| Westfield Southcenter | |
| Location: | Tukwila, Washington, U.S. |
| Owner: | Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield |
| Number Of Stores: | 218 |
| Number Of Anchors: | 4 |
| Floor Area: | 1682961square feet[1] |
| Floors: | 3 (4 in JCPenney and Macy's) |
| Parking: | 7,143 |
| Coordinates: | 47.459°N -122.258°W |
Westfield Southcenter, formerly known as Southcenter Mall, is a shopping mall located in Tukwila, Washington, United States. Owned by Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, it is the largest shopping center in Washington state and the Pacific Northwest.[2] The mall is anchored by Macy's (formerly The Bon Marché), JCPenney, Nordstrom, and Sears (formerly Frederick & Nelson), and also features an AMC movie theater, which opened in 2008. The mall's Sears is among the last stores in the United States.
In early 1956, three officials from Seattle's Northgate Shopping Center - James Douglas, president of Northgate Co., Wells McCurdy, Douglas' assistant, and Rex Allison, the vice president of Allied Department Stores - formed the Southcenter Corporation as a subsidiary of Allied. Their goal was to eventually build a large shopping center south of downtown Seattle that would match the success of their own Northgate and they began to search for a site, preferably of at least 100 acres.[3] The site they chose was part of what was known as the Andover Tract, an 800acres area of former pasture land being developed by the Port of Seattle for industrial use. In anticipation of the developments, the entire area (947 acres; 383 ha) was annexed by the city of Tukwila in November 1957.[4] Southcenter Corporation strategically purchased 160acres at what would eventually become the intersection of two major freeways, the Seattle-Tacoma Freeway (I-5) and I-405. The construction schedule of the mall was dependent on the construction of the freeways.[5]
Excavation at the site began in early 1967, and construction of the $30 million shopping center began in the summer of that year. John Graham & Company, a Seattle firm that also designed the original Northgate and Tacoma Malls, was announced as the architect for the project. Even with four labor strikes slowing work down, construction was largely completed by May 1968; work on the interior continued until the day before the mall's opening. In total, 25 main contractors and 50 subcontractors were involved in the construction. The concrete terrazzo floors of the mall, which were a last-minute addition, were said to be the largest in area (85,000 square feet) in the entire Puget Sound region. 500 cubic yards of sand, 3,000 100-pound sacks of gray cement, 3,000 100-pound (45 kg) sacks of white cement and 5,000 100-pound (45 kg) sacks of brown marble chips were required to make the cement-like mixture for the floors. The floors were also fitted with 30000feet of zinc divider strips.[6]
The grand opening was held on July 31, 1968, at 11 a.m., with then-governor Dan Evans as the key speaker. At 1400000square feet with 92 stores and 3,600 employees, it was the largest shopping mall in the region.[7]
In early 2002, the mall was purchased by the Westfield Group and renamed "Westfield Southcenter".[8] On May 11, 2006, Westfield broke ground on a $240 million expansion,[9] which increased its area by 400000square feet.
On July 22, 2010, Seafood City opened in the former Mervyn's space, and in 2014 The Container Store opened in the former Borders Books space. That same year the Westfield Group split its assets, with malls in North America and Europe being moved into the Westfield Corporation. In 2015, it was announced that the Rainforest Cafe would close in January 2016. It was replaced by a Chinese restaurant, Din Tai Fung, which opened in April 2017.
In December 2017, Westfield Corporation was purchased by the European shopping center giant Unibail-Rodamco, which appended its name to Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield. Its properties in North America and Europe were unified under the Westfield brand.[10] An expansion with larger stores for Lululemon and The North Face as well as a "restaurant row" is planned to open in 2023 and 2024.[11]