West Bank Expressway / US 90 and Terry Parkway
Jefferson Parish (Terrytown), Louisiana
The second shopping mall in -or around- "The Big Easy" was developed by the Interchange Realty Company, a consortium of New Orleans investors. The complex was designed by Curtis & Davis Architects & Engineers, also of New Orleans. OAKWOOD CENTER was built on a 68.5-acre tract, located 4 miles southeast of central New Orleans. The site, on the West Bank of the Mississippi, was in an unincorporated section of Jefferson Parish known as Terrytown.
The single-level facility, which was the first fully-enclosed mall in Greater New Orleans, encompassed approximately 691,600 leasable square feet. Its first operational store, a 2-level (189,600 square foot) Sears, opened for business on April 13, 1966. A 2-level (99,200 square foot), New Orleans-based D.H. Holmes was dedicated on August 1, 1966. By October of the same year, twenty-four stores were in operation.
Charter OAKWOOD CENTER tenants included Allens Shoes, Goldring's, K & B Drug, Gus Mayer, Steins, McKenzie Pastry Shoppe, a Winn-Dixie supermarket and (26,000 square foot) S.H. Kress 5 & 10. The General Cinema Corporation Oakwood Cinema I & II showed its first features on August 4, 1967. Built in the southeastern periphery of the mall, it opened in conjunction with an identical theater at the LAKESIDE CENTER mall.
Major shopping venues in the vicinity of OAKWOOD included the aforementioned LAKESIDE CENTER (1960) {8.9 miles northwest, in Jefferson Parish / Metairie} and CLEARVIEW MALL (1969) {10.1 miles northwest, also in Jefferson Parish / Metairie}. A second West Bank shopping hub, BELLE PROMENADE MALL {4.2 miles southwest, in Jefferson Parish / Marrero}, was dedicated in 1983.
Meanwhile. a major renovation and expansion was being plotted that would extend the existing East and South Wings. This project would be completed in two stages and enlarge the shopping facility from 793,000 square feet to over 1 million.
The first phase, consisting of a 2-level (175,000 square foot) Dillard's, was dedicated on October 9, 1991. Now vacant, the old Holmes / Dillard's building was sectioned into several inline stores. The Lower Level accommodated American Eagle Outfitters, Express, Kirkland's and Sam Goody Music. A (35,000 square foot) Marshalls set up shop in the Upper Level.
Ground was broken for a second phase, South Wing expansion in March 1993. A 2-level (157,000 square foot) Maison Blanche, and twenty-five inline stores, were dedicated on March 10, 1994. Planning for a fifth anchor department store was underway by 1995.
Chicago's General Growth Properties acquired the holdings of the Rouse Company in November 2004. As a result, the shopping hub was added to the GGP portfolio. Housing 124 stores and services, OAKWOOD CENTER had become one of the most upscale shopping venues in the Crescent City.
Unfortunately, the shopping center was devastated as a result of Hurricane Katrina, in August 2005. The structure was not damaged so much by the storm and flooding but was looted and set on fire in the aftermath. Eighty percent of the stores were damaged by smoke and water.
One third of the mall was demolished, with 95 million dollars expended in its reconstruction. Sears became the first store to re-open, in early 2006, with Dillard's returning in late 2006 and Penney's in late 2007. Mervyn's did not re-open. A mall-wide grand re-opening celebration was held on October 19, 2007.
The West Wing of the mall, vacant and closed to the public since 2005, was finally rebuilt in 2012. New stores, such as Rue 21, Ulta Beauty and Dress Barn, opened, along with a relocated Old Navy. Three of these stores had exterior entrances, which formed a small Streetscape on the mall's southwest facade.
Mervyn's, which had been sitting empty since being closed by Hurricane Katrina, was renovated. It opened, as a Dick's Sporting Goods, on October 13, 2013. Sears shuttered their OAKWOOD CENTER store on March 26, 2017, ending over 50 years of commerce.
Brookfield Property Partners, based in Hamilton, Bermuda, acquired a share of General Growth Properties in 2016. In August 2018, Brookfield established 100 percent ownership of the corporation. Hence, OAKWOOD CENTER became part of the Brookfield retail center portfolio.
Sources:
The Times- Picayune (New Orleans, Louisiana)
http://southernretail.blogspot.com
The single-level facility, which was the first fully-enclosed mall in Greater New Orleans, encompassed approximately 691,600 leasable square feet. Its first operational store, a 2-level (189,600 square foot) Sears, opened for business on April 13, 1966. A 2-level (99,200 square foot), New Orleans-based D.H. Holmes was dedicated on August 1, 1966. By October of the same year, twenty-four stores were in operation.
Charter OAKWOOD CENTER tenants included Allens Shoes, Goldring's, K & B Drug, Gus Mayer, Steins, McKenzie Pastry Shoppe, a Winn-Dixie supermarket and (26,000 square foot) S.H. Kress 5 & 10. The General Cinema Corporation Oakwood Cinema I & II showed its first features on August 4, 1967. Built in the southeastern periphery of the mall, it opened in conjunction with an identical theater at the LAKESIDE CENTER mall.
Major shopping venues in the vicinity of OAKWOOD included the aforementioned LAKESIDE CENTER (1960) {8.9 miles northwest, in Jefferson Parish / Metairie} and CLEARVIEW MALL (1969) {10.1 miles northwest, also in Jefferson Parish / Metairie}. A second West Bank shopping hub, BELLE PROMENADE MALL {4.2 miles southwest, in Jefferson Parish / Marrero}, was dedicated in 1983.
The first physical expansion at OAKWOOD CENTER added a third floor to the existing Holmes Oakwood unit. The project, completed in October 1974, increased the store's square footage to 148,800 square feet.
Maryland's James Rouse Company acquired OAKWOOD CENTER in August 1982. They initiated an interior face lift in September 1983. A Food Court, installed in a vacant Kress store, opened for business on August 1, 1984. A new name was also bestowed on the complex. Henceforth, it would be officially promoted as OAKWOOD MALL.
Maryland's James Rouse Company acquired OAKWOOD CENTER in August 1982. They initiated an interior face lift in September 1983. A Food Court, installed in a vacant Kress store, opened for business on August 1, 1984. A new name was also bestowed on the complex. Henceforth, it would be officially promoted as OAKWOOD MALL.
A second OAKWOOD expansion added a 2-level (82,000 square foot) Mervyn's to the west end of the mall. This store welcomed its first shoppers on November 28, 1986. Stores in the D.H. Holmes chain were rebranded by Dillard's in May 1989. An official mall name change, back to OAKWOOD CENTER, was adopted in August 1991.
Meanwhile. a major renovation and expansion was being plotted that would extend the existing East and South Wings. This project would be completed in two stages and enlarge the shopping facility from 793,000 square feet to over 1 million.
The first phase, consisting of a 2-level (175,000 square foot) Dillard's, was dedicated on October 9, 1991. Now vacant, the old Holmes / Dillard's building was sectioned into several inline stores. The Lower Level accommodated American Eagle Outfitters, Express, Kirkland's and Sam Goody Music. A (35,000 square foot) Marshalls set up shop in the Upper Level.
A 2-level (125,000 square foot) J.C. Penney would be added northwest of Maison Blanche and open in the fall of 1997. This plan was eventually abandoned. With the 1998 acquisition of Mercantile Stores by Dillard's, the Maison Blanche at OAKWOOD CENTER was shuttered. J.C. Penney leased the vacant building and opened for business on February 18, 1999.
Chicago's General Growth Properties acquired the holdings of the Rouse Company in November 2004. As a result, the shopping hub was added to the GGP portfolio. Housing 124 stores and services, OAKWOOD CENTER had become one of the most upscale shopping venues in the Crescent City.
Unfortunately, the shopping center was devastated as a result of Hurricane Katrina, in August 2005. The structure was not damaged so much by the storm and flooding but was looted and set on fire in the aftermath. Eighty percent of the stores were damaged by smoke and water.
One third of the mall was demolished, with 95 million dollars expended in its reconstruction. Sears became the first store to re-open, in early 2006, with Dillard's returning in late 2006 and Penney's in late 2007. Mervyn's did not re-open. A mall-wide grand re-opening celebration was held on October 19, 2007.
The West Wing of the mall, vacant and closed to the public since 2005, was finally rebuilt in 2012. New stores, such as Rue 21, Ulta Beauty and Dress Barn, opened, along with a relocated Old Navy. Three of these stores had exterior entrances, which formed a small Streetscape on the mall's southwest facade.
Mervyn's, which had been sitting empty since being closed by Hurricane Katrina, was renovated. It opened, as a Dick's Sporting Goods, on October 13, 2013. Sears shuttered their OAKWOOD CENTER store on March 26, 2017, ending over 50 years of commerce.
Brookfield Property Partners, based in Hamilton, Bermuda, acquired a share of General Growth Properties in 2016. In August 2018, Brookfield established 100 percent ownership of the corporation. Hence, OAKWOOD CENTER became part of the Brookfield retail center portfolio.
Sources:
The Times- Picayune (New Orleans, Louisiana)
http://southernretail.blogspot.com
http://www.therousecompany.com (Website on Internet Archive Wayback Machine)
www.ggp.com / General Growth Properties
www.ggp.com / General Growth Properties
https://www.brookfieldproperties.com
https://www.oakwoodcenter.com
www.cinematreasures.org
http://movie-theatre.org / Mike Rivest
www.cinematreasures.org
http://movie-theatre.org / Mike Rivest
"Oakwood Center" article on Wikipedia
"Mercantile Stores" article on Wikipedia
"Mercantile Stores" article on Wikipedia
