White Oaks Mall (Springfield, Illinois)
 White Oaks Mall from the southeast | |
 | |
| Location | Springfield, Illinois |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 39°46′02″N 89°42′13″W / 39.76723°N 89.70358°W |
| Address | 2501 Wabash Ave |
| Opening date | August 24th, 1977 |
| Owner | Simon Property Group (80.7%) |
| No. of stores and services | 77 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 6 (4 open, 2 vacant) |
| Total retail floor area | 928,772 square feet (86,285.7 m2) |
| No. of floors | 2 |
| Public transit access |  SMTD |
| Website | simon.com/mall/white-oaks-mall |
White Oaks Mall is a shopping mall in Springfield, Illinois, United States. It is located at the junction of Illinois Route 4 (Veterans Parkway) and Wabash Avenue. With 928,772 square feet (86,285.7 m2) of retail space, it is the largest shopping mall in Central Illinois.[1] The mall's anchor stores are Macy's, Michaels, LA Fitness, and Dick's Sporting Goods. There are 2 vacant anchor stores that were once Bergner's and Sears.
History
[edit]The mall is located on the southwest side of Springfield, approximately five miles (8 km) southwest of the traditional city center. Construction started in 1974 and opened in 1977.[2][3] Stix Baer & Fuller was an original anchor store, but it was closed in 1982 and sold to Kohl's when the former chain decided to close all operations outside its primary market of St. Louis, Missouri. At the time, this move coincided with rumors that Kohl's would also be operating a location at Hickory Point Mall in Forsyth, Illinois.[4]
In the early 1990s, it underwent a $14 million renovation which included the addition of a new food court.[5] A carousel was installed in 1997.
White Oaks Mall houses over 100 stores.[6] Its operator, the Simon Property Group, which owns 80.7% of the mall, describes White Oaks Mall as a "super-regional shopping mall".[2] The mall shares its name with the White Oak, the state tree of Illinois.
The original planned name of the mall was Westroads Mall. Ed McMahon and Billy Carter attended the grand opening held on August 24, 1977.[3][7]
White Oaks Mall has a children's play area. The Children's Place and Carter's specialize in juvenile clothing.[8]
Two major closure announcements were made in 2018. In April, it was announced that Bergner's would be closing around July of 2018 as part of a plan to close all stores nationwide. In May, it was announced that Sears would be closing its White Oaks store in September of 2018 as part of a plan to close 78 stores nationwide. After Bergner's and Sears closed, Macy's became the only traditional-sized anchor store doing business at White Oaks.
Refitting
[edit]The Illinois Department of Central Management Services, the custodian of Illinois state government real estate, confirmed a report in December 2020 that the state had purchased the Sears anchor store building, with its approximately 120,000 square feet of space, with the intent of redeveloping the footprint as office space for three state departments. The Illinois Department of Innovation and Technology, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, and the Illinois Pollution Control Board were said to be planning the move.[9]
References
[edit]- ^ "Springfield: Shopping". Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau. Retrieved 2009-11-07.
- ^ a b "White Oaks Mall: Springfield, IL". Simon Property Group. Retrieved 2009-11-07.
- ^ a b "White Oaks Mall (1993)". SpringfieldRewind.com. December 11, 2007. Retrieved November 9, 2009.
- ^ "Officials decline comment on Kohl move to mall". August 4, 1982. pp. A4. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
- ^ Bill Ward (October 17, 1993). "White Oaks Mall a travel adventure: Just when you think you've shopped it all... whoomp, there it is!". Herald & Review (Decatur, Illinois). Retrieved November 9, 2009.
- ^ Simon Property Group, L.P. "About White Oaks Mall - A Shopping Center in Springfield, IL - A Simon Property". Retrieved 2020-01-29.
White Oaks Mall offers more than 100 specialty stores
- ^ "History of White Oaks Mall". The State Journal-Register (Springfield, Illinois). February 1, 2009. Retrieved November 9, 2009.
- ^ White Oaks Mall. OutletStoresMalls.com. Retrieved: 9 February 2015.
- ^ Rushton, Bruce (December 3, 2020). "Moving to the mall: State of Illinois buys Sears space". Illinois Times. Springfield, Ill. Retrieved December 5, 2020.