West County Center
 West County Center entrance in 2012 | |
 | |
| Location | Des Peres, Missouri, United States |
|---|---|
| Address | 80 West County Center |
| Opening date | 1969 (original mall)[1] 2002 (current mall) |
| Closing date | 2001 (original mall) |
| Developer | CenterMark |
| Management | CBL Properties |
| Owner | CBL Properties and TIAA-CREF |
| No. of stores and services | 150+[1] |
| No. of anchor tenants | 4 |
| Total retail floor area | 1,209,649 sq ft (112,380.1 m2)[1] |
| No. of floors | 2 in the main mall area, 3 in Macy's. Dick's occupies a dedicated 3rd and 4th floor. |
| Public transit access |  MetroBus |
| Website | www |
West County Center is a shopping mall located in Des Peres, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. The original mall was built in 1969.[2] The original mall closed in 2001, and a new mall on the site opened in 2002. The anchor stores are Macy's, Nordstrom, Dick's Sporting Goods, and JCPenney.
History[edit]
1969 mall[edit]
The original West County Center mall was constructed by May Co.'s CenterMark Properties real estate development division,[3] and opened on February 20, 1969,[4] at the southeast corner of I-270 and Manchester Road (Route 100) in Des Peres, Missouri. It was built on the site of the Manchester Drive-In movie theater, which many remember for the Easter sunrise services that were held there. It was 563,621 square feet (52,362.1 m2) and was anchored by Famous-Barr and JCPenney. The mall was sold to the Australian Westfield Group in 1994 and was renamed Westfield Shoppingtown West County.
In 1997, Nordstrom announced their intention to open a new anchor store at the mall, as part of a complete reconstruction of the center by Westfield.[3] The original mall closed on January 27, 2001, and was demolished, except for the JCPenney anchor store structure, which was remodeled.
2002 mall[edit]
The new 1,138,813 square feet (105,799.2 m2) Westfield Shoppingtown West County opened on September 20, 2002. The US$230 million project added a 2-story Nordstrom, a Lord & Taylor, a food court, and three parking garages. It also included a 2-story Dick's Sporting Goods above the café court. In October 2007, CBL & Associates acquired four out of five malls in the St. Louis area owned by Westfield.
In 2009, the mall's vacant Lord & Taylor was adapted into a new wing housing Barnes & Noble, which relocated from an older location nearby, and other retailers. The mall had one of the region's two Apple Stores and the region’s only Lego Store.[2]
In May 2011, it was announced that TIAA-CREF would receive 50% ownership of West County Center and several other CBL malls in an attempt to reduce CBL's debt.[2]
Dove sign[edit]
The most famous part of the mall is the large dove sign that sits outside the mall next to Interstate 270. Created by Tony Amato, it has become a meeting place for thousands of people during its nearly 50-year life. The removal of the dove in early 2001 caused minor controversy among nearby churches. The dove was refurbished during the renovation, and in mid-2002, returned to its original perch. Today, it is in the parking lot outside of Nordstrom.[5]
Current anchors[edit]
- Macy's (2006–present)
- JCPenney (1969–present)
- Nordstrom (2002–present)
- Dick's Sporting Goods (2002–present)
Former anchors[edit]
- Famous-Barr (1969-2006) (now Macy's)
- Lord & Taylor (2002-2007) (demolished in 2009 to build a new wing)
Junior anchors[edit]
- Barnes & Noble (2009–present)
- H&M (2018–present)
Former junior anchors[edit]
- Houlihan's (2002-2011) (now H&M)
- The North Face (before 2012-2022) (now Fan Cave)
References[edit]
- ^ a b c "West County Center". CBL & Associates, Inc. Retrieved 2011-01-20.
- ^ a b c Bryant, Tim (May 11, 2011). "West County Center is part of big mall deal". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. STLtoday.com. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
- ^ a b "Nordstrom to West County; mall makeover in works - 1997-04-21 - St. Louis Business Journal". Archived from the original on 2000-08-24.
- ^ "Even as malls fail across the country, West County Mall still thriving after 50 years".
- ^ Lang, Lynne "Under the Dove, a Collection of Memories" 2002.