Springfield Mall (Virginia)
Springfield Town Center was a shopping center in Springfield, Virginia. It opened in 1973 as Springfield Mall, an enclosed shopping mall, and closed on June 30, 2012, as part of a multi-million dollar redevelopment plan to turn it into an open-air "Town Center" style shopping center. It was located at the intersection of Interstate 95 and Franconia Road (Route 644), which is part of the Springfield Interchange, 1/4 mile north of Franconia-Springfield Parkway (State Route 289) and the Franconia-Springfield (Washington Metro) metro station.
Original anchors were Lansburgh's (later E.J. Korvette), Garfinckel's (later Sports Authority), J.C. Penney, and Montgomery Ward (building demolished in 1999, site now Target). Macy's was added in 1991.
Prince Charles and Princess Diana visited the JCPenney store at the mall on November 11, 1985, during their famous American tour.
One of the largest malls in Northern Virginia, it was owned and operated by Vornado Realty Trust. In 2005, Vornado purchased an option valued at $36 million to buy the mall from the previous owners Franconia Two LP. In early 2006, Vornado purchased the mall for an additional $80 million along with plans to redevelop. Renovations were last completed in 1987, and by the time the mall closed they were needed again. As large sections of stores at Springfield Mall closed, they were simply walled over with drywall.
In March 2012, Vornado announced plans to close all but the three anchor stores starting on July 1, ahead of the two-year renovation and redevelopment, which is part of a decade-long plan intended to turn the Mall and its surrounding area into the new Springfield Town Center.
Read more about Springfield Mall (Virginia): Demolition
Famous quotes containing the words springfield and/or mall:
“Perhaps you have forgotten me. Dont [sic] you remember a long black fellow who rode on horseback with you from Tremont to Springfield nearly ten years ago, swimming your horses over the Mackinaw on the trip? Well, I am that same one fellow yet.”
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)
“A father ... knows exactly what those boys at the mall have in their depraved little minds because he once owned such a depraved little mind himself. In fact, if he thinks enough about the plans that he used to have for young girls, the father not only will support his wife in keeping their daughter home but he might even run over to the mall and have a few of those boys arrested.”
—Bill Cosby (20th century)