KARCHER MALL
Nampa-Caldwell Boulevard / US 30 and West Karcher Road
Nampa, Idaho
Plans for the Spud State's first shopping mall were announced in August 1964. The complex would be built on 20 acres of a 34.9-acre tract. This was located 19 miles west of downtown Boise ["boy-see"], in an unincorporated section of Canyon County. The mall site was annexed into the City of Nampa on August 2, 1965.
Nampa-Caldwell Boulevard / US 30 and West Karcher Road
Nampa, Idaho
Plans for the Spud State's first shopping mall were announced in August 1964. The complex would be built on 20 acres of a 34.9-acre tract. This was located 19 miles west of downtown Boise ["boy-see"], in an unincorporated section of Canyon County. The mall site was annexed into the City of Nampa on August 2, 1965.
KARCHER MALL was designed by Robert B. Liles, Incorporated, of San Francisco. The fully-enclosed complex was built by the Nampa-based Daum Development Corporation. The original shopping hub comprised a single level and encompassed approximately 103,000 leasable square feet.
The first tenants, Kinney Shoes, the Karcher Mall Barber Shop and a (34,000 square foot) Buttrey Foods grocery, opened for business on August 26, 1965. Four additional stores and services were dedicated on September 15th; Andre's Beauty Salon & Sauna, Anne's Flowers, a (9,000 square foot) Sprouse-Reitz 5 & 10 and (30,000 square foot) Tempo Discount Center.
Construction commenced on a Phase I addition on March 8, 1967. This 2.9 million dollar project, envisaged by Wichita's Development Design Associates, expanded the existing mall southward. New stores included Irene's Fashions, Singer Sewing Center, a Boise-based ID Store and (24,000 square foot) Skaggs Drug Center. The centerpiece of the renovation was a 2-level (140,000 square foot) J.C. Penney.
This store was dedicated -along with the new South Wing- on October 23, 1968. The ribbon cutting ceremony was attended by Harry Daum, the mall's developer. Mayors of the cities of Caldwell and Nampa were also in attendance, as was Karen Ryder, "Miss Idaho 1969." In late 1969, the mall's discount variety store was rebranded as a Rasco Tempo.
A Phase II southward expansion was announced on July 26, 1972. Work got underway in January 1973. This project would add a 1-level (60,000 square foot) Seattle-based The Bon Marche, the Virgil O'Dell Red & Blue Twin Cinemas and nineteen inline stores.
The expanded South Wing opened for business on August 3, 1973. KARCHER MALL now encompassed approximately 600,000 leasable square feet and housed fifty stores and services. One of these -Rasco Tempo- went dark in the fall of 1981. The vacant store was renovated, with F.W. Woolworth opening its doors on March 31, 1982.
A new mall owner came on board in the mid-1980s. The Standard Management Company, of Los Angeles, acquired KARCHER MALL, with the deal closing on October 17, 1986. A one million dollar face lift renovation was completed in November 1987; this project being a keeping up measure with an up-and-coming retail rival.
BOISE TOWN SQUARE {15.8 miles east, in Boise} was dedicated in October 1988. This new super mall snatched J.C. Penney, the primary KARCHER anchor. To add insult to injury, the TOWN SQUARE would be expanded -to 1,170,000 square feet- with additions in 1998 and 2000.
Penney's vacant KARCHER MALL space was retenanted by Eugene, Oregon-based Troutman's Emporium (a.k.a. "The Emporium"). This store held its grand opening on November 21, 1988. Unfortunately, the new anchor store failed to halt the mall's decline. It was in foreclosure by the mid-1990s.
The struggling shopping venue was acquired by a joint venture, known as the Karcher Partners, Limited Liability Company, on May 6, 1998. A second face lift commenced in April 2000. As part of the 10 million dollar refurbishment, new flooring, lighting, skylights and storefronts were installed and the Main Entrance rebuilt.
Vacant retail spaces in the mall were also leased. Intermountain Outdoor Sports replaced a vacant Woolworth's, with Jo-Ann Fabrics assuming the PayLess Drug space. Big 5 Sporting Goods set up shop in the North Wing.and an Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar was built as a freestanding structure.
KARCHER MALL lost Troutman's Emporium in February 2003. Pleasanton, California-based Ross Dress For Less leased the old Buttrey Foods location in 2004 . The mall's west anchor was rebannered as a Bon-Macy's on August 1, 2003, and was fully "Macy-ated" on March 6, 2005.
The shopping hub changed hands four more times. Anaheim, California's Milan Properties began a third refurbishment in 2008. A more ambitious remodeling, which had been proposed by the previous owners, was scrapped. Milan's scaled-down renovation concentrated on a face lift of the interior, remodeling of entrances and painting of the exterior.
The 14 million dollar project was completed in the spring of 2009. As part of the refurbishment, new Burlington Coat Factory and Steve & Barry's University Sportswear stores had opened. Unfortunately, Steve & Barry's went bust after only 11 months.
The cinema space, which had operated as the Karcher Reel Theatre until February 2000, re-opened, as the Northern Lights Cinema Grill, in September 2009. The primary Macy's had been shuttered on October 14 of the same year. Macy's had moved to the new open-air NAMPA GATEWAY CENTER {4.3 miles east, in Canyon County}. A KARCHER MALL Macy's Clearance Center remained intact, for a time.
Meanwhile, a third retail rival came on the scene. The TREASURE VALLEY MARKETPLACE power center {.7 mile northeast, in Nampa} opened for business in August 2010. The Macy's Clearance Center at KARCHER MALL was finally shuttered in July 2014. The standard Macy's store morphed into a Mor Furniture For Less in June 2016. The Burlington store went dark in September 2018.
The cinema space, which had operated as the Karcher Reel Theatre until February 2000, re-opened, as the Northern Lights Cinema Grill, in September 2009. The primary Macy's had been shuttered on October 14 of the same year. Macy's had moved to the new open-air NAMPA GATEWAY CENTER {4.3 miles east, in Canyon County}. A KARCHER MALL Macy's Clearance Center remained intact, for a time.
Meanwhile, a third retail rival came on the scene. The TREASURE VALLEY MARKETPLACE power center {.7 mile northeast, in Nampa} opened for business in August 2010. The Macy's Clearance Center at KARCHER MALL was finally shuttered in July 2014. The standard Macy's store morphed into a Mor Furniture For Less in June 2016. The Burlington store went dark in September 2018.
Livermore, California's Rhino Investments bought KARCHER MALL in May 2019. A 30 million dollar demalling was proposed. An 81,000 square foot section of the South Wing would be demolished and the enclosed shopping concourse converted into inline store space.
A revitalized power center, known -at first- as KARCHER MARKETPLACE, would include 216 residential units. A photo-op groundbreaking was held in November 2019, with demolition on the South Wing getting underway soon after. The official name of the shopping complex was eventually changed to DISTRICT 208.
Sources:
The Idaho Free Press (Nampa, Idaho)
Canyon County, Idaho property tax assessor website
The Idaho Free Press (Nampa, Idaho)
Canyon County, Idaho property tax assessor website
www.cinematreasures.org
http://www.baumrealty.com (Baum Brothers LLC)
http://www.rinconadadevelopment.com (Rinconada Development, LLC)
http://www.rinconadadevelopment.com (Rinconada Development, LLC)
http://www.rhinoinvestmentsgroup.com
"Karcher Mall" article on Wikipedia
