Westroads Mall
Encyclopedia
Westroads Mall is an enclosed shopping mall
with over 135 stores located in Omaha, Nebraska
at the intersection of 100th and Dodge Streets. It is the largest mall in the state of Nebraska, with 14.5 million customer visits annually.
Designed by real estate developer John Wiebe, Westroads cost $25 million to build, including $15 million for store inventories & fixtures. It opened to the public on August 1, 1968. It originally opened with 68 tenants, later expanding to approximately 120 at the end of its first full year. During the mall's early years, it was home to a chapel as well as a heliport on the roof. In the 1970's, a dinner theatre occupied much of the mall's lower level. Prudential Insurance Co. purchased the mall from Wiebe for $45 Million in 1977. In 1997, General Growth Properties bought the mall from Prudential. Today, the mall is owned by both General Growth Properties
(51% share) and Canadian
property development company Ivanhoe Cambridge
(49% share); it continues to be managed by General Growth Properties on behalf of the venture.
The mall has been renovated several times: in 1990, 1995, 1999 and 2003. Westroads is Nebraska's largest shopping mall with a gross leasable area
of 1.2 million square feet.
The lower level is now a family entertainment center, Tilt, complete with an arcade and indoor miniature golf course.
called the AMC
Westroads 8 until December 1997 when AMC opened the Oak View Plaza 24 Theaters near Oak View Mall
. However, in mid 2008 a new 14 screen multiplex operated by Rave Motion Pictures
opened in the site of the former Younkers.
anchor store with a rifle and began firing. One report indicated that at least 25 rounds had been fired. Nine people were killed (including the gunman), and five people injured, all within Von Maur. Westroads Security responded quickly and safely. The mall reopened on December 8, 2007, while anchor store Von Maur reopened December 20, 2007.
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
with over 135 stores located in Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
at the intersection of 100th and Dodge Streets. It is the largest mall in the state of Nebraska, with 14.5 million customer visits annually.
Designed by real estate developer John Wiebe, Westroads cost $25 million to build, including $15 million for store inventories & fixtures. It opened to the public on August 1, 1968. It originally opened with 68 tenants, later expanding to approximately 120 at the end of its first full year. During the mall's early years, it was home to a chapel as well as a heliport on the roof. In the 1970's, a dinner theatre occupied much of the mall's lower level. Prudential Insurance Co. purchased the mall from Wiebe for $45 Million in 1977. In 1997, General Growth Properties bought the mall from Prudential. Today, the mall is owned by both General Growth Properties
General Growth Properties
General Growth Properties, Inc. is a publicly traded real estate investment trust in the United States. It is based in Chicago, Illinois at 110 North Wacker Drive, a historic building designed by architectural firm Graham, Anderson, Probst & White...
(51% share) and Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
property development company Ivanhoe Cambridge
Ivanhoe Cambridge
Ivanhoe Cambridge is a property management and development company that formed from the merger of two former companies, Ivanhoe and Cambridge, in 2001.-Ivanhoe Corporation:...
(49% share); it continues to be managed by General Growth Properties on behalf of the venture.
The mall has been renovated several times: in 1990, 1995, 1999 and 2003. Westroads is Nebraska's largest shopping mall with a gross leasable area
Gross leasable area
Gross leasable area in the retail development industry is a term applied to shopping malls, lifestyle centers, outlet malls and other retail centers to indicate the amount of floor space available to be rented...
of 1.2 million square feet.
The lower level is now a family entertainment center, Tilt, complete with an arcade and indoor miniature golf course.
Anchors
Mall anchors include:- Dick's Sporting GoodsDick's Sporting GoodsDick's Sporting Goods, Inc. , or Dick's, is a Fortune 500 American corporation in the sporting goods and retail industries.The company's headquarters are on the grounds of Pittsburgh International Airport in Findlay Township near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Dick's has 451 stores in 42 states as of...
opened 2001 - JCPenney opened 1974
- Von MaurVon MaurVon Maur is an mid-range specialty department store chain with stores located in the Midwestern United States and newly expansion stores in the Southern United States. The chain, based in Davenport, Iowa, sells mid-priced brand-name apparel, accessories, cosmetics, gifts, jewelry and shoes. As of...
opened 1995 - YounkersYounkersYounkers is an American department store chain founded as a family-run dry goods business in 1856 in Keokuk, Iowa. The retailer has since evolved over more than 150 years to include a presence in locations throughout Iowa and surrounding states in the Midwest region of the United States...
(in former Jones Store) opened 2003 - Rave Motion PicturesRave Motion PicturesRave Cinemas, formerly known as "Rave Motion Pictures," often called Rave and owned by Rave Cinemas, LLC, is a movie theater brand founded in 1999. It is formerly headed by Thomas W. Stephenson, Jr., former CEO of Hollywood Theaters, and currently headed by Rolando B. Rodriguez, former Vice...
(previously Younkers) opened mid-2008
Former Anchors
- BrandeisJ. L. Brandeis and Sons StoreJ.L. Brandeis & Sons, commonly referred to by Midwesterners as Brandeis, was a chain of department stores located in the Omaha, Nebraska area started by Jonas L. Brandeis in 1881. It was purchased by Younkers for $33.9 million in 1987, when the stores were converted to the Younkers...
(closed 1984, later Younkers, now Rave Motion Pictures) - Montgomery WardMontgomery WardMontgomery Ward is an online retailer that carries the same name as the former American department store chain, founded as the world's #1 mail order business in 1872 by Aaron Montgomery Ward, and which went out of business in 2001...
(closed 2001, then The Jones Store, now Younkers) - The Jones StoreThe Jones StoreThe Jones Store Company was an American chain of department stores located in the Kansas City area formerly operated by Mercantile Stores Company and the St. Louis, Missouri-based May Co.-History:...
(closed 2006, now Younkers)
Movie Theaters
The first theater in the mall was the Fox Theater. Originally a single screen theater, it was converted to dual screen in 1976. It is now closed. The mall was also home to a small multiplexMultiplex (movie theater)
A multiplex is a movie theater complex with multiple screens, typically three or more. They are usually housed in a specially designed building. Sometimes, an existing venue undergoes a renovation where the existing auditoriums are split into smaller ones, or more auditoriums are added in an...
called the AMC
AMC Theatres
AMC Theatres , officially known as AMC Entertainment, Inc., is the second largest movie theater chain in North America with 5,325 screens, second only to Regal Entertainment Group, and one of the United States's four national cinema chains AMC Theatres (American Multi-Cinema), officially known as...
Westroads 8 until December 1997 when AMC opened the Oak View Plaza 24 Theaters near Oak View Mall
Oak View Mall
Oak View Mall is an enclosed shopping mall located at 3001 South 144th Street in West Omaha, Nebraska. There are 104 tenant spots on two floors of this regional mall, which was built in 1991. The mall receives more than 12,000,000 visitors annually, and features a "Kids Coliseum" play area...
. However, in mid 2008 a new 14 screen multiplex operated by Rave Motion Pictures
Rave Motion Pictures
Rave Cinemas, formerly known as "Rave Motion Pictures," often called Rave and owned by Rave Cinemas, LLC, is a movie theater brand founded in 1999. It is formerly headed by Thomas W. Stephenson, Jr., former CEO of Hollywood Theaters, and currently headed by Rolando B. Rodriguez, former Vice...
opened in the site of the former Younkers.
Shooting
On December 5, 2007, a man later identified as Robert A. Hawkins entered the Von MaurVon Maur
Von Maur is an mid-range specialty department store chain with stores located in the Midwestern United States and newly expansion stores in the Southern United States. The chain, based in Davenport, Iowa, sells mid-priced brand-name apparel, accessories, cosmetics, gifts, jewelry and shoes. As of...
anchor store with a rifle and began firing. One report indicated that at least 25 rounds had been fired. Nine people were killed (including the gunman), and five people injured, all within Von Maur. Westroads Security responded quickly and safely. The mall reopened on December 8, 2007, while anchor store Von Maur reopened December 20, 2007.