History
Metro North Mall opened in September 1976, with 1.3 million s.f. of retail space that included 125 storefronts and 4 anchor stores on two levels. Despite the challenges of the market, the mall interior is well maintained and features a beautiful 1980s-style center court area with a stage surrounded by a pool of water, which includes four mini hot-air balloons suspended from the ceiling that float up and down. Metro North previously had a small 6-screen theatre near the Montgomery Ward section, but it closed along with the 6-screen theatre on a pad site behind the mall nearest to Montgomery Ward. The former Montgomery Ward store which closed in 2001, and its retail 'wing' are completely vacant. JCPenney closed in mid-2008, in favor of opening two new stores. Dillard's converted to a clearance center in 2007, closing off the lower level of the store. Dillard's later left the mall in late 2008, in favor of a new location in nearby Zona Rosa. MC Sporting Goods operated as a junior anchor in part of the former Montgomery Ward store until it closed in March 2009. Presently, the mall has approximately 6 stores and Macy's (which originally opened as The Jones Store) is the sole remaining anchor.
The independent film titled Shoe Store was filmed in Metro North Mall. The vacant Steve's Family Shoes store was used build the set for the film.
Plans for redeveloping the ailing shopping center via a partnership with Alberta Development Partners were released in 2007. It cited turnng Metro North into an outdoor lifestyle center, although the plans fell through shortly after being released, due to the recession and death of mall owner Sherman Dreiseszun. In 2010, new redevelopment plans with MD Management Inc. surfaced, with intent to revitalize the shopping center that by this time had fallen to 17 percent occupancy with only one remaining anchor. These plans called for the majority of the present mall to be torn down and replaced by a smaller enclosed mall (rather than open-air shopping, as expected from the original developers), which will incorporate mixed uses in addition to the standard shopping mall. MD Management Inc., which was also set to redevelop Metcalf South Shopping Center in Overland Park, Kansas, had planned to begin the redevelopment process by 2012 with hopes to complete the $100 million to $200 million Metro North Mall project by 2014. However, in late 2012, the redevelopment plans for the mall were once again dropped and the future of Metro North Mall is still uncertain.
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