was to sit vacant for over 5 years. Burlington Coat Factory eventually took up shop there, in July 2006. A liquidation of the mall's Circuit City began in January 2009. The shuttered Mervyn's re-opened, as The Superstore, in June 2009 (a temporary tenant). In December, the (40,000 square foot) upper floor became La Vida Fashion & Shoes; that company's first store. By this time, Dillard's had been demoted to a Clearance Center.
A subsequent remodeling of IRVING MALL got underway in May 2008 and was completed in November. This project included refurbishment of interior spaces with new carpeting, remodeled restrooms and a children's play area. On the exterior, new mall entrances, landscaping and signage were installed. The shopping facility now encompassed approximately 1,120,000 leasable square feet and contained 123 tenant spaces.
The Simon Property Group created a spin-off Real Estate Investment Trust in May 2014. Known as the Washington Prime Group, it assumed ownership of forty-four of Simon's "Grade B" shopping centers, including IRVING MALL. In early 2015, the newly-formed Washington Prime Group merged with Columbus, Ohio's Glimcher Realty Trust.
Meanwhile, Mervyn's vacant lower floor was reconfigured as the Las Lomas Irving Banquet Halls Event Center. This facility welcomed its first patrons in March 2014. Plans for a Boise-based Winco Foods store were announced in August 2016. The (54,000 square foot) grocery was to be built on the north side of the IRVING MALL Sears, taking the place of its Auto Center. Apparently, plans for the WinCo store were abandoned.
Sears' shuttered their IRVING MALL store in February 2019. The vacant building has not been repurposed. The Washington Prime Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on June 13, 2021. Their debt was restructured and they emerged from the proceedings in October 2021.
Sources:
The Mid-Cities Daily News
The Irving Daily News
The Mid-Cities Daily News
The Irving Daily News
Dallas Business Journal
www.simon.com / Simon Property Group
Dallas County, Texas property tax assessor website
http://www.cinematreasures.org
www.simon.com / Simon Property Group
Dallas County, Texas property tax assessor website
http://www.cinematreasures.org
http://in-this-economy.com
https://therealdeal.com
https://therealdeal.com
"Joske's" article on Wikipedia