Richardson Square Mall

Coordinates: 32°56′32″N 96°41′51″W / 32.94229°N 96.69741°W / 32.94229; -96.69741 Richardson Square Mall was an enclosed shopping center located in Richardson, Texas, United States. Richardson Square Mall demolition began in June 2007. Now located in its place is an outdoor retail center which goes by the name Richardson Square. The retail center includes Super Target with a Starbucks and Pizza Hut Express inside, Sears, Ross Dress for Less, Anna's Linens, and a Lowe's home improvement store. The center also includes pad sites such as Panda Express, Chick-fil-A, Whataburger, Sonic Drive-In, and a Bank of America.^[1]

History

The single-level mall first opened in 1977 on Plano Road, stretching between the intersections of Beltline Road and Spring Valley Road. The three adjacent corners of Beltline and Plano Road were also occupied by shopping centers. At one point, the mall had four full anchors: Montgomery Ward, Dillard's, Titche-Goettinger (which became Joske's in 1979 and a second Dillard's location in 1987), and Sears. The Sears building was constructed several years before the mall and operated as a standalone store.^[2] The mall also included a multi-screen movie theater, video arcade, and two bookstores (Waldenbooks and B. Dalton). Food vendors were grouped in the entrance corridors at each end of the mall—by Sears and Montgomery Ward—and included Chick-fil-A, Orange Julius, Hot Sam Pretzels, and Bresler's Ice-Cream.

The mall was closed on Sundays until September 1, 1985 when the Texas blue law was repealed.^[3]

In 1981 the much larger Collin Creek Mall opened in nearby Plano, but Richardson Square continued to be popular and fully occupied through the rest of the 1980s. A small free-standing strip of stores was built in 1984-5 on the outer corner of the property closest to Lloyd V. Berkner High School. Tenants included a realtor and dry cleaning business, but most of the stores were never leased.

Stores began rapidly closing in the early 1990s. By 1993, the property was at about 60% occupancy. A new tenant during this phase was French bakery Cafe Partier.^[4] Dillard's maintained both its store and the former Joske's location, which it would close in 1995.

In 1998 the mall was remodeled,^[5] with many new tenants and a food court added, as well as a Barnes & Noble bookstore which occupied the space of half a dozen stores. The entrance corridor near Sears, formerly occupied by a movie theater, video arcade, and several food vendors, became a Stein Mart. Shortly thereafter Montgomery Ward filed for bankruptcy and closed its stores.^[6] The former Ward's pad was demolished and converted into a Super Target. Stein Mart, Oshman's, and several other small stores soon closed as well. The mall continued to operate until Garland's Firewheel Town Center opened in 2005. Dillard's, Old Navy, and Barnes & Noble all relocated to Firewheel.^[7]

Richardson Square Mall was demolished in 2007, except for Sears which remains in operation as a free-standing store. The loss of the mall was significant for the city, but, in 2006, with the announcement that Simon Properties would be renovating the site, city leaders expressed optimism that the new development would flourish.^[8]

References

External links

• Photos of Richardson Square Mall just prior to and during demolition.