Chesterfield Mall (formerly known as Westfield Shoppingtown Chesterfield) is a shopping mall in Chesterfield, Missouri, at the intersection of Interstate 64/U.S. Routes 40-61 and Clarkson Road (Route 340).[2] The mall opened in 1976,[3] built by Richard Jacobs.[4][5] With the closing of Northwest Plaza in St. Ann in 2010, Chesterfield Mall became the largest shopping mall in the St. Louis metropolitan area. The mall presently includes about 30 shops, three restaurants, and it used to have an AMCMegaplex theater. Chesterfield Mall's three anchor stores are all vacant, the last having closed in November 2022.[6] In 2020, plans were announced to demolish the property in 2024 for a mixed-use development.
History
The mall opened on September 1, 1976 as the sister mall to Jamestown Mall in Florissant, Missouri. The mall's original two anchor stores were Sears and Stix, Baer, and Fuller. Two years later in 1978, the four-screen Chesterfield Mall 4 Cinema opened in a building separate from the mall itself, near the Stix/Dillard's building. In 1981, a Famous-Barr store opened at the mall. Three years later in 1984, Dillard's replaced Stix, Baer, and Fuller, after buying out the company. In 1995, a new Famous-Barr store was built adjacent to the former space, which JCPenney would later take over. The mall received a renovation in 1996. In 2000, the four-screen cinema closed. Five years later in 2005, the JCPenney store closed and the space was demolished, which made way for many smaller shops and restaurants, including Borders (currently V-Stock), The Cheesecake Factory, an American Girl store (closed as of 2018), a food court (also closed in 2018), and a 14-screen AMCMegaplex, which took up a new third floor.[citation needed]
The mall was bought by Hull Property Group in 2018,[7] after a (reverse) progression of ownership by CBL & Associates Properties (from 2007), the Westfield Group (from 2002),[8] and Richard E. Jacobs Group initially.[9] The mall was placed in receivership in the third quarter of 2016, pending foreclosure, with management transferred to Madison Marquette while a new owner was sought.[10] The foreclosure finalized in June 2017, making C-III Capital Partners the temporary owner.[11] The mall's anchor stores, though attached to the mall, are owned separately.[12]
Borders closed in 2011 and was replaced with V∙Stock.[13] Anchor store Dillard's closed in September 2016 due to flooding following a water main break. The store was expected to reopen in 2017, but in early 2018 the company finally announced that the location would remain permanently closed. In March 2018, the St. Louis area's only American Girl store, which was inside the mall, closed.[14][10][12] On May 31, 2018, it was announced Sears would be closing this location as a part of a plan to close 72 stores nationwide, which also included the location at nearby mall South County Center.[15][16] The store closed on September 2, 2018, leaving Macy's as the last remaining anchor store.
In late 2018, the AMC Cinema was downgraded to an AMC Classic.
The former Sears anchor store being used as a skateboard shop and skate park in 2023
In 2020,[citation needed] the Staenberg group announced plans to spend nearly $1 billion on overhauling the mall to be a mixed-use development with condos, apartments, offices and retail. In 2021, vacant parts of the mall were being repurposed for indoor community sports and other "eclectic tenants".[17][18]
In 2022, it was announced that Macy's would close on November 11, 2022. They vacated this on-mall 200,000 square feet (19,000 m2) building and built a new Market by Macy's in Chesterfield Commons estimated around 32,000 square feet (3,000 m2).[19] Liquidation sales started in early September, leaving the mall with no anchors left, basically turning it into a dead mall. In May 2023, the AMC Classic Chesterfield 14 was permanently closed, leaving V-Stock and The Cheesecake Factory as the remaining junior anchors. The Cheesecake Factory had opened the location in 2006.[20] Liquidation sales of the mall's fixtures began in early May 2023 and are currently underway, with plans for everything to be sold and for the mall to be shuttered by 2024. Redevelopment plans call for the mall to be turned into a mixed-use property with housing, office, dining, and retail called Downtown Chesterfield, set to begin construction once the mall finishes demolition.[21][22] On January 31, 2024, the mall owners announced that all remaining tenants would be evicted from the mall by August 31, 2024, with demolition to begin shortly after the closure date.[23]
^Craig, Bob (December 2003). "A tale of two cities"(PDF). downtownchesterfield.net. Midwest Real Estate News. Archived from the original(PDF) on July 23, 2011. Retrieved February 5, 2010.
^Jarrett, Linda F. (November 2007). "Chesterfield Village". stlcommercemagazine.com. St. Louis Commerce Magazine. Archived from the original on October 10, 2008. Retrieved February 5, 2010.
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