West Town Mall Explained
| West Town Mall |
| Opening Date: | August 1972 |
| Manager: | Simon Property Group |
| Owner: | Simon Property Group (50%) |
| Number Of Stores: | 138 |
| Floor Area: | 1341519square feet
(GLA) |
| Floors: | 1 plus 2nd floor access to Regal Cinebarre (2 in anchors except Belk Women) |
West Town Mall is a shopping mall located in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. Opened in August 1972, this one-level mall is located in the western portion of Knoxville in the West Hills community. West Town Mall is located along Interstates 40/75 and Kingston Pike. The mall has 1339000square feet of gross leasable area, making it the largest of any enclosed shopping mall in Tennessee.[1] The anchor stores are Dillard's, Dick's House of Sport, 2 Belk stores, JCPenney, and Cinebarre.
There is a food court in the center of the mall. This was the original location of a junior anchor Frankenbergers Department Store. This food court was the first mall location for Knoxville-based Petro's Chili & Chips.[2]
On October 15, 2018, it was announced that Sears would be closing as part of a plan to close 142 stores nationwide. The store closed on January 6, 2019,[3] and demolition began on January 9, 2020[4] Subsequent to the demolition, it was replaced by Dick's House of Sport, a new concept by Dick's Sporting Goods.[5]
Movie theaters
In 1998, Knoxville based Regal Entertainment Group opened a Funscape entertainment complex in the mall.[6] In 2018, the Regal Cinemas was rebranded to Cinebarre.
Anchors
- JCPenney (current location) (opened in 1994 as part of an expansion)
- Dillard's (opened in 1972 as Miller's, became Hess's in 1987 and closed in 1992 and expanded and became Dillard's in 1993)
- Belk (opened in 1972 as Proffitt's, expanded in 1995 and became Belk in 2006)
- Belk Men's, Children's and Home (opened in 1994 as Parisian in a pad originally slated to be Parks-Belk as part of an expansion, became Belk Men's, Children's and Home in 2007)
- Dick's House of Sport (opened in 1972 as Sears, demolished in 2020 and then rebuilt as Dick's House of Sport which opened in 2020 as well.
Former anchors
- JCPenney (original location) (opened in 1972, relocated in 1994, lower level became more mall space, while the upper level became Regal Cinemas in 1998, became Cinebarre in 2018)
- Frankenbergers (now the food court)
- Sears (opened in 1972, closed in 2019, demolished in 2020)
External links
35.925°N -84.0372°W
Notes and References
- http://www.simon.com/mall/LeasingSheet%5CWest_Town.pdf Factual Information on West Town Mall
- http://www.petros.com/1.22/html/h_history.htm Petro's moves to malls after the World's Fair
- News: Sears store closing list: 142 more Sears, Kmart locations closing in Chapter 11 bankruptcy. USA Today. October 15, 2018. Nathan. Bomey . Kelly. Tyko.
- News: Demolition begins on West Town Mall's empty Sears building. Knoxville News Sentinel. January 9, 2020. Brenna. McDermott.
- Web site: Page Not Found - Simon Shopping Centers . 2024-01-23 . business.simon.com.
- http://weeklywire.com/ww/12-14-98/knox_cover.html Deconstructing the Mall
