Valley View Center is a super-regional shopping mall located at Interstate 635 and Montfort Road in north Dallas, Texas, USA. [1] The mall is owned and managed by The Macerich Company. The mall was developed in 1973 when Homart Development Company, the real estate development subsidiary of Sears, Roebuck & Co., [2] added a Sanger-Harris and several smaller stores to the existing Sears store that had been built in 1965. LaSalle Street Fund bought the mall in the early 1980s and oversaw continued expansion plus addition of a fourth anchor store. The Macerich Company, a Santa Monica, California-based shopping center operator, purchased Valley View Center in 1996 for a reported $85.5 million in cash and debt. [3] In August 1973, as part of the mall's grand opening celebration, the Thom McAn Shoe Store in Valley View Center offered a free 8-ounce steak with any purchase of $5 or more. [4] The promotion drew local and national media attention.

VALLEY VIEW CENTER TICKETS World Cup 26 Tickets World Cup Soccer Tickets New York Yankees Tickets Colorado Rockies Tickets Seattle Mariners Tickets World Cup Group Stage Tickets

Anchor tenants

Sears

The Sears, Roebuck and Company anchor actually pre-dates the mall itself having been built in 1965. ^[5] This Sears was built as a freestanding store on what was then the far northern fringe of Dallas and the location was largely surrounded by pasture land. ^[6] It would be another eight years before the Homart Development Company would add a Sanger-Harris department store to the site and connect it to Sears with a corridor of specialty retailers to create Valley View Mall.

Macy's (vacant)

The mall's second anchor () opened in August 1973 as a Sanger-Harris department store as part of the original Valley View Center development. ^[7] Sanger-Harris was merged with Foley's and renamed in 1987 ^[8] then the combined company was sold to May Department Stores in 1988. The store was renamed Macy's in September 2006 as a result of Federated Department Stores' purchase of the May Company in 2005. This location closed on March 15, 2008 and is, as of August 2008, vacant. ^[9]

Dillard's (closed)

Dillard's department store, the mall's third anchor (), was opened in 1979 as a two-level store accompanied by further expansion of the mall's interior. ^[10] In October 1985, Dillard's added a third floor to its Valley View Center store. ^[11] Linens, furniture, electronics and housewares were relocated to the new third level and several clothing departments on the original two levels were expanded. At the same time, Dillard's added a candy and cookie department as well as a junior department. In July 2008, Dillard's announced that it will close this location on August 30, 2008. ^[12]

JCPenney

LaSalle Street Fund purchased Valley View Center in the early 1980s and expanded the mall again with more interior stores and a fourth anchor store, Bloomingdale's. This () anchor location opened its doors in early 1983. On August 18 1990, Bloomingdale's closed this location, citing declining sales and increased market competition. ^[13] After the store's closure, the mall, which identified store locations by anchor store quadrants, furnished the former Bloomingdale's corridor with a grand piano, added landscaping and artwork, and branded the area as "The Conservatory." ^[14] In August 1990, Montgomery Ward & Co. Inc. attempted to acquire the ground lease for this store from Federated Department Stores Inc. through the bankruptcy court. ^[15] If successful, the company planned to buy the 200,000-square-foot building for a new Montogmery Ward's location. Valley View Center's owner, then the Chicago, Illinois-based LaSalle Street Fund Inc. of Delaware, objected in court. ^[16] In March 1991, a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge in Cincinnati ruled that Federated could withdraw from its deal to sell the building in favor of a deal from the LaSalle Street Fund to "avoid further costs of litigation" and as it would be "a sounds business decision." ^[17] The space would ultimately remain vacant until October 19, 1996 when JCPenney opened in that location. ^[18] At the time, it was the largest JCPenney location in the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex. ^[19]

AMC Valley View 16

In 2000, as part of a general redevelopment of the mall, Valley View Center announced the addition of a 20-screen AMC movie theater as a fifth anchor. ^[20] After several delays, construction for a 16-screen theater began in June 2003. ^[21] The AMC Valley View 16 opened on May 14, 2004. ^[22] The grand opening was marked by a ceremonial "ticket-tearing" featuring Dat Nguyen and Jason Witten of the Dallas Cowboys. ^[23] The stadium-style seating theater complex was built on top of the Sears anchor store so that no parking or retail space would be given up for the addition.

Former features

Valley View Cinema 1 & 2 (1975-1991)

In 1975, a twin-screen movie theater owned and operated by General Cinema Corporation was added to the northeast corner of the mall. The theater, known as Valley View Cinema 1 & 2 ^[24], closed in 1991. The facade of the movie theater was boarded up and the interior furnishings were stripped out. ^[25] The space remained empty until it was renovated in late 2001 by Radio One to house radio stations KBFB and KSOC. ^[26] Renovation included levelling the sloping floors in the theater and installing new air-conditioning and heating units. Officially opened in January 2002, the broadcast studios, located on the mall's second level, are in what used to be the theater projection rooms. The area that housed the ticket counters became the reception desk and part of one movie theater was retained as a 150-seat auditorium. The facility also includes a small basketball court ^[27], two production studios, a mix room, a newsroom, and office space. ^[28]

Smart Shoppers Club (1994-2000)

In April 1994, Valley View Center added a frequent-shopper rewards program called the Smart Shoppers Club. ^[29] Mall management said they planned to spend roughly $500,000 over the first two years of the program in a bid to increase mall traffic while collecting invaluable demographic data about mall shoppers. ^[30] Within five months, 9,000 shoppers had joined the club and the mall announced a goal of 20,000 members by the end of 1994. Shoppers logged their visits by swiping their membership card and entering a personal identification number at one of the mall's three touch-screen kiosks. ^[31] Member benefits included special discount coupons, free gifts, and the chance to win prizes. Club members also received a periodic Shopping Smart newsletter, a Valley View Center shopping bag, plus a birthday card and gift. The Smart Shoppers Club was terminated in late 2000 when it was replaced by a cardless web-based system called Centerlinq. ^[32] Customers were then able to redeem their old Smart Shoppers Club cards at the mall's customer service desk for a Valley View Center t-shirt.

Dallas Children's Museum (2000-2006)

Originally opened in August 1998 at the Inwood Village shopping center ^{[33] [34]}, the Dallas Children's Museum relocated to Valley View Center in June 2000. ^[35] The new museum, double the size of the previous location, was located on the second level of the mall between JCPenney and the Disney Store. ^[36] For six years the museum hosted both touring cultural exhibits and permanent features including a play hospital and kid-sized grocery store. In September 2006, the Museum of Nature & Science and the Dallas Children's Museum announced their merger and closed the Valley View Center location. ^[37] The museum reopened in Fair Park as the Children's Museum at the Museum of Nature & Science in October 2006. ^[38]

Changing times

September 1, 1985 marked the first legal Sunday shopping day in Texas. ^[39] Valley View Center, like other area malls, celebrated the end of the state's 24-year-old blue law with entertainment and special promotions. Some smaller retailers objected to the new hours but mall officials informed them in writing of their contractual obligations to operate while the mall is open. ^[40]

January 1, 1987 was the first New Year's Day that the anchor stores of Valley View Center were open for business on the holiday. ^[41] Many smaller stores in the mall followed their lead although it would be a few years before every store would be obligated to be open on the first day of the new year.

Honors and awards

In November 2007, the International Council of Shopping Centers presented a Maxi award in the Community Relations category to Valley View Center for work with the Tejas Council of Girls Scouts. ^[42]

See also

• List of shopping malls in Dallas, Texas

References

1. Some Older Malls Remain Significant Players on Dallas-Area Retail Landscape
2. Construction to begin on mall
3. Investment trust buys Valley View Center mall
4. Store offers filet of sole
5. Store History - Texas: Dallas and Fort Worth
6. Mannequins in Dallas: Valley View Center Mall
7. Macy's Valley View Center store among 9 to be closed
8. Foley's signs spreading through local stores
9. Title Unavailable
10. Mannequins in Dallas: Valley View Center Mall II
11. Hallmark closing up 'creative outpost' in Dallas
12. Dillard's at Valley View Center to close
13. Bloomingdale's closing in Dallas
14. Business Notebook
15. Ward's seeks Bloomingdale space
16. Court to decide Ward's future at Valley View
17. Valley View free to buy back lease; Court ruling involves old Bloomingdale's site
18. Penney to fill Valley View spot; Retailer plans store at site vacated by Bloomingdale's in 1990
19. A new level of store; One-of-a kind Penney to debut at Valley View
20. Dallas-Area Mall to Add 20-Screen AMC Theater
21. Movie theaters' tale keeps on twisting; One area megaplex just closed, but another is under construction
22. Megaplex opens at Valley View
23. 'Cans Film Festival' will benefit food bank
24. 1983 GCC Locations
25. Old Theater Buildings Get Second Chance With Different Businesses
26. Deserted movie theaters breathe new life: Dallas, Fort Worth cinemas find new operators
27. One Day In Dallas
28. Radio One, Inc. Creates Innovative Home at Local Mall; Valley View Center in Dallas Houses 97.9 The Beat and Magic 94.5
29. Frequent-shopper programs have a number just for you
30. Valley View pleased with frequent-shopper club
31. Kiosks build mall loyalty and database
32. Centerlinq Network Goes Live in Additional Malls, Beginning a New Phase of Growth
33. Children's museum moves closer to reality; Group planning to open in Inwood Village by fall
34. Children's museums enjoying boom years
35. A world of their own; Museum's new play areas will include a hospital and a grocery store
36. Robert Miller Column
37. New name, space for kids' museum
38. Dallas Children's Museum (closed)
39. Blue Law's End Brings Lookers, Fewer Buyers
40. Sunday Pressure Irks Small Retailers
41. New Year's a day for shoppers to celebrate
42. Kudos: Honors and awards in the Dallas-area business community