Southdale Center
View of the center court prior to 2012 renovation
LocationEdina, Minnesota, U.S.
Coordinates44°52′50″N 93°19′34″W / 44.88056°N 93.32611°W / 44.88056; -93.32611
Address6901 France Avenue South
Opening dateOctober 8, 1956 (October 8, 1956)
DeveloperDayton Company (now Target Corporation)
ManagementSimon Property Group
OwnerSimon Property Group
ArchitectVictor Gruen Associates
No. of stores and services111[1]
No. of anchor tenants5 (4 open, 1 vacant)
Total retail floor area1,297,608 square feet (120,551.7 m2; 29.7890 acres; 12.05517 ha)[2]
No. of floors4
Public transit accessBus transport Metro Transit: 6, 515, 537, 538, 578
Bus transport MVTA: 498
Bus transport SouthWest Transit: 600
WebsiteOfficial website

Southdale Center is a shopping mall located in Edina, Minnesota, a suburb of the Twin Cities. It opened in 1956 and is both the first[3] and the oldest fully enclosed, climate-controlled[4] shopping mall in the United States.[5] Southdale Center has 1,297,608 square feet (120,551.7 m2; 29.7890 acres; 12.05517 ha) of leasable retail space, and contains 106 retail tenants. The mall is owned by Simon Property Group and the anchor stores are Macy's, Dave & Buster's, AMC Theatres, Hennepin Service Center, and Life Time Athletic.

Victor Gruen, the center's architect, designed the mall to challenge the "car-centric" America that was rising in the 1950s. Since its opening in 1956, Southdale has suffered through high vacancy rates and several store closures, but has been able to recover in recent years. Several additions have been performed on the building, including a 2011 renovation which involved the construction of a brand new food court. Southdale Center continues to use much of its original structure despite these renovations, and has been the host of several charity and community events throughout the years.

History

Background

In 1943, architects Victor Gruen and Elsie Krummeck were asked to submit a proposal to envision a prototype of what a shopping center would ideally look like after World War II for "Architecture 194X", a competition in the Architectural Forum magazine. Prototypes by the pair emphasized the communal aspects of their proposed shopping center where services like the public library and the post office could be incorporated with the functions of retail. They also strived to make the centers visually appealing and inviting to encourage shoppers to stay longer.[6]

While stranded in Detroit during a snowstorm in 1948, Gruen approached Oscar Webber, head of Hudson's, the second largest department store in the nation at the time (behind Macy's in Manhattan). Gruen asked Webber to help fund a shopping center in the suburbs of Detroit with Hudson's as the main draw. Webber initially declined, but a year later Hudson's agreed to finance a set of malls including Northland Center as customers moved out of the city and into the suburbs.[7]

1952–57: Construction and grand opening

Through Oscar Webber, Gruen was introduced to the Dayton family, who owned an eponymous chain of stores after their father's death and were looking to expand and build a shopping center to accompany one of their stores in Edina, Minnesota.[8][9] Webber insisted that the Dayton family work with Gruen to assist in their efforts. On June 17, 1952, the first plans unveiled for the shopping center were announced by Gruen and Donald Dayton, president of Dayton's. They estimated the cost to build the shopping center to be around $10 million.[10] Public response to the announcement was generally positive, with many hailing the project as a utopia. In a near unanimous vote by the city of Edina, zoning ordinances were changed to constitute the mall.[11]

Gruen was a European-style socialist; he found individual stores in downtown venues to be inefficient, and the suburban lifestyle of 1950s America too "car-centric" and wanted to design a building that would be a communal gathering place, where people would shop, drink coffee, and socialize, as he remembered from his native Vienna. Southdale Center was loosely modeled on the arcades of several heavily populated European cities and purposely included "eye-level display cases" to "lure customers into stores".[12][13] Gruen imagined that Southdale would eventually include "a medical center, schools and residences, not just a parade of glitzy stores."[14] In a statement to the Minneapolis Sunday Tribune (now the Star Tribune), Gruen and his economic consultant Lawrence P. Smith described the regional shopping center as a place that could "take care of today's needs and today's living" and would bring the community together by providing "a new outlet for that primary human instinct to mingle with other humans." The neighborhood surrounding the center was specifically built to accompany the mall.[15]

Groundbreaking for Southdale took place on October 29, 1954; 800 construction workers were needed to build the three-story, 800,000 sq ft (74,000 m2; 18-acre; 7.4 ha), 500-acre (200 ha) center, which had 5,200 parking spaces, 72 available tenants, and cost $20 million to construct.[16] Due to Minnesota's harsh climate in the winter, Gruen constructed the center with a roof and air-conditioning system capable of maintaining a comfortable temperature of 75 °F (24 °C; 297 K) year-round.[13] The mall was originally anchored by Dayton's, Donaldson's, Walgreens, and Woolworth.[17] Over 40,000 visitors attended the grand opening ceremony for the center on the morning of October 8, 1956.[18][19] An additional 188,000 customers visited the mall throughout the following week.[10]

The center was constructed to successfully bring the community together by "gathering art, culture, and entertainment under one roof with retail."[20] The Dayton's store was modeled after Dayton's flagship store in Minneapolis, Minnesota.[21] In November 1956, organic architect Frank Lloyd Wright visited the mall as part of a tour of new buildings in Minnesota; he critiqued Southdale's overall design, stating "[the] garden court has all the evils of the village street and none of its charm", further criticizing several other buildings in nearby Minneapolis.[22] He unfavorably added that Gruen "should have left downtown, downtown."[23]

1958–90: Additions, JCPenney opens, and new competition

Over the early years of Southdale, several tenants and restaurants opened in the center. A restaurant called Sidewalk Cafe, was an "outdoor"-themed restaurant, even though the venue was fully enclosed; Sidewalk Cafe was the first restaurant of its kind.[24] JCPenney announced their interest in opening a location at Southdale Center.[25] An addition to the mall was constructed, allowing JCPenney to open a 247,902-square-foot (23,030.8 m2; 5.6910-acre; 2.30308 ha) store in 1972; it became Southdale's third anchor store, following Dayton's and Donaldson's.[26] Along with the new anchor store came an entire new mall corridor connecting JCPenney to the original structure of the mall.[27]

During 1976, construction of a new shopping center directly across the street from Southdale occurred. The construction resulted in the Galleria Edina, an upscale shopping center; the new shopping mall increased competition with neighboring shopping centers.[28] In 1987, Donaldson's announced the discontinuation of their chain of stores, which would shut one of the mall's original anchors. Instead, Donaldson's merged with Chicago-based department chain Carson Pirie Scott.[29]

1991–2008: Expansion, Dayton's merger, and store closures

In 1991, Dayton's announced plans to construct a significantly larger store directly north of their current location.[25] These plans included the demolition of the original Dayton's store to be replaced with more stores, plus a larger "garden court", and the construction of various multi-level parking garages; these plans were eventually constructed and finalized in the early 1990s.[27] On June 30, 1997, Southdale Center was sold to the O'Connor Group, a New York-based real estate company for $125 million.[30][31] Around this time, Southdale converted most of its basement into a singular anchor store, which became Marshalls; surrounding the new anchor were several specialty shops and mall management offices.[32] Dayton's acquired Marshall Field's and rebranded with the Marshall Field's nameplate in 2001.[33]

The former Trendz on Top area located on the third level.

During the early 2000s, following fear of competition from nearby Eden Prairie Center and Mall of America, Southdale announced further plans to renovate the center again. A complete remodeling of the center occurred in 2001, followed by a large addition to the southern half of the property;[34] the addition included a sixteen screen movie theater along with an entertainment district of restaurants and shops called "The District on France".[27] "The District on France" included several "upscale" dining options, including California Pizza Kitchen, The Cheesecake Factory, and Maggiano's Little Italy.[35][36] A renovation of the less-traveled third floor also occurred, with the addition of teen-geared stores; this addition was called "Trendz on Top".[37]

Throughout the mid 2000s, Southdale began struggling with maintaining a low vacancy rate. The May Department Stores Company acquired Marshall Field's in 2004, and promptly closed the Twin Cities area Mervyn's.[38] After the closure of Mervyn's in 2004, several tenants followed and ended their leases as well;[39] national retailers like The Bombay Company, Crate & Barrel, Ritz Camera, and Select Comfort all announced closures of their Southdale locations.[40][41] Talks of a Dick's Sporting Goods filling the space formerly leased by Mervyn's occurred, but those plans never took off and eventually dissolved.[42] In 2006, Marshall Fields was rebranded as Macy's.[43]

2009–2016: Ongoing renovations

External videos
video icon Buildings that Changed America #8 Southdale Center, WTTW,[23]

In February 2011, Simon Property Group announced that Southdale would soon be anchored by Herberger's, a local department store chain, and would lease the space previously used by Mervyn's.[44] Along with this announcement came the mention of a brand new food court to replace the nearly vacant one on the less-traveled third floor, a housing development consisting of apartments and condominiums, and expanded retail.[45] The food court's construction would include six tenants, which was later increased to eight tenants.[46] However, the new food court forced the closure of one of Southdale's oldest tenants, Ralph's Shoe Service, which originally opened at the mall in 1957.[47][48] Following several tenant terminations, the mall's Marshalls anchor announced that their 40,000 square feet (3,700 m2; 0.92 acres; 0.37 ha) Southdale location would move to a different shopping center in Bloomington, Minnesota.[49]

The new food court located by JCPenney was completed in 2012 and featured "upscale" dining options, such as Qdoba Mexican Grill and Smashburger; several other projects took place, such as cosmetic changes for the mall and the construction of new corridors.[50] Since 2015, several stores and businesses have opened up locations at Southdale Center. Gordmans, a Nebraska-based discount retailer, filled the vacancy previously leased by Marshalls in July 2015;[51] however closed just two years later after filing bankruptcy.[52] Other new openings were a 41,500-square-foot (3,860 m2; 0.95-acre; 0.386 ha) Dave and Buster's restaurant, filling the vacancy of the original food court.[53] A Homewood Suites by Hilton resort was approved by the City of Edina and constructed in the shopping center's northeast parking lot in late 2016.[54]

2017–present

Following the announcement of JCPenney closing nine stores throughout Minnesota, the Southdale Center location closed on July 31, 2017, after 45 years at Southdale.[55] The former Penney's building was razed, and in its place, a $43 million Life Time Fitness multi-level complex was constructed, featuring a roof top pool, which opened in 2019.[56]

Bon-Ton announced on April 17, 2018, that it would close and liquidate all Herberger's stores in their 200+ locations after two liquidators, Great American Group and Tiger Capital Group, won an auction for the company.[57] On August 26, 2018, the Herberger's Southdale anchor location closed.

Simon, the mall owner, continued to revitalize Southdale as a mixed-use development by utilizing all corners of the parking lot. The southwest corner of the parking lot saw new construction of RH (formerly Restoration Hardware) in 2018.[58] In October 2018, a newly constructed Shake Shack on the northwest corner of the property held its grand opening.[59] Luxury apartments were also constructed on the southeast corner of the parking lot.[56]

In May 2019, it was announced that the Southdale branch of the Hennepin County Library was going to move to Southdale Center, taking the place of the vacant Herberger's, which was to be demolished.[60] An opening date was set for 2022,[61] however, the move was put on hold and has since been cancelled.[62][63]

On March 18, 2020, Southdale temporarily closed until March 29, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1][64]

In 2023, Simon Properties announced that the former Donaldson's/Mervyn's anchor would be replaced by a Kowalski's Markets grocery store and a Puttshack restaurant. Additionally, the sparsely-occupied District on France portion of the mall would be remodeled into "a blending of highly sought-after retail brands with a curated mix of dining and entertainment that will enhance the center's positioning as the market's pre-eminent experiential shopping destination," in the style of The Shops at Crystals.[65]

References

  1. 1 2 "Welcome to Southdale Center - A Shopping Center in Edina, MN - A Simon Property". Archived from the original on 2019-01-03. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
  2. ↑ "Do Business at Southdale Center, a Simon Property". Archived from the original on 2019-01-03. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
  3. ↑ Hardwick, M. Jeffrey (2015). Mall Maker: Victor Gruen, Architect of an American Dream. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 144. ISBN 9780812292992. Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  4. ↑ Cf. Westminster Arcade, which is the oldest fully enclosed, but not climate-controlled, shopping mall in the United States.
  5. ↑ Newton, Matthew (2017). Shopping Mall. New York: Bloomsbury. p. 5. ISBN 9781501314827. Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  6. ↑ Hardwick, M. Jeffrey. (2004). Mall maker : Victor Gruen, Architect of an American Dream. Gruen, Victor, 1903-1980. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. pp. 73–87, Chapter 3. ISBN 0-8122-3762-5. OCLC 52775220.
  7. ↑ Hess, Alan (2016). "Michigan, Modernism, and Suburbia". Michigan Modern : Design that Shaped America. By Arnold, Amy L. Conway, Brian D. Newburyport: Gibbs Smith. ISBN 978-1-4236-4498-9. OCLC 959150519.
  8. ↑ Marshall, Colin (2015-05-06). "Southdale Center: America's first shopping mall – a history of cities in 50 buildings, day 30". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2020-06-22. Retrieved 2020-06-21.
  9. ↑ Logemann, Jan; Cross, Gary; Köhler, Ingo, eds. (2019). Consumer Engineering, 1920s–1970s: Marketing between Expert Planning and Consumer Responsiveness. Springer. ISBN 978-3-030-14564-4. Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  10. 1 2 Roberts, Kate. "Southdale Center". MNopedia. Archived from the original on November 8, 2021. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  11. ↑ Mennel, Timothy (31 July 2016). "Victor Gruen and the Construction of Cold War Utopias". Journal of Planning History. 3 (2): 116–150. doi:10.1177/1538513204264755. S2CID 145737296.
  12. ↑ Wholf, Tracy (November 28, 2014). "What did the shopping mall look like in 1956?". PBS. Archived from the original on April 16, 2016. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  13. 1 2 "Birth, Death and Shopping". The Economist. December 19, 2007. Archived from the original on June 9, 2008. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  14. ↑ Quito, Anne. "The father of the American shopping mall hated what he created". Quartz. Archived from the original on April 24, 2016. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  15. ↑ "Southdale Center Has Own Community". Minneapolis Sunday Tribune. 7 October 1956. Archived from the original on 12 July 2020. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  16. ↑ Gladwell, Malcolm (March 15, 2004). "The Terrazzo Jungle". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on July 9, 2014. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  17. ↑ "Southdale Center: The First Indoor Shopping Mall: Overview". Minnesota History Center: Gale Family Library. Archived from the original on April 4, 2016. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  18. ↑ "40,000 Visitors See New Stores; Weather-Conditioned Shopping Center Opens". The New York Times. October 9, 1956. Archived from the original on January 14, 2018. Retrieved March 10, 2010.
  19. ↑ "Southdale Center". Walker Art Center. Archived from the original on November 8, 2021. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  20. ↑ Roberts, Karen (September 4, 2015). "Meet the new mall: trends shaping our shopping centers". lohud. Archived from the original on November 8, 2021. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  21. ↑ Johnston, Louis D. (January 11, 2013). "Lessons to learn from Dayton brothers' fateful decision in St. Paul". MinnPost. Archived from the original on March 29, 2016. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  22. ↑ Welter, Ben (November 28, 1956). "Nov. 28, 1956: Frank Lloyd Wright at Southdale". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on April 10, 2016. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  23. 1 2 "#8 Southdale Center". 10 Buildings that Changed America. WTTW. Archived from the original on December 12, 2013. Retrieved December 12, 2013. Webpage features include a photo slide show, video from the televised program (5:11), and "web exclusive video" (5:18).
  24. ↑ Nelson, Rick (February 7, 2013). "Remembrances of restaurants past". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on April 14, 2016. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  25. 1 2 "How to Build a Better Lifestyle Center" (PDF). MallFinder. 2005. p. 8. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 7, 2016. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  26. ↑ Aburia, Hebba; Matson, Marcia (March 2013). "Daytons vs. Donaldsons: Southdale Success". Edina Magazine. Archived from the original on April 17, 2016. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  27. 1 2 3 "Southdale Center Edina, MN". MallHistory. Archived from the original on 13 April 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
  28. ↑ "About / History". Galleria Edina. Archived from the original on April 24, 2012. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
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  30. ↑ "Transactions". National Real Estate Investor. May 1, 2000. Archived from the original on September 3, 2018. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  31. ↑ Ehrlich, Jennifer (July 6, 1997). "Southdale sold to New York group". American City Business Journals. Archived from the original on January 6, 2001. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
  32. ↑ Mattson-Teig, Beth (May 1, 1999). "The Grand Dame of Twin Cities Retail". National Real Estate Investor. Archived from the original on September 3, 2018. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  33. ↑ "13 Jan 2001, Page 1 - Star Tribune at Newspapers.com". Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  34. ↑ Bjorhus, Jennifer (January 4, 2011). "Herberger's likely to fill Southdale anchor hole". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on April 14, 2016. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  35. ↑ Newmarker, Chris (January 11, 2010). "Maggiano's Little Italy to leave Southdale". Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal. Archived from the original on November 8, 2021. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  36. ↑ "Fhima closes Louis XIII". Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal. June 15, 2006. Archived from the original on October 9, 2015. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  37. ↑ Way, Prange (14 April 2010). "Southdale Center and Victor Gruen; Edina, Minnesota". Labelscar. Archived from the original on 31 March 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
  38. ↑ "10 Jun 2004, Page A1 - Star Tribune at Newspapers.com". Archived from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  39. ↑ Kaplan, Allison (March 1, 2012). "Saving Southdale". Mpls St Paul. Archived from the original on May 14, 2012. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  40. ↑ DePass, Dee (October 11, 2012). "Select Comfort dialing up the plushness". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on April 14, 2016. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  41. ↑ "Ritz Camera closing 19 Minnesota stores". Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal. April 3, 2009. Archived from the original on January 26, 2012. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  42. ↑ "Retail Outlook". United Properties. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  43. ↑ "3 Sep 2006, Page A1 - Star Tribune at Newspapers.com". Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  44. ↑ "The Prototype: Southdale Center". National Real Estate Investor. Archived from the original on June 29, 2015. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  45. ↑ Buchta, Jim (July 8, 2013). "A first look at the luxury apartments under construction at Southdale Center". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on November 22, 2013. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
  46. ↑ "Herberger's, New Food Court Coming To Southdale Center". WCCO-TV. February 10, 2011. Archived from the original on April 18, 2016. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  47. ↑ Randolph, Tori (October 6, 2006). "Uncertain future for America's first mall at age 50". MPR News. Archived from the original on April 16, 2016. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  48. ↑ "Southdale's oldest tenant Ralph's Shoe Service said he was forced out". KARE. December 14, 2011. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
  49. ↑ Vomhof Jr., John (June 6, 2013). "Marshalls to leave Southdale, move down the street". Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal. Archived from the original on July 17, 2013. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  50. ↑ Gauthier, Ryan (August 31, 2012). "Smashburger Coming to Southdale Center's Food Court". Edina Patch. Archived from the original on April 15, 2016. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  51. ↑ Ewoldt, John (July 21, 2015). "Discount chain Gordmans opens in Edina's Southdale". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on April 14, 2016. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  52. ↑ "Gordmans in Burnsville, Woodbury to close unless bankrupt owner can find buyer | Star Tribune". Archived from the original on 2021-11-08. Retrieved 2021-11-08.
  53. ↑ Lissarrague, Jennie (June 22, 2015). "Dave and Buster's Opens in Edina". KSTP-TV. Archived from the original on April 23, 2016. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
  54. ↑ Black, Sam (January 5, 2016). "Hotel proposed near Southdale in Edina". Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal. Archived from the original on November 8, 2021. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  55. ↑ Ewoldt, John (June 2, 2017). "J.C. Penney will start closing sale at Southdale location on June 19". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on June 27, 2017. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  56. 1 2 "Life Time CEO says luxurious new club at Southdale is just the beginning | Star Tribune". Archived from the original on 2021-11-08. Retrieved 2021-11-08.
  57. ↑ "21 Apr 2018, D1 - Star Tribune at Newspapers.com". Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  58. ↑ "3 Nov 2017, D4 - Star Tribune at Newspapers.com". Star Tribune (Minneapolis - St. Paul). Archived from the original on 2021-02-07. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
  59. ↑ "25 Oct 2018, T3 - Star Tribune at Newspapers.com". Star Tribune (Minneapolis - St. Paul). Archived from the original on 2021-01-31. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
  60. ↑ "Southdale Library plans move to Southdale Center". Sun Current Edina/Richfield/Bloomington. Archived from the original on 2019-12-07. Retrieved 2019-12-07.
  61. ↑ "Southdale Library building project". Hennepin County Library. Archived from the original on 2019-12-07. Retrieved 2019-12-07.
  62. ↑ "Southdale Library project on hold". Archived from the original on 2021-03-02. Retrieved 2021-03-02.
  63. ↑ "County halts Southdale Library relocation". Archived from the original on 2021-11-08. Retrieved 2021-03-02.
  64. ↑ "Eagan outlet mall, Southdale join Mall of America in closing due to coronavirus". 18 March 2020. Archived from the original on 19 March 2020. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  65. ↑ https://www.startribune.com/edina-southdale-center-will-renovate-its-cluster-of-closed-restaurants-later-this-year-p-f-changs/600283954/

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