North East Mall - History and Activity

History and Activity

The center originated with a Leonard's department store, the Fort Worth-based chain's third location. This store was dedicated July 10, 1970. A single level mall of eighty inline stores was added, which officially opened March 25, 1971. This included a Fort Worth-based Stripling's (inaugurated March 18, 1971) and J.C. Penney (which commenced operation November 3, 1971). North East Mall now encompassed 750,000 leasable square feet. Sears and Montgomery Ward stores were added, which opened in August 1978. This expansion also added twenty store spaces and the United Artists Cinema 6. The gross leasable area of the mall now stood at 1,300,000 square feet (120,000 m2), with 106 inline stores. the mall office is located near Sears.

In 1977, Fort Worth's Dunlap's had acquired the W.C. Stripling Company (Stripling's). Another local chain, R.E. Cox and Company (Cox's), was bought in 1981. These chains were merged into Stripling & Cox in 1983. The North East Mall store was shuttered in January 1986. Dillard's bought the Leonard's chain in 1974 and re-branded all stores in 1975. In 1986, they reconfigured their existing North East Mall store as a Dillard's Women's. The vacant Stripling & Cox became a Dillard's Men's.

In October 1998, a 225 million dollar renovation and expansion of North East Mall got underway. Dillard's built a new 3-level store, consolidating the two existing locations, which held its grand opening October 1, 1999. The old Leonards/Dillard's Women's was partially demolished. A new South Wing was built, containing 28 store spaces. This connected to the new Dillard's and a new Foley's, which was built in part of the old Dillard's spot. The Foley's store was dedicated October 16, 2001.

In 1998, the mall went into major redevelopment outside the mall, creating an open-air mall, the developments were completed in late 2000.

The vacant Stripling & Cox/Dillard's Men's, on the west end of the mall, was knocked down and replaced by Nordstrom, which held its official opening March 22, 2001. On the north end of the mall, Saks Fifth Avenue built a store, taking some previous mall store space. This location opened for business September 16, 2001 although it was under negotiations to open a week later after the September 11th attacks, which caused some nationwide retail sales to decline. The existing J.C. Penney had been expanded by 83,000 square feet (7,700 m2) in 1996. Four parking garages were also constructed as part of the 1998–2001 remodeling.

North East Mall held its official re-dedication September 15, 2001, the center encompassed 1,749,000 leasable square feet and 168 stores and services. It was now the largest enclosed shopping mall in the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex and the second-largest in Texas, following The Galleria in Houston.

Montgomery Ward had been shuttered in February 2001. There was talk of the store being renovated -and reopened- by Lord and Taylor, but this did not come to fruition. The vacant building was torn down in 2003 and replaced with the Rave North East Mall 18 megaplex cinema, dedicated November 4, 2004. The Saks Fifth Avenue store closed on September 16, 2006, and was retenanted by Dick's Sporting Goods. The mall was once again renovated with blue-purplish skyline on the ceilings in the Dick's Sporting Goods wing and the Center Court in January 2013.