Opening date 1978 Developer RMF Group | Closing date February 29, 2012 Owner INH Properties | |
Location Plymouth, Minnesota, US Address 4108 Lancaster Lane North | ||
Four Seasons Mall was an enclosed shopping mall in Plymouth, Minnesota, a suburb of the Twin Cities. Four Seasons Mall once comprised 117,000 square feet (11,000 m2) of retail space with approximately 26 storefronts. The mall opened in 1978 and the last tenant closed in the center on February 29, 2012. The site currently sits completely vacant and is considered a dead mall.
Contents
Over the years, Four Seasons Mall was home to several regional chains, including various restaurants and small businesses. Although the mall currently still stands vacant in Plymouth, several redevelopment and demolition plans exist for the mall. Despite its closure, several events periodically take place at the mall, such as arts, crafts shows, and pet Olympics.
History
Opening in 1978, Four Seasons Mall became a popular attraction for the residents of Plymouth, Minnesota. The mall was built atop 22 acres of land; however, the land was surrounded by wetlands and not zoned for a large scale shopping center. The shopping center was developed by the RMF Group, who had helped construct other shopping centers, like nearby Brookdale Center. Following the mall's decline, Walmart expressed interest in the site for the construction of a new store. Contractors for Walmart studied the mall's site and created "a variety of plans and guidelines for the site". Surveyors found the land suitable for a 240,000 square feet (22,000 m2) Walmart Supercenter, but Plymouth city officials were displeased with the idea of a big-box retailer opening in their community. Walmart later agreed on constructing a significantly smaller 87,000 square feet (8,100 m2) location, which was still rejected by the city.
Throughout the 2000s and 2010s, several projects went underway to improve the city water available to the tenants of Four Seasons Mall. Nearby Northwood Lake was included in the projects; as several channels between the lake and the mall had eroded. The channels affected in the projects provided water to nearly 285 acres of land in Plymouth. Several initiatives such as ponding, stream restoration, and flow restriction were considered to improve the quality of the water. In mid 2015, all of the improvement projects were finalized following two years of channel work.
Closure
Despite regularly hosting several arts and crafts shows throughout the years, the mall's vacancy rates steadily increased annually, which prompted the mall's independent owners to place the facilities up for sale. On November 30, 2010, Walmart purchased the entire mall for $10.6 million. Two years after Walmart's purchase of the land, the mall's final tenant, Marcello's Pizza, was forced to close up their 28-year-old location. Lisa Pieper, one of the owners of Marcello's, stated that they "had no choice but to close" after Walmart refused to renew their tenant's lease. Among the mall's final tenants included Marcello's, Curves International, and a family-owned Asian restaurant.
In January 2015, the plans for construction of a Walmart Supercenter fell through when Walmart announced the shopping center's resale. Plymouth city council member Ginny Black called Walmart's decision "disappoint[ing]" and "overwhelming". When the mall's resale occurred in 2015, the entire site was purchased by INH Properties. Various concepts and plans for the site's redevelopment have been created by the City of Plymouth; most of the plans created were inspired by lifestyle centers, with retail and residential space. However, residents of Plymouth are still "overwhelmingly opposed" to the deconstruction of Four Seasons Mall.