East 71st Street South and South Memorial Drive
Tulsa, Oklahoma
At the time of its grand opening in 1952, Tulsa's UTICA SQUARE was considered to be on the outskirts of the city. Throughout the 1950s, and '60s, the metropolitan area expanded toward the southeast. In 1965, SOUTHLAND CENTER, the region's first bona fide shopping mall, was dedicated. This was followed by SOUTHROADS MALL (1967), which was located across the street from SOUTHLAND.
By December 1974, a new shopping hub was under construction on a remote 81-acre plot, located 10.8 miles southeast of the city center. WOODLAND HILLS MALL was a joint venture of Chicago's Homart Development and Minneapolis' Dayton Hudson Corporation. The fully-enclosed, bi-level shopping complex was designed by Joseph R. Coleman, of Tulsa's Coleman-Ervin & Associates, Charles Kober & Associates, of Los Angeles and RYA Architects, of Dallas.
A 2-level (156,100 square foot) Sears became the first operational Phase I store on July 15, 1976. A mall-wide dedication was held on August 4th. The grand opening was attended by Robert LaFortune (Mayor of Tulsa), Robert Crabb (Dayton Hudson president), William Toombs (Homart Development president) and Annelise Ilscenko, "Miss World-USA 1975." Music was provided by the Hale 100 Marching Band.
WOODLAND HILLS MALL was also anchored by a 2-level (126,300 square foot) John A. Brown and 2-level (182,700 square foot) Dillard's. The latter opened for business on October 7, 1976. Charter inline stores included Casual Corner, Athlete's Foot, Gifts III, Naturalizer Shoes, Musicland, B. Dalton Bookseller, Florsheim Shoes, and a Piccadilly Cafeteria. The freestanding General Cinema Corporation Woodland Hills Cinemas 6 showed first features on December 16, 1977.
A Phase II expansion of WOODLAND HILLS MALL was started in February 1980. The eastward addition, which enlarged the mall site to 152 acres, opened for business on March 3, 1982. New inline stores included Renberg's, Hickory Farms of Ohio, Kay Jewelers, Lerner Shops, She Sports and Richman Brothers. Dallas-based Sanger-Harris inaugurated a 2-level (152,800 square foot) store on August 11, 1982. The complex now encompassed approximately 1,016,000 leasable square feet, with a retail roster of 163 stores and services. It had become the Sooner State's largest shopping mall.
Major shopping centers in the WOODLAND HILLS trade area included the aforementioned SOUTHLAND CENTER {3.2 miles northwest, in Tulsa}, which was renovated into the TULSA PROMENADE in 1984. EASTLAND MALL {5.6 miles northeast, in Tulsa} was dedicated in 1984. It was eventually repurposed as EASTGATE METROPLEX, a collection of office suites. KENSINGTON GALLERIA {4.2 miles west, in Tulsa} was also dedicated in 1984. It foundered and reemerged, as the KENSINGTON BUSINESS CENTER, in 1991.
Meanwhile, Homart Development had established full ownership of WOODLAND HILLS MALL in 1979. They sold the facility to an entity known as the RREEF Funds Management Team in 1985. The first anchor store rebranding took place soon after this transaction. Dillard's had acquired the John A. Brown chain in September 1984, but already had a location at the mall. They shuttered John A. Brown, which re-opened as a J.C. Penney on June 5, 1985. In January 1987, Sanger-Harris was rebranded as a Houston-based Foley's.
By the early 1990s, WOODLAND HILLS was firmly established as the preeminent shopping mall in Tulsa. To cement its position, an interior face lift was done between January and November 1995. During this 8 million dollar project, 1970s-vintage chrome and wood finishes were replaced with Post Modern surfaces.
New skylights, ceilings, flooring, escalators, landscaping and lighting were installed, along with a Center Court water feature. Mall entrances were rebuilt. Moreover, the existing Dillard's was expanded with a third level. The store now encompassed 243,600 square feet. WOODLAND HILLS MALL spanned approximately 1,076,900 leasable square feet, with a tenant list of 165 stores and services.
The holdings of RREEF were sold to RoProperty Investment Management, a subsidiary of Holland's Rodamco, in 1999. In March 2002, a deal was finalized whereby three major real estate investment trusts would divide Rodamco's United States portfolio. Westfield Holdings, the Simon Property Group and Rouse Company participated in the buy-out. Simon's share, consisting of thirteen properties, included WOODLAND HILLS MALL.
The mall's Foley's store was rebranded as a Macy's on September 9, 2006. Between October 2012 and August 2013, a second mall facelift was completed. This was the first major upgrade since the mid-1990s. New lighting was installed and entrances rebuilt. The Food Court was also refurbished and renamed Terrace Cafes.
The holdings of RREEF were sold to RoProperty Investment Management, a subsidiary of Holland's Rodamco, in 1999. In March 2002, a deal was finalized whereby three major real estate investment trusts would divide Rodamco's United States portfolio. Westfield Holdings, the Simon Property Group and Rouse Company participated in the buy-out. Simon's share, consisting of thirteen properties, included WOODLAND HILLS MALL.
The mall's Foley's store was rebranded as a Macy's on September 9, 2006. Between October 2012 and August 2013, a second mall facelift was completed. This was the first major upgrade since the mid-1990s. New lighting was installed and entrances rebuilt. The Food Court was also refurbished and renamed Terrace Cafes.
Sears, which was the first operational WOODLAND HILLS store, was shuttered in December 2018. The vacant building was temporarily leased by Overstock Furniture & Mattress. In November 2022, Fargo-based Scheels All Sports announced plans to renovate the abandoned Sears. A new Scheels store would feature a 65-foot-high ferris wheel, saltwater aquarium, restaurant, coffee shop and sports simulator. Said store made its debut in late 2024.
Sources:
The Tulsa Daily World
http://www.simon.com / Simon Property Group
http://www.greatamericaparks.com / Steven Wilson webmaster
http://www.losttulsa.com / Tom Baddeley webmaster
http://www.cinematreasures.org
http://www.cinematour.com
http://www.greatamericaparks.com / Steven Wilson webmaster
http://www.losttulsa.com / Tom Baddeley webmaster
http://www.cinematreasures.org
http://www.cinematour.com
https://www.fox23.com
https://www.scheels.com
"Woodland Hills Mall" article on Wikipedia
