Orlando Fashion Square
Entrance to Orlando Fashion Square, April 2017
Map
LocationOrlando, Florida, United States
Coordinates28°33′13″N 81°20′27″W / 28.553523°N 81.34093°W / 28.553523; -81.34093
Opening dateJuly 30, 1973; 50 years ago (July 30, 1973)[1]
DeveloperLeonard L. Farber
OwnerUP Development, Inc.
No. of stores and services38
No. of anchor tenants4 (1 open, 3 vacant)
Total retail floor area1,085,651 square feet (101,000 m2)[1]
No. of floors1 with partial upper level (2 in Dillard's, Macy's, and former JCPenney, 2nd floor closed off in Dillard's)
Public transit accessLocal Transit Lynx 13, 28, 29, 104
Websiteorlandofashionsquare.com

Orlando Fashion Square is a split one-story, two-story indoor shopping mall located in Orlando, Florida. Opened in 1973, it features 79 stores in over one million square feet of shop space. The mall's anchor stores are Macy's, Floor & Decor, and Dillard's Clearance Center. Predating the mall's opening was a Sears department store opened in 1963; this store closed in 2016 and has been razed for redevelopment. JCPenney, another anchor store closed in 2020. Other major tenants include Premiere Cinemas and Planet Fitness. The mall is managed by UP Development, Inc.

History

The first operational store on the site was a 173,000-square-foot (16,100 m2) Sears department store, which opened for business on October 30, 1963.[2] The mall was first announced in 1971 by developer Leonard L. Farber, who also developed Pompano Square (now Pompano Citi Centre) in Pompano Beach, Florida. Under the original plans, the mall would be attached to the existing Sears store, with Burdines as the second anchor.[3][4] Burdines opened along with the rest of the mall on July 30, 1973.

A third anchor, Robinson's of Florida, opened on the north side of the mall on October 29, 1973. Robinson's of Florida was the newly-created Florida division of California-based J.W. Robinsons. The Orlando location was their second Florida location, opening two months after their first store at Tyrone Square Mall in St. Petersburg.[5][6]

A free-standing movie theater was built on an outparcel in 1975 which existed until 1989. In 1988, Robinson's Florida stores were sold to Maison Blanche. Maison Blanche then built a new store just northeast of the original store two years later. The previous store would become more inline mall space connecting the new store with the rest of the mall. Maison Blanche became Gayfer's in 1992, which was then sold to Dillard's in 1998. JCPenney built a new store at the mall to replace a store at Winter Park Mall in 1993. An interior renovation completed in 2002. In 2004, a new movie theater owned by Premiere Cinemas opened in the mall. Burdines became Macy's in 2005.

In 2013, PREIT sold the mall to UP Development, Inc. for $35 million. The new owner has plans to redevelop the mall.[7] One year later a new bowling alley was added and the movie theater was rebuilt.

In 2014, Dillard's converted its store to a Dillard's Clearance Center, and closed its second floor.[8] The mall lost several other stores such as Bath and Body Works, Victoria's Secret, and The Limited.

In 2015, Sears Holdings spun off 235 of its properties, including the Sears at Orlando Fashion Square, into Seritage Growth Properties.[9]

On August 9, 2016, Sears announced their intentions to close their store at this mall. The Sears store was demolished in April 2017. Floor & Decor was built to replace Sears.[10] Outparcels on the Seritage site include Longhorn Steakhouse, Mission BBQ, and Olive Garden.

On June 4, 2020, JCPenney announced that it would be closing as part of a plan to close 154 stores nationwide. The store closed on October 18, 2020.[11]

Stores that have closed at the mall in 2022-2023 include Claire's, Finish Line, Journeys, and T-Mobile. The remaining small chain tenants include Champs Sports, Hot Topic, and Spencer's. These are still open as of December 2023.

References

  1. ^ a b "Orlando Fashion Square Fact Sheet" (PDF). PREIT. Retrieved 2010-10-17.
  2. ^ "Orlando Sears store opens Wednesday". The Orlando Sentinel. October 30, 1963. p. 4C. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  3. ^ "$30 million center for shops coming". The Orlando Sentinel. September 28, 1971. p. 7C. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  4. ^ Williams, Andy (July 29, 1973). "Farber's foresight paying dividends". The Orlando Sentinel. p. 31E. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  5. ^ "Robinson's Opens Doors". The Orlando Sentinel. 30 October 1973. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  6. ^ "Orlando Fashion Square 1984 Interactive Map". Jetpack Jason. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  7. ^ "OrlandoFashionSquare'sPriceTag:$35M=Orlando Business Journal". February 13, 2013. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
  8. ^ Jacobson, Susan (8 August 2014). "Dillard's at Orlando Fashion Square to become 1-story clearance store". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  9. ^ "At Orlando Fashion Square | Seritage".
  10. ^ Carchidi, Jim (18 May 2017). "Sears demolition underway at Orlando Fashion Square mall". Orlando Business Journal. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  11. ^ "JCPenney Store Closings – Penney IP LLC".

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Orlando Fashion Square.
Shopping malls in Greater Orlando
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