Cottonwood Mall (Utah) Explained

Cottonwood Mall
Location:Holladay, Utah, United States
Coordinates:40.663°N -111.837°W
Address:4835 Highland Drive
Opening Date:1962
Closing Date:2008
(demolished mid-2008)
Owner:The Howard Hughes Corporation
Number Of Anchors:1

Cottonwood Mall was an enclosed shopping mall in Holladay, Utah, a suburb of Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was the first large indoor shopping mall in the state.[1] It was built and owned until 1985 by Horman construction (Sydney Horman Sr. CEO), when it was sold to John Price and Associates, then sold again later to General Growth Properties.

History

The mall opened in 1962 with ZCMI, which became Meier & Frank in 2001[2] and Macy's in 2006. At the other end of the mall was a JCPenney. Other early tenants included an Albertsons supermarket[3] and Woolworth, which was the last operational store in the state in 1993.[4] The mall parking lot was used as a park and ride lot during the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Starting in the early 2000s, Cottonwood Mall suffered high vacancy rates. By 2004, the mall was approximately 25 percent vacant.[5]

Future

General Growth Properties first announced plans to redevelop the mall in July 2007.[6] A month later, the Holladay city council deemed the shopping mall blighted.[7] General Growth tore down the mall in mid-2008 as the beginning of redevelopment.[8] Original redevelopment plans called for a lifestyle center to be built around the existing Macy's store.[9]

A TGI Friday's restaurant in the parking lot closed in March 2009.[10] Redevelopment of the mall halted in 2009 when General Growth Properties filed for bankruptcy.[11]

GGP was reformed after the bankruptcy and split into two entities. The Howard Hughes Corporation, one of the entities, took over the redevelopment of the mall. In 2014, rumors surfaced that Smith's Food and Drug would be opening a location on the property with a tentative opening in late 2016.[12]

In 2017, Macy's announced that they would be closing the store located on the Cottonwood Mall property as part of a plan to restructure their U.S. operations. There are still several businesses located nearby and the area is still known as the Cottonwood or Cottonwood Creekside area.[13]

In 2023 a new development will be ready for occupancy. It will include a theater, retail, parking garages, multi-family residential, town homes, and single family homes.[14]

Notes and References

  1. News: Change is coming to Cottonwood Mall . Rosemary Winters . . 23 May 2008 . 29 October 2010.
  2. Web site: Meier & Frank Take Over, Make Over ZCMI . https://web.archive.org/web/20121105012939/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-79857475.html . dead . 5 November 2012 . Janice Leavitt Voorhies . 1 October 2001 . Utah Business . 29 October 2010.
  3. News: Seventh season for mall. 11 September 1968. The Deseret News. 4 February 2012.
  4. News: COTTONWOOD MALL MAY HOUSE LAST UTAH WOOLWORTH. 15 October 1993. Salt Lake Tribune. 4 February 2012.
  5. News: No sale, mall owners insist . Lesley Mitchell . The Salt Lake Tribune . 8 July 2004 . 29 October 2010.
  6. News: Plans announced for Cottonwood Mall project . Catherine Smith . . 5 July 2007 . 29 October 2010.
  7. News: Cottonwood Mall overhaul takes big step forward . Cathy McKitrick . The Salt Lake Tribune . 3 August 2007 . 29 October 2010.
  8. Web site: Cottonwood Mall causes problems for nearby businesses . ABC 4 News . 23 March 2009 . 29 October 2010.
  9. News: Cottonwood Mall developer nearly bankrupt? . The Salt Lake Tribune . 12 December 2008 . 29 October 2010.
  10. Web site: TGI Friday's closes after Cottonwood Mall demolished . ABC 4 News . 28 March 2009 . 29 October 2010.
  11. Web site: Bankruptcy stalls building of Cottonwood mall . ABC 4 News . 16 April 2009 . 29 October 2010.
  12. http://www.cityofholladay.com/img/File/Mall%20April%202011%20update.pdf/ April 2011 Mall Update
  13. Web site: Lee. Jason. 4 Utah stores among Macy's, Kmart closures. KSL.com. 5 January 2017.
  14. Web site: Holladay Hills Info .