# Homart Development Company

Homart Development Company, a Chicago-based subsidiary of Sears, was one of the largest builders of shopping centers and malls in the United States from 1959 to 1995.

## Company history

As retail development in the United States shifted away from downtowns with the growth of suburbia after World War II, some major department stores such as Sears moved into the business of developing malls in which to place new anchor tenant locations. Homart Development Company was founded in 1959 for the purpose of building regional shopping malls for Sears. The "Homart" brand name had been used by Sears for many years before the development company was founded.
Seminary South Shopping Center in Fort Worth was their first project.
By 1971, Homart was operating nine regional shopping locations, and had numerous others in development. It became the nation's second largest mall developer, and by 1992 it was reported that Homart had developed 80 malls with over 75,000,000 square feet (7,000,000 m$^2$) of retail space. By 1994, it was also operating 36 of those developed malls.
In November 1994, Sears announced that it planned to sell off Homart as part of a restructuring. General Growth Properties completed an acquisition of Homart in late 1995 in a transaction valued at $1.85 billion, then one of the biggest real estate deals in history. Homart also owned a number of office buildings which were also sold in 1995.

## Management

Sears executive Emory Williams was the first president of Homart. Warren G. Skoning was appointed president in 1967, and elected as chairman in 1974. Also serving as vice-president of real estate development for Sears, Skoning was involved in the development of the Sears Tower. W.E. Lewis was named president in 1974 when Skoning became chair.
Edwin Homer, former president of Chrysler Realty, joined as president in 1980, later became chair and CEO, and served until his retirement in 1984. Homer diversified Homart's portfolio by developing office properties and community centers, in addition to malls, and also sold some of Homart's malls to generate additional profit for Sears.
In 1985, Michael J. Gregoire was named president and COO, and he also became chairman in 1987.

## Notable projects

Notable shopping centers developed by Homart include:
| Mall name | Town | State | Notes | Year opened |
| Seminary South Shopping Center | Fort Worth | Texas | An open-air mall which opened in March 1962. It was sold by Homart in 1985. It was renovated and enclosed, and reopened as the Fort Worth Town Center in 1987, and then as "La Gran Plaza de Fort Worth" in 2004. | 1962 |
| Hancock Shopping Center | Austin | Texas | | 1964 |
| Coronado Center | Albuquerque | New Mexico | | 1965 |
| Colonie Center | Albany | New York | First enclosed shopping mall in New York State's Capital Region. | 1966 |
| Inland Center | San Bernardino (Inland Empire area) | California | | 1966 |
| Midland Mall | Warwick | Rhode Island | Renamed the Rhode Island Mall in March 1985. Closed in 2011. | 1967 |
| Woodfield Mall | Schaumburg (Chicago metropolitan area) | Illinois | Joint venture with A. Alfred Taubman, was world's largest enclosed mall at time of opening. | 1971 |
| Eastridge Mall | San Jose | California | Joint venture with A. Alfred Taubman | 1971 |
| Town East Mall | Mesquite (Greater Dallas Area) | Texas | | 1971 |
| Castleton Square | Indianapolis | Indiana | Joint venture with Edward J. DeBartolo | 1972 |
| Valley View Center | Dallas | Texas | | 1973 (closed 2022) |
| Metrocenter | Phoenix | Arizona | Joint venture with Westcor | 1973 (Closed 2020) |
| Altamonte Mall | Altamonte Springs | Florida | Jointly developed with Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation | 1974 |
| Maplewood Mall | Maplewood (Minneapolis–Saint Paul area) | Minnesota | | 1974 |
| Independence Center | Independence (Kansas City area) | Missouri | | 1974 |
| Westminster Mall | Westminster (Orange County) | California | | 1974 |
| Brea Mall | Brea (Orange County) | California | | 1975 |
| Northbrook Court | Northbrook (Chicago metropolitan area) | Illinois | | 1976 |
| Orland Square Mall | Orland Park (Chicago metropolitan area) | Illinois | | 1976 |
| Eden Prairie Center | Eden Prairie (Minneapolis–Saint Paul area) | Minnesota | | 1976 |
| Florence Mall | Florence (Cincinnati metropolitan area) | Kentucky | | 1976 |
| Woodland Hills Mall | Tulsa | Oklahoma | Joint venture with Dayton-Hudson Corporation. Expansion completed by Homart in 1982 | 1976 |
| Lakeside Mall | Sterling Heights | Michigan | Joint venture with A. Alfred Taubman | 1976 |
| Burnsville Center | Burnsville (Minneapolis–Saint Paul area) | Minnesota | | 1977 |
| Louis Joliet Mall | Joliet | Illinois | Renamed in mid 2000s as Westfield Louis Joliet | 1977 |
| Twelve Oaks Mall | Novi | Michigan | Joint venture with A. Alfred Taubman and Dayton-Hudson Corporation | 1977 |
| Broward Mall | Plantation (Miami Metropolitan Area) | Florida | | 1978 |
| Baybrook Mall | Friendswood (Greater Houston) | Texas | | 1978 |
| Metrocenter | Jackson | Mississippi | Joint venture with Jim Wilson & Associates | 1978 |
| Acadiana Mall | Lafayette | Louisiana | Joint venture with Robert B. Aikens & Associates | 1979 |
| Fiesta Mall | Mesa (Phoenix metropolitan area) | Arizona | Opened on October 3, 1979. | 1979 (closed 2018) |
| Spring Hill Mall | West Dundee (Chicago metropolitan area) | Illinois | | 1980 (closed 2024) |
| Town Center Mall | Boca Raton (Miami Metropolitan Area) | Florida | Also known as Town Center at Boca Raton | 1980 |
| NewPark Mall | Newark | California | Joint venture with Macy's. | 1980 |
| Willowbrook Mall | Houston | Texas | | 1981 |
| Greenbrier Mall | Chesapeake | Virginia | | 1981 |
| Deerbrook Mall | Humble (Greater Houston) | Texas | | 1982 |
| Westgate Mall | Humble (Amarillo) | Texas | | 1982 |
| Chapel Hills Mall | Colorado Springs | Colirado | Joint venture with General Growth Properties | 1982 |
| North Shore Square | Slidell | Louisiana | | 1985 |
| Tysons Galleria | Tysons Corner (Washington Metropolitan Area) | Virginia | Joint venture with Lerner Enterprises | 1988 |
| Lakeland Square Mall | Lakeland | Florida | Joint venture with Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation | 1988 |
| The Parks at Arlington | Arlington (Greater Dallas area) | Texas | | 1988 |
| Vista Ridge Mall | Lewisville (Greater Dallas area) | Texas | Joint venture with Herring Marathon Group and JCP Realty | 1989 |
| Arden Fair Mall | Sacramento | California | Rebuilding of Arden Fair Mall | 1989 |
| The Shoppes at Buckland Hills | Manchester (Greater Hartford area) | Connecticut | Opened in March 1990 as "The Pavilions at Buckland Hills". | 1990 |
| Steeplegate Mall | Concord | New Hampshire | Opened August 1, 1990 | 1990 |
| Bay City Mall | Bay City | Michigan | Joint venture with Robert B. Aitkens | 1991 |
| Pembroke Lakes Mall | Pembroke Pines (Miami metropolitan area) | Florida | | 1992 |
| Moreno Valley Mall | Moreno Valley | California | Built on the former Riverside International Raceway site that hosted auto racing from 1957 to 1989. | 1992 |
| North Point Mall | Alpharetta (Atlanta metropolitan area) | Georgia | | 1993 |
| Natick Collection | Natick (Greater Boston) | Massachusetts | The original mall built in 1966 was purchased by Homart in 1992, subsequently demolished and rebuilt in 1994. | 1994 |
| The Woodlands Mall | The Woodlands (Greater Houston) | Texas | Joint venture with The Woodlands Corporation | 1994 |
The Nanuet Mall in Rockland County New York opened in 1969- 101 stores anchored by Sears and Bambergers, (first enclosed mall in the county and about 25 miles from Manhattan).