HILLDALE CENTER
North Midvale Boulevard and University Avenue
Madison, Wisconsin
In 1957, two suburban-style shopping centers were in the initial stages of development in Madison; the so-called UNIVERSITY HILL FARMS CENTER and another project known as WESTGATE CENTER. The latter was an endeavor of the University of Wisconsin, who had formed a non-profit entity, known as Kelab Incorporated, to own the land that the prospective retail hub would be built on. A second company, the University of Wisconsin Foundation, would own, lease and maintain the actual shopping center.
This arrangement was opposed by the privately-owned developer of WESTGATE CENTER. They filed a lawsuit against the University of Wisconsin, citing that their shopping center development scenario resulted in unfair competition to a private builder.
Two Wisconsin courts ruled in favor of the University. The matter was settled once and for all when the United States Supreme Court refused to hear the case. Construction on the University's commercial complex, by now known as HILLDALE CENTER, had been delayed during all of the litigation.
Meanwhile, building had progressed on the WESTGATE CENTER project. It was officially dedicated in March 1960. With all legal hurdles out of the way, the University of Wisconsin started construction on their retail center in the fall of 1961.
HILLDALE CENTER was developed on 37 acres, located 3.4 miles west of the Wisconsin State House. The open-air shopping hub, designed by Milwaukee's Grasshold, Johnson & Associates, consisted of a main retail level and basement and encompassed approximately 350,000 leasable square feet.
The first operational business at the HILLDALE site was the freestanding Perkins Hilldale Pancake House, which opened on November 20, 1961. The first shopping center store, an (18,000 square foot) A & P supermarket, was dedicated on September 11, 1962. A mall-wide grand opening was held on October 25th, when a 3-level (99,000 square foot), Milwaukee-based Gimbels-Schusters welcomed first shoppers.
Charter inline stores included Clark's Clothing For Men, Chandler's Shoes, Carmen's Quality Fashions, Hilldale Card & Camera, Victor Music, Julie Ann Fabrics, Wolff Kubly & Hirsig hardware, Bates & Hardy Liquors and the freestanding Hilldale Bowl.
Some of the larger inline stores were the aforementioned A & P, a (15,000 square foot) Rennebohm Drug Store, (16,000 square foot) The Emporium and (14,000 square foot) F.W. Woolworth. The single-screen Madison 20th Century Theatres Hilldale Theatre was built as a northwest outparcel. It showed a first feature on January 19, 1966.
In 1968, plans had been announced for the Four Lakes Region's first fully-enclosed shopping center. As a competitive measure against the up-and-coming WEST TOWNE MALL, the owners of HILLDALE CENTER remodeled their property. At the same time, Gimbels-Schusters was enlarged to 160,000 square feet, with a full upper level and southwest expansion.
This project was finished in the spring of 1969. In July, the official name of the anchor store was truncated from Gimbels-Schusters to simply "Gimbels." By August 1969, a steel and glass enclosure was being added to east-facing storefronts, remaking the open-air strip center into a heated and air-conditioned mall. This renovation was complete by March 1970.
Competing shopping centers in Greater Madison included the aforementioned WESTGATE CENTER (1960) {1.6 miles southwest}. There were also WEST TOWNE MALL (1970) {2.7 miles southwest} and EAST TOWNE MALL (1971) {8 miles northeast}.
In 1975, the A & P supermarket chain pulled out of the Wisconsin market. The HILLDALE STORE was acquired by Milwaukee-based Sentry Foods, which was purchased by Madison's Metcalfe's chain in 1979. The official name of the HILLDALE store became Metcalfe's Sentry.
A second major mall remodeling added 39,000 square feet of inline store space; this built along the east side of the enclosed concourse. When construction dust settled, HILLDALE CENTER encompassed approximately 347,400 leasable square feet. A dedication ceremony was held on August 4, 1985.
Competing shopping centers in Greater Madison included the aforementioned WESTGATE CENTER (1960) {1.6 miles southwest}. There were also WEST TOWNE MALL (1970) {2.7 miles southwest} and EAST TOWNE MALL (1971) {8 miles northeast}.
In 1975, the A & P supermarket chain pulled out of the Wisconsin market. The HILLDALE STORE was acquired by Milwaukee-based Sentry Foods, which was purchased by Madison's Metcalfe's chain in 1979. The official name of the HILLDALE store became Metcalfe's Sentry.
A second major mall remodeling added 39,000 square feet of inline store space; this built along the east side of the enclosed concourse. When construction dust settled, HILLDALE CENTER encompassed approximately 347,400 leasable square feet. A dedication ceremony was held on August 4, 1985.
The next store rebranding at HILLDALE was done as a result of the August 1986 shuttering of Gimbels. It re-opened, as a Chicago-based Marshall Field's, in November of the same year. In 1990, Metcalfe's Sentry was renovated and expanded with a 10,500 square foot addition. The store became the chain's flagship. A fifth mall remodeling was officially dedicated on October 26, 1997. This 4.5 million dollar project added "prairie style" design elements, carpeted corridors, skylights and a 4-bay food court.
By the turn of the century, the University of Wisconsin had decided to exit the retail mall business. They sold HILLDALE CENTER to Palatine, Illinois' Joseph Freed & Associates in May 2004. Within months, a massive renovation and remarketing of the complex was underway.
During Phase One of the 115 million dollar "tired to trendy" remake, a 75,000 square foot strip of stores, known as Streetscape Shops, was built. This faced the east facade of the mall. Comprised of north and south structures, the addition brought tony tenants such as Pasqual's Southwestern Cantina, Anthropologie, L'Occitane en Provence, The North Face, Anaala Salon & Spa and Flat Top Grill.
Two parking facilities; the Shorewood and Arboretum Garages, were built adjacent to the new Streetscape Shops. Hilldale Row, a forty-unit residential complex, was constructed along North Midvale Boulevard. The Streetscape, parking garages and town homes were complete by November 2005.
Phase Two of the HILLDALE CENTER reconfiguration was to add a (65,000 square foot) Whole Foods Market, 8-story Hotel Indigo and 11-story condo tower. Plans for these structures were abandoned because of The Great Recession.
However, another component of Phase Two, the 6-screen Sundance 608 Cinema, was installed in existing space at the south end of the mall. It showed first features on May 11, 2007. This new movie house replaced the circa-1966 Hilldale Theatre, which had closed for good on December 17, 2006.
The old cinema and adjacent office building were demolished in 2007 in anticipation of the Whole Foods Market that never materialized. The site would sit vacant until Minnesota's Target chain purchased the property and built a 2-level (150,000 square foot) store. It opened for business on March 1, 2011.
In retrospect, it is now clear that Joseph Freed & Associates could not have chosen a worse time to undertake such a large and expensive mall renovation. By March 2010, the 436,000 square foot property was in foreclosure. 50 million dollars were owed to Bank of America, 13 million to a BOA subsidiary and 6 million to the University of Wisconsin Foundation (the remaining, unpaid, balance of the 2004 shopping center sale). Moreover, there were thousands of dollars due in delinquent property taxes.
A Dane County, Wisconsin judge ruled in favor of Freed & Associates in March 2010, keeping lenders from seizing the property. Meanwhile, loans were defaulted. A sheriff's sale of the property was scheduled for June 2011, but was postponed. A lawsuit filed by the University of Wisconsin Foundation was settled in January 2012, with Freed paying the UWF 5.4 million dollars.
By the turn of the century, the University of Wisconsin had decided to exit the retail mall business. They sold HILLDALE CENTER to Palatine, Illinois' Joseph Freed & Associates in May 2004. Within months, a massive renovation and remarketing of the complex was underway.
During Phase One of the 115 million dollar "tired to trendy" remake, a 75,000 square foot strip of stores, known as Streetscape Shops, was built. This faced the east facade of the mall. Comprised of north and south structures, the addition brought tony tenants such as Pasqual's Southwestern Cantina, Anthropologie, L'Occitane en Provence, The North Face, Anaala Salon & Spa and Flat Top Grill.
Two parking facilities; the Shorewood and Arboretum Garages, were built adjacent to the new Streetscape Shops. Hilldale Row, a forty-unit residential complex, was constructed along North Midvale Boulevard. The Streetscape, parking garages and town homes were complete by November 2005.
Phase Two of the HILLDALE CENTER reconfiguration was to add a (65,000 square foot) Whole Foods Market, 8-story Hotel Indigo and 11-story condo tower. Plans for these structures were abandoned because of The Great Recession.
However, another component of Phase Two, the 6-screen Sundance 608 Cinema, was installed in existing space at the south end of the mall. It showed first features on May 11, 2007. This new movie house replaced the circa-1966 Hilldale Theatre, which had closed for good on December 17, 2006.
The old cinema and adjacent office building were demolished in 2007 in anticipation of the Whole Foods Market that never materialized. The site would sit vacant until Minnesota's Target chain purchased the property and built a 2-level (150,000 square foot) store. It opened for business on March 1, 2011.
In retrospect, it is now clear that Joseph Freed & Associates could not have chosen a worse time to undertake such a large and expensive mall renovation. By March 2010, the 436,000 square foot property was in foreclosure. 50 million dollars were owed to Bank of America, 13 million to a BOA subsidiary and 6 million to the University of Wisconsin Foundation (the remaining, unpaid, balance of the 2004 shopping center sale). Moreover, there were thousands of dollars due in delinquent property taxes.
A Dane County, Wisconsin judge ruled in favor of Freed & Associates in March 2010, keeping lenders from seizing the property. Meanwhile, loans were defaulted. A sheriff's sale of the property was scheduled for June 2011, but was postponed. A lawsuit filed by the University of Wisconsin Foundation was settled in January 2012, with Freed paying the UWF 5.4 million dollars.
The mall's financial woes were finally settled in May 2012, when Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts-based WS Development bought the property. In August 2013, they announced a First Phase -15 million dollar- remodeling. The North Wing -excluding Metcalfe's Market- would be rebuilt as an open-air shopping promenade. The existing Center Court, Macy's and South Wing structures would remain as is...at least for the time being.
Demolition and construction were underway by September 2014. Six North Wing stores opened for business on June 2, 2015. By August, fourteen tenants were in operation. These included Lucky Brand, Sur La Table, Kate Spade, Mes Amies and Michael Kors. The shopping hub now encompassed approximately 635,000 leasable square feet.
A Second Phase demalling began in January 2017. This rebuilt the South Wing -between Macy's and the multiplex- in a lifestyle format. An open-air plaza, known as The Green, was officially dedicated in August 2017. An adjacent (15,300 square foot) L.L. Bean welcomed first shoppers on May 12, 2018.
Demolition and construction were underway by September 2014. Six North Wing stores opened for business on June 2, 2015. By August, fourteen tenants were in operation. These included Lucky Brand, Sur La Table, Kate Spade, Mes Amies and Michael Kors. The shopping hub now encompassed approximately 635,000 leasable square feet.
A Second Phase demalling began in January 2017. This rebuilt the South Wing -between Macy's and the multiplex- in a lifestyle format. An open-air plaza, known as The Green, was officially dedicated in August 2017. An adjacent (15,300 square foot) L.L. Bean welcomed first shoppers on May 12, 2018.
HILLDALE CENTER, which had lost 10,000 square feet of retail area, now encompassed around 625,000 leasable square feet. The shopping center proper now contained sixty-four stores and services. The Sundance 608 Cinema was acquired by the AMC chain in 2016. It was renamed as the Madison 6. The theater closed for good on December 31, 2022, with its area being divided into seven store spaces.
The Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, Wisconsin)
Sources:
The Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, Wisconsin)
The Capital Times (Madison, Wisconsin)
The Milwaukee Journal
https://www.bigscreen.com
http://www.labelscar.com / "Caldor"
http://madison.com
http://www.shopmetcalfes.com
http://www.hilldale.com (website on Internet Archive Wayback Machine)
http://www.josephfreed.com (website on Internet Archive Wayback Machine)
https://hilldale.com
http://www.thedailypage.com
http://www.wsdevelopment.com
https://medium.com
http://www.wsdevelopment.com
https://medium.com
https://captimes.com
