Company History
The company started in 1985 as the Western Development Corporation, and its first mall was Potomac Mills in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Then from 1989–1991, Franklin, Sawgrass, & Gurnee Mills opened each of those years, respectively. In 1994 the company converted to REIT status and changed its name to "The Mills Corporation.'.
In 1996, with new CEO Lawrence Siegel, The Mills built Ontario Mills near Los Angeles, which was the company's first mall built abstractly and with a full oval racetrack design which followed into the rest of the company's built malls. Since opening Ontario Mills until 2005 with Pittsburgh Mills, The Mills built and opened at least one or two landmark malls each year.
In 2002, The Mills acquired six regular retail malls including the ailing Forest Fair Mall (became Cincinnati Mills from 2004–2009) and a nine mall portfolio in 2004, including former Taubman Centers, like Columbus City Center in order to redevelop & expanded to be more affordable centers. Also, the company also expanded to Europe with the opening of Madrid Xanadú in Spain.
The success of Madrid Xanadú prompted The Mills to embark on the $1 billion+ Meadowlands Xanadu complex in 2004, which was first planned as "Meadowlands Mills," but the project has caused numerous delays and costed the company financially. (After years of building, leasing, and delays, the renamed Meadowlands may open in between 2011 and 2012)
In November 2004, Vaughan Mills was the first Mills Landmark built in Canada, and continued its international success with the acquisition of the St. Enoch Centre in Scotland and was offered to build a center in Rome, Italy.
After their last built mall was opened, Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills in July 2005, the company was investigated by the Securities & Exchange Commission for its financial problems.
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