| Manhattan Town Center | |
| Address: | 100 Manhattan Town Center Manhattan, Kansas 66502 |
| Opening Date: | October 26, 1987 |
| Developer: | Forest City Enterprises |
| Manager: | CBRE Group |
| Owner: | RockStep Capital |
| Number Of Stores: | 60+ |
| Number Of Anchors: | 3 |
| Floor Area: | 378480square feet[1] |
| Floors: | 1 |
| Publictransit: | ATA Bus |
Manhattan Town Center is a single-level enclosed shopping mall located in downtown Manhattan, Kansas. Opened in 1987, it has three anchors: Dillard's, JCPenney, and the AMC Dine-In Manhattan 13 IMAX movie theater.
On November 15, 2023, the mall was acquired by RockStep Capital.[2]
Early proposals for an enclosed shopping center in Manhattan date back to 1971, when Topeka developer John Haley revealed plans to construct a mall on the southwest edge of Manhattan at the intersection of K-113 and K-18[3] that would come to be known as the Landmark Mall.[4] Haley encountered pushback from city officials, and the project ultimately failed to materialize. The proposed site of the Landmark Mall was eventually developed as the Seth Child Commons open-air strip center, anchored by Target, in the early 2000s. Meanwhile, the Manhattan City Commission at least acknowledged the possibility of a major shopping mall located downtown when it decided to condemn and demolish a half-block of buildings and replace them with off-street parking.[5]
Manhattan Town Center's Dillard's store opened on October 7, 1987[6] followed by the remainder of the mall, including the second anchor, JCPenney, on October 26, 1987.[7] The third anchor, Sears, was later added to the south end of the mall and opened on September 17, 1990.[8] In 2014, Sears closed amidst the company's widespread financial struggles.[9] The vacant Sears store was demolished and replaced by the Carmike Cinemas Town Center 13 movie theater (with 12 regular screens and one IMAX), which opened in December 2016.[10] It was subsequently renamed following AMC Theatres' acquisition of Carmike.
As of September 2020, Manhattan Town Center's retail tenants include original anchors Dillard's (73,000 sq. ft.) and JCPenney (49,691 sq. ft.)[11] as well as other national retailers including American Eagle Outfitters, Books-A-Million, Buckle, Famous Footwear, Hot Topic, Kay Jewelers, Maurices, Victoria's Secret, and Ulta Beauty. In February 2019, mall officials announced that H&M planned to open an 18,000 sq. ft. store in the mall, the chain's first Kansas location outside of the Kansas City or Wichita areas.[12] The mall property also includes four full-service restaurants: HuHot Mongolian Grill, Applebee's, Chili's, and Texas Roadhouse. In addition to retail, the mall also hosts various community functions including Manhattan High School's prom.[13]