Bay Park Square Explained

Bay Park Square
Location:Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin, United States (Green Bay)
Coordinates:44.4846°N -88.0677°W
Developer:Edward J. DeBartolo Corp.
Manager:Simon Property Group
Owner:Simon Property Group
Number Of Stores:92
Number Of Anchors:5
Floor Area:711918square feet
Floors:2 (only in Steinhafels)
Publictransit:Green Bay Metro

Bay Park Square is a shopping mall owned by Simon Property Group, in the Green Bay, Wisconsin suburb of Ashwaubenon, in the United States. The mall opened in 1980 under the ownership of DeBartolo Corporation. Bay Park Square is located one mile (1.6 km) away from Lambeau Field on South Oneida Street (County Trunk Highway AAA).

The mall's anchors are Kohl's, Dave & Buster's, Marcus Cinemas, Steinhafels and Hy-Vee.

The mall also has an American football stadium-themed food court, known as the "Supper Bowl".

History

Montgomery Ward announced plans for a new $10 million store and 700000square feet adjacent shopping mall in the town of Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin in 1969, which would replace their downtown Green Bay store.[1] The mall was originally intended to open in 1971. Montgomery Ward hired E.D. Pehrson Associates of Chicago as developer.[1] After delays, the Montgomery Ward store opened in 1972.[2]

After the project stalled again in the mid-1970s, the Edward J. DeBartolo Corp. was brought in by Montgomery Ward as the new developer.[3] By this time, the mall project was increased to 786000square feet.[3] In 1979, Shopko was announced as the second anchor store of the new mall.[3] Construction on the mall began in 1979, and the mall opened in 1980.

In 1981, the mall was expanded, adding an east wing and a Kohl's Department Store. The project added 94000square feet of space to the mall.[4]

In 1995, the mall underwent a major renovation, remodeling much of the interior of the mall.[5] A new west wing was added, which included a food court taking up the former Marcus Theatres space and a new 75000square feet Elder-Beerman department store as the fourth anchor, which replaced the mall's main entrance. The mall then added two new angled entrances, one that went through to the new food court, and another that went through to the mall walkway running parallel to the side of the new Elder-Beerman department store.[5] Marcus Theatres built a new 16-screen movie theater on an outlot of the mall behind ShopKo.[5] A 20000square feet addition was made to the Kohl's store at the same time.[5]

Simon Property Group acquired Bay Park Square when they merged with the mall's owners, the DeBartolo Corporation.[6]

Montgomery Ward closed in 2001. In 2003, the south wing was expanded and a new Younkers department store was built. Elder-Beerman closed in 2007 following their acquisition by Younkers' parent company, The Bon-Ton. A Younkers Furniture Gallery later replaced the Elder-Beerman store. Both stores closed in mid-2018 due to Bon-Ton's bankruptcy and the entire chain going out of business.[7] Shopko would meet the same fate on June 16, 2019, when the last of its stores, including the Bay Park Square store, closed (its corporate headquarters was located directly across from the mall and remains vacant).[8]

In 2019, a plan was announced to have Dave & Buster's occupy the former Younkers Furniture space. Panda Express, Blaze Pizza and Mission BBQ also announced plans to build in outlets on the mall property.[9]

Dave & Buster's opened in January 2021 after a delayed opening due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Panda Express opened in late 2020 in the parking lot of Dave & Buster's. Waukesha-based Steinhafels Furniture opened in the former Younkers space in early April 2022, with a portion of its southeast side subdivided into a future store space. Chick-fil-A opened its first northeastern Wisconsin location in the front of the mall near Dave & Busters in March 2022.[10] Supermarket chain Hy-Vee opened its largest store in the former Shopko space on November 8, 2022; it does not have an entrance in the actual mall. [11]

Bay Park Square anchors timeline
1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s
727374757677787980818283848586878889909192939495969798990001020304050607080910111213141516171819202122
Montgomery Ward(1972)Montgomery Ward closes (2001)vacantYounkers (2003)Younkers closes (2018)vacantSteinhafels Furniture (opening 2021)
ShopKo(1979)ShopKo closes (2019)vacantHy-Vee
Kohl's(1981)
Elder-Beerman (1995)Elder-Beerman closes, Younkers Furniture Gallery opens

(2007)

Younkers Furniture Gallery closes (2018)Dave & Buster's planned opening in 2019. Opening delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Dave & Buster's(2021)

Notes and References

  1. News: Ward plans $10 Million Mall in Ashwaubenon . Green Bay Press-Gazette . Harry Maier . December 18, 1969 . 1 .
  2. News: New Ward store will anchor major retail complex . Harry Maier . Green Bay Press-Gazette . 42 . March 26, 1972 .
  3. News: New Mall, Shopko Near Agreement . Karil Van Boxel . Green Bay Press-Gazette . 1 . March 6, 1979 .
  4. News: Cold doesn't stop commercial construction . Green Bay Press-Gazette . 52 . December 13, 1981 .
  5. News: Mall anchor announced . Tom Murphy . Green Bay Press-Gazette . 3 . October 14, 1994 .
  6. Web site: Kumer . Ken . SIMON, DEBARTOLO MALL PROPERTY GROUPS JOIN FORCES . djc.com . Seattle Daily Journal and djc.com . March 27, 1996 . October 8, 2007 .
  7. Web site: Bay Park Square Mall Younkers store to close.
  8. News: Shopko to close all stores by June. 18 March 2019. WBAY-TV. 23 July 2019.
  9. Web site: Boneske . Kevin . New restaurants locating at Bay Park Square . The Press Times . July 11, 2019 . 21 July 2019.
  10. News: Kloehn . Alexandria Bursiek . From Dave & Buster's to Chick-fil-A: A year of changes at Bay Park Square Mall Streetwise . 26 June 2021 . Green Bay Press-Gazette . 19 March 2021.
  11. Web site: Hy-Vee submits plans for Bay Park Square's former Shopko store WLUK.