Westfield Montgomery is an upscale shopping complex in Bethesda, Maryland

Bethesda, Maryland

Bethesda is a census designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House , which in turn took its name from Jerusalem's Pool of Bethesda...

, on Democracy Boulevard near Interstate 270

Interstate 270 (Maryland)

Interstate 270 is a auxiliary Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of Maryland that travels between Interstate 495 just north of Bethesda, Montgomery County and Interstate 70 in the city of Frederick in Frederick County. It consists of the mainline as well as a spur that provides access to and...

 and the Capital Beltway

Interstate 495 (Capital Beltway)

Interstate 495 is a Interstate Highway that surrounds the United States' capital of Washington, D.C., and its inner suburbs in adjacent Maryland and Virginia. I-495 is widely known as the Capital Beltway or simply the Beltway, especially when the context of Washington, D.C., is clear...

 (I-495).

History

The mall opened in March 1968, with three anchor stores and 58 smaller shops. It was built by May Company and the Strouse Greenberg Company, and designed by John Graham, Jr. and Ward and Hall. The mall included a "Georgetown Row" in which a number of shops featured colonial facades. The original anchors were Hecht's

Hecht's

Hecht's, also known as Hecht Brothers, Hecht Bros. and the Hecht Company, was a large chain of department stores located mainly in the mid-Atlantic and southern region of the United States....

, Garfinckel's

Garfinckel's

Garfinckel's was a prominent department store chain based in Washington, D.C., that catered to a clientele of wealthy consumers. It declared Chapter 11, in June 1990, and ceased operations in 1990.-History:...

, and Sears. Smaller shops included a Bond Stores outlet. The old mall logo was an owl-shaped "M". A mid-1970s expansion included a $4.5 million, 155000 square feet (14,400 m²) Woodward & Lothrop

Woodward & Lothrop

Woodward & Lothrop was a department store chain headquartered in Washington, D.C. Woodward & Lothrop was Washington, D.C.'s first department store, opening in 1887. Woodies, as it was often nicknamed, maintained stores in the Mid-Atlantic United States...

 store and 60000 square feet (5,574.2 m²) of additional retail space for 40 stores. The most recent renovation, including the addition of the first Nordstrom

Nordstrom

Nordstrom, Inc. is an upscale department store chain in the United States, founded by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin. Initially a shoe retailer, the company today also sells clothing, accessories, handbags, jewelry, cosmetics, fragrances, and in some locations, home furnishings...

 in Maryland and the third in the DC metro region, and Crate & Barrel, was completed in October 1991. The large center fountain had been replaced with small water sculpture, which has also been replaced, leaving the mall with no water features.

The Westfield Group purchased the mall in 1994, and added the "Westfield" prefix to the name around 1999.

Expansion plans

A plan to expand the mall by 360000 square feet (33,445.1 m²) was approved by Montgomery County in September 2007. With the expansion, Westfield Montgomery will have more than 1500000 square feet (139,354.6 m²), the fourth largest mall in the Washington area behind Tysons Corner Center

Tysons Corner Center

Tysons Corner Center, located in the Tysons Corner unincorporated area in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States , opened to the public in 1968, becoming one of the first fully enclosed, climate-controlled shopping centers in the Washington Metropolitan Area...

, Springfield Mall

Springfield Mall (Virginia)

Springfield Mall is an enclosed shopping mall in Springfield, Virginia, located at the intersection of Interstate 95 and Franconia Road which is part of the Springfield Interchange. The mall is also located 1/4 mile north of Franconia-Springfield Parkway and the Franconia-Springfield metro station...

 and Fair Oaks Mall

Fair Oaks Mall

Fair Oaks Mall is an enclosed shopping mall just outside the City of Fairfax, Virginia. It is located at the intersection of Interstate 66 and U.S. Route 50. The mall has a Gross leasable area of ....

.

Westfield will enlarge the Macy's, move the Sears Automotive Center and add a promenade with shops, restaurants and outdoor seating. The expansion will also include a new transit center, which will consolidate many of the public bus routes in the surrounding area.

The mall's expansion is on hold until at least 2011. Once the developer breaks ground, the expansion is expected to take 18 to 24 months to complete.

External links

• Westfield Montgomery
• Westfield Montgomery Leasing Information, The Westfield Group