Present
The mall now comprises over 100 shops and services, a food court, with about a dozen eateries, and a small format Barnes & Noble store adjacent to the food court. From the mall's opening until around 2003, the mall also had a six-screen movie theater, which from the middle of the 1980s to about 2003 was called Budget Cinemas and owned by Silver Cinemas. It closed in 2003 because Budget Cinemas Mall Wing Entrance and other stores near the entrance were bought by Steve & Barry's, with the mall entrance turned into the entrance for Steve & Barry's. Steve & Barry's closed in Dec 2008, and is now a Steinhaufels, a local furniture chain.
The mall and its sister mall, West Towne, were originally developed by Jacobs, Visconsi, and Jacobs Co. of Cleveland, Ohio, which was later known as the Richard E. Jacobs Group. CBL Properties purchased East Towne Mall, West Towne Mall and West Towne Crossing from Richard E. Jacobs Group in late 2000 as part of a $1.2 billion deal included 23 properties. The deal was completed February 1, 2001. CBL refurbished both East Towne and West Towne unveiling the changes which included more skylights, family restrooms, improved interior decor, seating, flooring and other changes in November 2003. Stores added in 2003 included Steve & Barry's, CJ Banks and Helzberg Diamonds. A 26,000-square-foot (2,400 m2) Barnes & Noble opened in March 2003 near the food court at the main entrance. The face lift to East Towne Mall cost $2.2 million and was the first significant change to the mall since the 1989 addition of a food court. The Barnes & Noble cost $1.8 million and the Dick's Sporting Goods project cost $5.5 million for both East Towne and West Towne. CBL remodeled the structure inside and out, and brought in new tenants to give the mall more of its own identity, rather than bring in the same tenants that West Towne has. There is a greater emphasis on regional names and gift shops, plus some national apparel shops that West Towne does not have.
Read more about this topic: East Towne Mall
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