Towne East Square

Towne East Square is an enclosed, two-story shopping mall located in the eastern section[1] of Wichita, Kansas United States. It has 122 stores and restaurants in 1,145,360 square feet (106,407.4 m2) of gross leasable area.[2] Dillard's, JCPenney, and Von Maur (opened in 2002 on the site of original anchor Henry's, which closed in 1992 and demolished in 2000), and Round One Entertainment are the mall's anchor stores.[3] In Summer 2019, a Round 1 Entertainment complex is expected to be in the former J.M. McDonald/Service Merchandise/Stein Mart/Steve & Barry's/New Mattress Hub/Wright Career College/Glow Golf space.[4] It was later confirmed that the Round 1 Entertainment Complex was slated to open in 2020.[5] Round One Entertainment was originally gonna open on July 1, 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the store officially opened on July 18, 2020.[6] On December 28, 2018, it was announced that Sears would be closing as part of a plan to close 80 stores nationwide. The store closed in March 2019.[7]

Towne East Square
Address7700 East Kellogg Drive
Wichita, Kansas 67207
Opening dateAugust 14, 1975
DeveloperMelvin Simon & Associates
ManagementSimon Property Group
OwnerSimon Property Group
No. of stores and services122
No. of anchor tenants5 (4 open, 1 vacant)
Total retail floor area1,145,360 sq ft (106,407 m2)
No. of floors2
ParkingParking lot
WebsiteOfficial Website

Overview

The area around the mall was changed heavily in recent years as several businesses and hotels were demolished for the expansion and addition of a flyover on Highways 54/400 (Locally signed Kellogg). Simon has purchased much of the vacated land for redevelopment.[8]

History

1970s, Planning, and Opening

The mall was first planned in 1972 as Kellogg Mall, but was later changed into Towne East Square, Construction began in 1973,[9] and officially opened On August 14, 1975[10] and was the first large, modern, multi-level enclosed mall in Wichita. The original Anchors were JCPenney, Dillard's, Henry's, Sears, and J.M. McDonald.

1980s

J.M. McDonald Liquidated in 1983 as Part of Parent company Wickles filing for Bankruptcy, and was replaced by Service Merchandise around the Mid-80s.[11]

1990s, Closure of Henry's and Service Merchandise, Opening of Stein Mart

In 1992, Henry's closed, and sat abandoned for a While. It stayed abandoned until 2000, when It was demolished for Von Maur, which would later open in 2002. Meanwhile, Service Merchandise closed in 1998 due to low sales,[12] and was Taken Up by Stein Mart in 1999.[13]

2000s, Big Changes

Stein Mart Had financial troubles, and closed in 2002. The store was later Bought by Steve & Barry's around the Mid 2000s, and Liquidated in Late 2008, following Steve and Barry's Bankruptcy.[14] In Late 2008, Towne East Square received a Renovation to give it a More of a Upscale Look, Including Escalator Movements.[15] In Summer of 2009, Mattress Hub expanded their store at the Mall into the Former Steve and Barry's space,[16] and Moved in Mid-2010 for Wright Career College that opened in 2011.[17]

2010s

Wright Career College Later went bankrupt on April 16, 2016,[18] and Glow Golf Later replaced Wright Career College on April 29, 2017 after moving from Reflection Ridge Plaza at the west side of Wichita. In 2018, Sears announced they would be closing 80 stores, including this one, which would Close in March 2019. Glow Golf Wichita then announced on Facebook that they would Be Closing due to Mall Management forcing Glow Golf to close due to Lack of advertising. Round1 later took up the Space on July 18, 2020.

References
  1. Address of the mall's offices is 7700 East Kellogg Drive.
  2. "Towne East Square". International Council of Shopping Centers. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011.
  3. https://www.simon.com/mall/towne-east-square/stores?type=products&id=41. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. https://www-1.kansas.com/news/business/biz-columns-blogs/carrie-rengers/article233535097.html
  5. "Towne East Square confirms new Round 1 entertainment complex to open in 2020". 2019.
  6. https://www.kansas.com/entertainment/restaurants/dining-with-denise-neil/article244079747.html. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. Thomas, Lauren (2018-12-28). "Sears is closing 80 more stores in March, faces possible liquidation". CNBC. Retrieved 2018-12-28.
  8. http://www.kansas.com/2011/04/02/1789825/towne-east-squares-owners-to-repurchase.html
  9. http://www.wichitaphotos.org/searchresults.asp?yr=1970s. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  10. "Malls of America - Vintage photos of lost Shopping Malls of the '50s, '60s & '70s".
  11. "(In The Comments)".
  12. https://www.bizjournals.com/wichita/stories/1998/12/14/daily6.html. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  13. https://www.bizjournals.com/wichita/stories/1999/08/02/story3.html. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  14. https://www.bizjournals.com/wichita/stories/2008/11/17/daily40.html. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  15. https://law-co.com/2008/05/01/towne-east-to-undergo-multi-million-dollar-renovation/. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  16. https://www.kansas.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/article1007289.html. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  17. https://www.bizjournals.com/wichita/blog/2011/04/wright-career-college-opens-wichita.html. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  18. https://www.kansas.com/article72006587.html. Missing or empty |title= (help)

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