The Shops at Willow Bend

The Shops at Willow Bend, sometimes referred to as Willow Bend Mall, is a shopping mall located in Plano, Texas, with over 125 stores and three anchor stores. The mall is located at the intersection of West Park Boulevard (Farm to Market Road 544) and Dallas North Tollway in West Plano.

The Shops at Willow Bend
Center court, January 2013
LocationPlano, Texas, United States
Opening dateAugust 3, 2001 (2001-08-03)[1]
DeveloperTaubman Centers
ManagementThe Woodmont Company
ArchitectJPRA Architect[2]
No. of stores and services150
No. of anchor tenants4
Total retail floor area1,391,000 sq ft (129,200 m2)[3]
No. of floors2 (3 in Macy's, Dillard's, and Neiman Marcus, 1 in Crate & Barrel and Restoration Hardware)
Websitewww.shopwillowbend.com

History

The mall first opened on August 3, 2001, with about 75% occupancy and four anchor stores.[4] It faced several challenges from the beginning. The luxury mall opened shortly before the September 11 attacks when nationwide retail sales slowed considerably. Stonebriar Centre previously opened less than a year before on August 4, 2000, just a few miles north in nearby Frisco.[5] Stonebriar was also considerably larger, offered more amenities and entertainment such as a movie theater and ice rink, and offered a wider selection of shops and restaurants with broad appeal. The collapse of the telecom corridor to the east of the centers trade area further hampered the malls performance.

Neiman Marcus Court

The mall was developed and originally managed by Taubman Centers, which was highly selective in accepting tenants. Despite being designed as a regional shopping center with over 1,500,000 square feet (140,000 m2) of space, management originally planned to limit the focus of Willow Bend shoppers to upscale luxury fashion that would appeal to an affluent female clientele. The four original anchor stores were Dillard's, Foley's, Lord & Taylor, and Neiman Marcus. The Lord & Taylor and Neiman Marcus stores were replacements for those at the since-demolished Prestonwood Town Center in north Dallas. Original tenants included several luxury shops such as Escada, Bruno Magli, Burberry, Armani Collezioni, Montblanc, Nicole Miller, Diesel, D&G, and Loro Piana among others, all of which were eventually closed and replaced with chain stores of somewhat broader appeal, including the Apple Store.

In 2004, Saks Fifth Avenue was added as a fifth anchor.[4] Later that year the total number of anchor stores dropped to four as Lord & Taylor closed its location, citing a weak and competitive regional marketplace.[4]

In 2006, Foley's was changed to Macy's. In 2010, the total number of anchor stores dropped to three with the closing of Saks Fifth Avenue.[6] In 2011, a Crate & Barrel opened in the vacant Lord & Taylor.

In 2014, the mall was sold as part of a 7 property package to Starwood Capital Group for approximately $1.4 billion.[7]

In 2015, it was announced the mall would undergo a $126 million makeover and renovation with the former Saks Fifth Avenue building being repurposed with internal and external facing restaurants and entertainment venues.[8]

However, since 2015, traffic dropped significantly, leading to a default on the $137.5 million loan when it matured in November 2019.[9]

In March 2018, the 60,000-square-foot Crayola Experience opened between Macy's and the food court.[10][11]

In April 2019, Apple Store closed and relocated to Galleria Dallas to help protect Apple from excessive patent litigation in the Eastern District of Texas.[12]

Current Anchor Tenants[13]

Former Anchor Tenants

See also

References
  1. Chapter 3: I Go to the Mall. I Get a Suit. Retrieved Nov 3, 2012.
  2. "The Shops At Willow Bend". Retrieved December 1, 2012.
  3. Taubman Centers: Willow Bend Archived 2007-01-01 at the Wayback Machine Leasing Information. Retrieved Feb 15, 2007.
  4. Halkias, Maria. "Saks to close Shops at Willow Bend store on Saturday". Dallas Morning News.
  5. Halkias, Maria (February 9, 2011). "Frisco's Stonebriar Centre getting a Michael Kors store and more". Dallas Morning News.
  6. "Saks Incorporated to Close Its Saks Fifth Avenue Stores in Plano, Texas and Mission Viejo, California" (Press release). Business Wire. August 17, 2010.
  7. Carlisle, Candace (June 18, 2014). "The Shops at Willow Bend in Plano sells to Starwood". American City Business Journals.
  8. "Plano's Shops at Willow Bend getting a $100 million redo: restaurants, luxury hotel, office tower and entertainment anchor". The Dallas Morning News. October 20, 2015.
  9. Halkias, Maria (March 13, 2020). "Plano's Shops at Willow Bend loan is in default". The Dallas Morning News.
  10. "New Crayola Experience Coming to Shops at Willow Bend in Plano". NBC News. June 13, 2017.
  11. "The Colorful Crayola Experience Opens in Plano". March 15, 2018. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  12. "Galleria Dallas Apple Store celebrates grand opening". April 13, 2019. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  13. "Mall Map". Retrieved November 4, 2012.

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