MALLS: The Mills

The Mills are hybrid malls that has outlets, regular retail, restaurants & entertainment all under one roof. There are 23 Mills properties with 20 still in operation, one dead, one never built, one recently acquired by Simon, and another currently under construction. The first property was built in 1985, while the latest mall was built in 2009 and another Mills opening in 2016. Western Development Corporation from Washington, DC built Potomac, Franklin (Philadelphia), Gurnee & Sawgrass Mills. Then in 1994, the then-newly created The Mills Corporation headed by Lawrence Siegel, more Mills properties were built each year from 1996-2005. Also, there are a couple of Mills in Canada, by Ivanhoe Cambridge. In the early 2000's, the Mills properties were nicknamed by type of malls. The malls in this blog were "Landmarks" while the regular malls are "21st Century Retail" properties. Due to a construction and financial fallout of the currently named "American Dream" in New Jersey, The Mills Corporation was sold to Simon Property Group in 2007 and the majority of properties, including regular retail properties The Mills Corp. acquired in the early 2000's (Vaughan & Pittsburgh Mills were sold prior).

In my opinion, The Mills properties are my favorite malls because each one is expansive, economic generators, tourist grabbers & are VERY COLORFUL!!! They are not the regular all-white-colored malls. About each mall is broken up into "Neighborhoods" which may be a fashion portion, a themed part of a mall, or even a way-finding navigation for shoppers. Since the re-opening of Opry Mills in 2012, a few Mills properties has been recently renovated, including Grapevine & Philadelphia Mills.

The Mills Corporation introduced the racetrack mall design with Ontario Mills in 1996 which made the malls easy to navigate inside and has a smaller footprint rather than many linear malls that we know. Examples are shown by the maps of most properties. The racetrack design is now used for many outdoor outlet malls being built since the 2000's and even the present.

I have been to four Mills properties (which will be marked by * at the mall's name) and saw Sugarloaf but did not visit the property. Each property listed will have details on size, opening date, location and map from their respective websites.

So, let's "EXPERIENCE THE MILLS EFFECT!!"

Arizona Mills
Anchors: 16
Gross Leasing Area/Mall's size: 1,240,000 sq.ft.
Location: Tempe, Arizona
Opened: 1997
Owner: Simon Property Group
Stores: 175
Website: www.simon.com/mall/arizona-mills
Map:

Arundel Mills*

Anchors: 18
Gross Leasing Area/Mall's size: 1,561,000 sq.ft.
Location: Hanover, Maryland
Opened: November 2000
Owner: Simon Property Group
Stores: 200
Website: www.simon.com/mall/arundel-mills
Map:

Cincinnati Mills (Forest Fair Village--DEAD)

Anchors: 12 at peak
Gross Leasing Area/Mall's size: 1,500,000 sq.ft.
Location: Forest Park, Ohio
Opened: Original mall-1989, Cincinnati Mills-2004, redeveloping in 2015
Owner: North Star Port Authority
Stores: 10 currently, up to 150 at peak
Map (from 2005):

Colorado Mills

Anchors: 10
Gross Leasing Area/Mall's size: 1,100,000 sq.ft.
Location: Lakewood, Colorado
Opened: 2002
Owner: Simon Property Group
Stores: 200
Website: www.simon.com/mall/colorado-mills
Map: 

Concord Mills*

Anchors: 18
Gross Leasing Area/Mall's size: 1,339,000 sq.ft.
Location: Concord, North Carolina
Opened: 1999
Owner: Simon Property Group
Stores: 200
Website: www.simon.com/mall/concord-mills
Map:

CrossIron Mills

Anchors: 18
Gross Leasing Area/Mall's size: 1,122,643 sq.ft.  
Location: Rocky View, Alberta, Canada
Opened: August 19, 2009
Owner: Ivanhoe Cambridge
Stores: 183
Website: www.crossironmills.com
Map:

Grapevine Mills

Anchors: 23
Gross Leasing Area/Mall's size: 1,776,000 sq.ft.
Location: Grapevine, Texas
Opened: 1997
Owner: Simon Property Group
Stores: 180
Website: www.simon.com/mall/grapevine-mills
Map:

Great Mall (of the Bay Area)

Anchors: 17
Gross Leasing Area/Mall's size: 1,359,000 sq.ft.
Location: Milpitas, California
Opened: 1994
Owner: Simon Property Group
Stores: 200
Website: www.simon.com/mall/great-mall
Map: 

Gurnee Mills

Anchors: 18
Gross Leasing Area/Mall's size: 1,913,000 sq.ft.
Location: Gurnee, Illinois
Opened: August 8, 1991
Owner: Simon Property Group
Stores: 200
Website: www.simon.com/mall/gurnee-mills
Map: 

Katy Mills 

Anchors: 18
Gross Leasing Area/Mall's size: 1,638,000 sq.ft.
Location: Katy, Texas
Opened: 1999
Owner: Simon Property Group
Stores: 175
Website: www.simon.com/mall/katy-mills
Map: 

The Mills at Jersey Gardens

Anchors: 12
Gross Leasing Area/Mall's size: 1,300,000 sq.ft.
Location: Elizabeth, New Jersey
Opened: October 21, 1999
Owner: Simon Property Group
Stores: 230
Website: www.simon.com/mall/the-mills-at-jersey-gardens
Map: 

Ontario Mills

Anchors: 20
Gross Leasing Area/Mall's size: 1,470,000 sq.ft.
Location: Ontario, California
Opened: 1996
Owner: Simon Property Group
Stores: 200
Website: www.simon.com/mall/ontario-mills
Map: 

Opry Mills 

Anchors: 15
Gross Leasing Area/Mall's size: 1,163,000 sq.ft.
Location: Nashville Tennessee
Opened: 2000-2010 (major city flood closed the mall for 2 years), 2012-present
Owner: Simon Property Group
Stores: 200
Website: www.simon.com/mall/opry-mills
Map:

Outlets at Orange (The Block)

Anchors: 16
Gross Leasing Area/Mall's size: 804,000 sq.ft.
Location: Orange, California
Opened: 1998
Owner: Simon Property Group
Stores: 120
Website: www.simon.com/mall/the-outlets-at-orange
Map:

Philadelphia Mills (Franklin Mills)*
Anchors: 17
Gross Leasing Area/Mall's size: 1,600,000 sq.ft.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Opened: May 11, 1989
Owner: Simon Property Group
Stores: 200
Website: www.simon.com/mall/philadelphia-mills
Map: 



Pittsburgh Mills (The Galleria & The Village)

Anchors: 9
Gross Leasing Area/Mall's size: 1,100,000 sq.ft.
Location: Tarentum, Pennsylvania
Opened: July 2005
Owner: Zamias
Stores: 170
Website: www.pittsburghmills.com
Map:

Potomac Mills*

Anchors: 19
Gross Leasing Area/Mall's size: 1,526,000 sq.ft.
Location: Woodbridge, Virginia
Opened: September 1985
Owner: Simon Property Group
Stores: 200
Website: www.simon.com/mall/potomac-mills
Map:

Sawgrass Mills

Anchors: 23
Gross Leasing Area/Mall's size: 2,306,000 sq.ft.
Location: Sunrise, Florida
Opened: 1990
Owner: Simon Property Group
Stores: 370
Website: www.simon.com/mall/sawgrass-mills
Map:

St. Louis Outlet Mall (St. Louis Mills)



Anchors: 11
Gross Leasing Area/Mall's size: 1,194,610 sq.ft.
Location: Hazelwood, Missouri
Opened: November 2003
Owner: Woodmont
Stores: 170
Website: www.stlouisoutletmall.com
Map:

Sugarloaf Mills (Discover Mills)

Anchors: 14
Gross Leasing Area/Mall's size: 1,180,000 sq.ft.
Location: Lawrenceville, Georgia
Opened: November 2001
Owner: Simon Property Group
Stores: 180
Website: www.simon.com/mall/sugarloaf-mills
Map:

Tewksbury Mills (Never Built)

Anchors: ~5
Gross Leasing Area/Mall's size: 750,000 sq.ft. (First planned to be up to 2.2 million Sq.Ft.)
Location: Tewksbury, Massachusetts
Opening (Projected): 2001 or 2002 
Owner: Mills Corp
Stores: 100

Tsawwassen Mills

Anchors: 16
Gross Leasing Area/Mall's size: 1,200,000 sq.ft.
Location: Tsawwassen First Nation, British Columbia, Canada
Opening: Spring 2016 
Owner: Ivanhoe Cambridge
Stores: 200
Website: www.ivanhoecambridge.com/en/shopping-centres/projects/development/tsawwassen-mills


Vaughan Mills

Anchors: 16
Gross Leasing Area/Mall's size: 1,116,450 sq.ft.
Location: Vaughan, Ontario, Canada
Opened: November 4, 2004
Owner: Ivanhoe Cambridge
Stores: 190
Website: www.vaughanmills.com
Map: 

WORKS CITED:
Each individual mall website
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mills_Corporation
www.ivanhoecambridge.com
www.labelscar.com/massachusetts/tewksbury-mills
www.simon.com
www.simoncorpoverview.com
www.zamias.com
www.woodmont.com

P.S.:There are other properties that has similar layouts as the Mills Properties, such as 

• Dolphin Mall
• Great Lakes Crossing Outlets (initially to be built by The Mills Corp. as Auburn Mills)
• Great Mall of the Great Plains (dead)
• Outlet Collections of Seattle (Jersey Gardens is now a Simon Mills property)

MALLS: The Malls of Hampton Roads, Virginia

My home region of Hampton Roads, Virginia (aka Tidewater, Coastal Virginia, 7 Cities) has a good amount of shopping destinations, including 7 indoor malls, 3 major town centers and 2 current outlet malls (including one currently in development). They are my babies. The malls & town centers range from 70-170 stores and all but one mall has at least 80% of its stores occupied, meaning that the malls are in good standing. In the near future, EACH SHOPPING CENTER will have their own blog post, in which I will go in depth on the stores, mall size, and history of each shopping center.

To my dead mall lovers, there are also a few former malls at the end of the post, which each center will also be covered at a later time.

MALLS (Note: Multi-plex movie theaters do count as an anchor for this post):

Chesapeake Square
Anchors: 6 (Burlington, Cinemark XD 12, JCPenney, Macy's, Sears, Target)
Gross Leasing Area/Mall's size: 760,000 sq.ft.
Opened: October 1989
Owner: WP Glimcer (Managed/flagged by Simon Property Group)
Stores: 95 
Website: www.simon.com/mall/chesapeake-square

The Gallery at Military Circle
Anchors: 2 out of 5 (Cinemark 18 & Macy's. Doubletree Hotel, Sears & JCPenney have closed between 2009-2014)
Gross Leasing Area/Mall's size: 963,000 sq.ft. (Including closed anchors)
Opened: 1970
Owner: Thor Equities
Stores: 90- (30% vacancy rate)
Website: www.galleryatmilitarycircle.com

Greenbrier Mall
Anchors: 4 (Dillard's JCPenney, Macy's, Sears)
Gross Leasing Area/Mall's size: 899,101 sq.ft.
Opened: October 7, 1981
Owner: CBL & Associates Properties, Inc.
Stores: 109 
Website: www.greenbriermall.com

Lynnhaven Mall
Anchors: 4 (AMC 18, Dillard's, JCPenney, Macy's)
Gross Leasing Area/Mall's size: 1,248,553 sq.ft.
Opened: 1981
Owner: General Growth Properties (GGP)
Stores: 150 
Website: www.lynnhavenmall.com

MacArthur Center
Anchors: 3 (Dillard's, Nordstrom, Regal Cinemas 18)
Gross Leasing Area/Mall's size: 932,000 sq.ft.
Opened: March 12, 1999
Owner:  Starwood Retail Partners (Built & formerly owned by Taubman)
Stores: 130+ 
Website: www.shopmacarthur.com

Patrick Henry Mall
Anchors: 5 (Dick's, Dillard's, Forever 21, JCPenney & Macy's)
Gross Leasing Area/Mall's size: 715,200 sq.ft.
Opened: 1987
Owner: Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT)
Stores: 105
Website: shoppatrickhenrymall.com

Pembroke Mall
Anchors: 3 (Kohl's, Sears, Target)
Gross Leasing Area/Mall's size: 638,676 sq.ft.
Opened: March 1966
Owner: Pembroke Square Associates/Madison Marquette
Stores: 56
Anchors: 3
Website: www.pembrokemall.com

TOWN CENTERS:

City Center at Oyster Point
Anchor: Paragon 12 Cinemas (Opened May 2014)
Gross Leasing Area/Mall's size:
Location: Newport News, Virginia
Opened: 2002
Owner: Harvey Lindsay Commercial Real Estate
Stores: 40+
Website: citycenteratoysterpoint.com

Peninsula Town Center
Anchors: 4 (CineBistro, JCPenney, Macy's, Target)
Gross Leasing Area/Mall's size: 1,100,000 sq.ft.
Location: Hampton, Virginia
Opened: March 2010
Owner: Tabani Group as of October 3, 2014 (Formerly owned and developed by Steiner & Olshan Mall Properties)
Stores: 70+
Website: peninsulatowncenter.com

Town Center at Virginia Beach
Gross Leasing Area/Mall's size:
Location: Virginia Beach, Virginia
Opened: 2002
Owner: Armada Hoffler
Stores: 50+
Website: www.vabeachtowncenter.com

OUTLET MALLS:

Norfolk Premium Outlets
Gross Leasing Area/Mall's size: 350,000 sq.ft.
Location: Norfolk, Virginia
Opening: Fall 2016
Owner: Simon Property Group
Stores: 90+
Website: Property Fact Sheet--Website Coming Soon

Williamsburg Premium Outlets
Location: Williamsburg, Virginia
Gross Leasing Area/Mall's size: 522,000 sq.ft.
Opened: 1988
Owner: Simon Property Group 
Stores: 135
Website: www.premiumoutlets.com/williamsburg


FORMER MALLS:

Coliseum Mall
Anchors: 5
Gross Leasing Area/Mall's size: 1,100,000 sq.ft.
Location: Hampton, Virgnia
Opened-Closed: 1973-MLK Day 2007
Owned: Mall Properties Inc. (Now named Olshan Properties)
Replacement: Peninsula Town Center
Stores: 120

Newmarket North Mall/Newmarket Fair
Anchors: Sears (Still in operation)
Gross Leasing Area/Mall's size: 900,000 sq.ft.
Location: Hampton, Virginia (near the border of Newport News, Virginia)
Opened: 1975
Owned: Hahn Co., then Goodman Seger Hogan
Replacement: The Offices at NetCenter using existing building structure
Stores: Sears, Miller & Rhoads, Leggett

Tower Mall
Anchors: Bradlee's, Hess's, Miller & Rhodes, Montgomery Ward 
Gross Leasing Area/Mall's size:
Location: Portsmouth, Virginia
Opened-Closed: 1973-2001
Owner:
Replacement: Victory Crossing Shopping Center
Stores:

The Williamsburg Outlet Mall
Location: Lightfoot, Virginia
Gross Leasing Area/Mall's size: 250,000 sq.ft.
Opened-Closed: 1983 (possibly originally named Outlets, Ltd.)-December 31, 2013
Owner:
Replacement: A Harris-Teeter anchored shopping center
Stores: 60 at its peak

WORKS CITED:
The State of Hampton Roads' Malls (Virginian Pilot)
mall-hall-of-fame.blogspot.com/Norfolk-VirginiaBeachMalls
sickmalls.wordpress.com/category/newmarket-fair-mall/