Location Phoenix, Arizona, USA Opening date 1978 Owner Macerich | Address 4568 E Cactus Rd. Management Macerich No. of stores and services 160 | |
Paradise Valley Mall is a shopping mall located in Paradise Valley Village, within northeastern Phoenix, Arizona.
Contents
Despite having the same name as the town of Paradise Valley it is one mile to the north of that community, in one of the Urban Village of Phoenix, named Paradise Valley Village. The urban village of Phoenix containing this mall as well as several other major facilities (Paradise Valley Community College, Paradise Valley High School, Paradise Valley Hospital, Paradise Valley Golf Course, Paradise Valley Park, etc.) is casually called Paradise Valley, like the nearby independent town.
The mall is surrounded by a circular street named Paradise Village Parkway and this design was inspired by the circulator streets (Metrocenter Parkway) around Metrocenter mall which was also developed by Westcor in the years prior (1970–73).
History
The mall opened in 1978 and is the hub of a master planned community called Paradise Valley Village. The entire project was developed by Westcor, the leading shopping center developer in Arizona, which is now a unit of The Macerich Company. Dayton Hudson Corporation, now Target Corporation, was an early investor in the project and owned the Diamonds department store chain, which was one of the original anchor tenants. A carousel was installed in 1998.
Originally owned by Westcor, in 2002 Paradise Valley Mall became part of The Macerich Company’s portfolio.
Development
Paradise Valley Mall is just west of Scottsdale. Much of the area's original development was spurred by that community, although the demographics of Paradise Valley Village have moderated somewhat over the years to be less upscale and more middle-class. During the 1980s and 1990s, new extensions were constructed, and shopping centers also opened on the ring roads. Paradise Valley Mall has a large park-and-ride stop for Valley Metro buses. An elevated rail station, as part of the 1989 ValTrans proposal, had been slated for construction here, but the referendum was voted down.
Since the late 1990s, higher income shoppers became more inclined to shop at newer facilities such as Kierland Commons and the Scottsdale Road/Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard corridor, which features power centers that cater to upscale shoppers. This has caused Paradise Valley Mall retailers such as Macy's to carry fewer high-end name brand goods and sell items more in line with a middle-income customer base.
The owners also added improvements in 2001 intended to attract teenagers and young families, a move made necessary by it being the oldest mall in the area. Despite this decline, the mall remains very middle-class and has not yet declined to anywhere near the level of Desert Sky Mall, Fiesta Mall, or Metrocenter Mall. Today Paradise Valley Mall is several times its original size, with a gross leasable area of 1,222,353 square feet (113,560.3 m2). The surrounding complex of stores has become a major regional retail center in Phoenix, drawing shoppers from all parts of the metropolitan area.
Future plans
Currently, most visitors arrive by car, but there are plans to extend the Valley Metro Rail to serve Paradise Valley Mall and other parts of the northeastern areas. Such improvements are not part of the current development phase and are not expected until the 2030s. Long-term plans include the construction of Valley Metro Rail powered by Overhead lines further north along Tatum Boulevard as well as frequent "supergrid" bus service. Plans for Northeast Phoenix in 2034, and Arizona State University's West campus in 2044.
Tenants
Major retailers include Dillard's, JC Penney, Macy's (formerly Robinsons-May and originally Goldwater's), formerly occupied in a 180,000 sq ft (17,000 m2). building which was previously The Broadway (This was the last store built by Carter Hawley prior to the chain being acquired by Macys in 1996) before relocating into the Robinsons-May building), and Sears. The Dillard's store began as Diamonds ( In the current Sears store location), a regional department store chain owned at the time by Dayton Hudson as mentioned above; as part of its own expansion into the Southwest, Arkansas-based Dillards acquired the Diamonds chain in 1984. Numerous smaller tenants exist which are mostly clothing and gift shops. Some of the oldest independent shops still there include Knight Gallery (a tobacco and collectables store) and The Indian Market (Native-themed art and gifts). Across Tatum Boulevard is Sammy B's Pizza, another established fixture in the area.
The building that originally housed Macy's was leveled along with a few surrounding stores and a Costco opened in its place in 2009. In the late 1990s, Harkins Theaters closed the mall's theater location. The theater sat vacant for nearly a decade with Claire's using the original entrance as store space. In 2010 Picture Show Theaters renovated and installed stadium seating along with state-of-the-art digital projectors in the former theater.
Classrooms for Rio Salado Community College are located within the mall.