Washington Square (Oregon)

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Washington Square
Washington Square Mall outside.JPG
Exterior of the mall
Location Tigard, Oregon
45°27′02″N 122°46′52″W / 45.450618°N 122.7811°W / 45.450618; -122.7811Coordinates: 45°27′02″N 122°46′52″W / 45.450618°N 122.7811°W / 45.450618; -122.7811
Opening date 1973
Developer Winmar Pacific, Inc.
Management The Macerich Company
Owner The Macerich Company &
OTPP
No. of stores and services 170 [1]
No. of anchor tenants 5
Total retail floor area 1,336,000 sq ft (124,100 m2) mall [2] &
118,000 ft² plaza [3]
Parking 6,700[1]
No. of floors 1 (food court on second level, additional expansion will have second floor at later date)
Website shopwashingtonsquare.com/

Washington Square is a shopping mall in the city of Tigard, Oregon, United States. Located in the Portland metropolitan area along Oregon Route 217, the shopping complex is one of the top grossing malls per square foot in the United States, with sales of $716/ft².[2] Opened in 1973, the mall is managed and co-owned by The Macerich Company, a real estate investment trust, and is anchored by Macy's, Nordstrom, JCPenney and Sears. A fifth anchor, Dick's Sporting Goods opened in March 2008.[3]

Contents

[edit] History

On May 3, 1972, plans for Oregon's largest shopping mall at that time were announced by Winmar Pacific, Inc.[4] It was to be a 130-acre (0.53 km2) development with space for 100 stores. The mall itself was to include over 1,000,000 square feet (93,000 m2) on 85 acres (340,000 m2) in an L shape pattern. On August 16, 1973, Meier & Frank became the first tenant to open at the mall.[4] Sears and Lipman's then opened that November followed by Liberty House and Nordstrom during the summer of 1974.[4] J.C. Penney opened in 1975. The grand opening of the facility began on February 21, 1974.[4]

In 1979 Frederick & Nelson acquired and renamed the Lipman's chain, while Mervyn's was added in 1980. Originally in an unincorporated area near Beaverton, Tigard, and Portland, those cities fought to annex the center in 1986.[5] Tigard was awarded the right to annex Washington Square along with other adjacent properties that contain Lincoln Center and the Embassy Suites Hotel.[5] Following Frederick & Nelson's bankruptcy and store closure in January 1991, Nordstrom acquired the vacant space and demolished it, constructing a larger-size replacement for its existing store; this new Nordstrom opened in 1994. At that time, the former Nordstrom space was acquired by the mall and reconfigured as a food court and additional retail space, coinciding with the renovation of the mall. By the mid-1990s the mall had an average sales per square foot that placed it in the top 10% of malls nationwide.[5]

In 1999 the mall was sold by Safeco, a Seattle, Washington-headquartered insurance company to Pacific Premier Retail Trust, in itself a partnership of The Macerich Company and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan. Macerich, a Real Estate Investment Trust took over management of the property at this time. In 2005, Macerich opened a 100,000 sq ft (9,300 m2) addition, housing 30 more stores and including The Cheesecake Factory. At the same time, other improvements were made throughout the mall and two new parking structures were added. Mervyn's closed in November 2005 and their location, which they owned, was sold to the mall. The site was refurbished and reopened as Dick's Sporting Goods in March 2008.

[edit] Layout

The current configuration has five department store anchors, 170 specialty shops & restaurants, and a food court. Some of the stores are located in an adjacent outdoor plaza known as "Washington Square Too". Most of the mall is on a single level; however, the anchor stores have multiple levels, the food court is on a second level, and the expansion in 2005 was built so that it could accommodate a second-level addition at a later date.

TriMet maintains the Washington Square Transit Center on the mall's premises.

[edit] Anchors

Interior of the 2005 addition.
  • JCPenney (210,585 ft²; opened 1980)
    • JCPenney Home Store (20,397 ft², outparcel location)
  • Macy's (242,505 ft²; opened 1973 as Meier & Frank, renamed 2006)
  • Nordstrom (180,000 ft²; opened 1974, relocated 1994)
  • Sears (211,937 ft²; opened 1974)
    • Sears Tire, Battery & Auto (16,600 ft², outparcel location)
  • Dick's Sporting Goods (90,000 ft²; opened March 2008)

[edit] Former anchors

  • Frederick & Nelson (120,000 ft²; closed 1991 and razed for Nordstrom)
  • Lipman's (opened 1974, became Frederick & Nelson 1979)
  • Meier & Frank (opened 1973, renamed Macy's 2006)
  • Mervyn's (89,309 ft²; opened 1980, closed November 2005, site of Dick's Sporting Goods)
  • original Nordstrom (108,000 ft²; opened 1974, replaced 1994, became food court and mall retail space)

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Countering the crunch, The Oregonian, August 27, 2006.
  2. ^ "(2006 Annual report for The Macerich Company)". SEC Form 10-K, Annual Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2006. February 162007. http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/912242/000104746907001438/a2175451z10-k.htm. Retrieved 2007-03-28. 
  3. ^ "Washington Square brings first Dick's Sporting Goods to Oregon" (PDF). February 52007. http://www.shopwashingtonsquare.com/assets/shopwashingtonsquare/dicksannouncementfinal.pdf. Retrieved 2007-03-28. 
  4. ^ a b c d "Shopping center contribute to fast-growing phenomenon". Hillsboro Argus, October 19, 1976.
  5. ^ a b c Manning, Jeff (August 11, 1994). "Washington Square still strong, profitable 20 years after debut". The Oregonian: pp. R7. 

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Square_(Oregon)"