# The Florida Mall

The Florida Mall is a super regional enclosed shopping mall located south of Orlando in unincorporated Orange County, Florida, United States, on the southeast corner of Orange Blossom Trail and Sand Lake Road; it opened in 1986. The mall features JCPenney, Dillard's, Macy's, Dick's Sporting Goods, Primark and Sears, in addition to the Crayola Experience, along with junior anchors H&M, Zara, Forever 21, and Old Navy.
The facility was developed by a Joint Venture of Eddie DeBartolo of DeBartolo Realty & JCP Realty, Inc. (Subsidiary of J. C. Penney Company) starting in 1979-1984; it is currently managed by Simon Property Group, which owns 50%, having fallen to Simon following the 1996 merger of Simon and DeBartolo Realty into Simon DeBartolo Group. With 1,699,571 sq ft (157,900 m$^2$) of gross leasable area and 294 retailers, it is one of the largest single-story malls in the United States and the largest mall in Central Florida.

## Location

The Florida Mall is located in an unincorporated area of Orange County, Florida south of the city of Orlando. The mall is close to Orlando International Airport and many other Orlando attractions including Universal Orlando Resort, Walt Disney World, SeaWorld Orlando, and International Drive. The Florida Mall is located at the southeast corner of the intersection between US 17/US 92/US 441 (Orange Blossom Trail) and SR 482 (Sand Lake Road) and is situated near the junction of SR 528 (Beachline Expressway) and Florida's Turnpike.

## Description

The Florida Mall has a gross leasable area of 1,718,000 square feet (159,600 m$^2$) and contains over 250 stores, making it the largest mall in Central Florida. The mall is one level and is anchored by Dillard's, Macy's, JCPenney, Sears, Dick's Sporting Goods, and the Crayola Experience. Attached to the mall is The Florida Hotel & Conference Center, which contains 511 rooms. The Florida Mall contains numerous smaller stores and entertainment venues including the only American Girl and Disney Store locations in the Orlando area. The mall offers various dining options including 25 quick-service restaurants and 8 sit-down restaurants. The Florida Mall features a 105,000-square-foot (9,800 m$^2$) Dining Pavilion that contains a total of 25 restaurants. The mall offers various services to shoppers including valet parking, currency exchange, and package and baggage check. The Florida Mall attracts over 20 million visitors annually, including domestic and international tourists to the Orlando area.

## History

The mall opened on March 12, 1986, with Sears, JCPenney, Belk and the Crowne Plaza hotel (built by E.J. DeBartolo and owned in partnership with Pratt Hotel Corporation of Dallas Texas), followed by Robinson's in September of that year. Many of the mall’s design features were borrowed from other DeBartolo malls like Aventura Mall for many expansions and Coral Square for its layout and space frame ceiling. A year later, store acquisitions and consolidations started varying the anchor lineup. Robinson's converted to Maison Blanche in August 1987, and the Crowne Plaza rebranded as a Sheraton Plaza in 1988. Dillard's opened two stores in 1991 at the east end filling the two remaining anchor pads. Maison Blanche was rebranded by Gayfers in early 1992 as a result of Mercantile Stores. In 1996, Belk became Saks Fifth Avenue, while the Sheraton hotel was sold to Adam's Mark. Then, in 1998, Gayfers transitioned into Parisian, whereas Dillard's added a second floor to their newly consolidated store at the east end, closing the other store on the southeast side that was razed for a new wing featuring Burdines, which opened in 1999. Lord & Taylor replaced Parisian in 2002, and the east wing was expanded again with Central Florida's first and only Nordstrom. Burdines merged with Macy's in 2003, and in 2004, the hotel was purchased by a group headed by the Bank of Scotland and was renamed The Florida Hotel & Conference Center. Burdines-Macy's simply became Macy's in 2005.
Lord & Taylor shuttered in 2006, after being repositioned. Saks Fifth Avenue shuttered in 2014 as part of a strategy implemented to improve profit margins substantially by closing 35% of its entire base over the course of several years. The previous Saks Fifth Avenue outpost was reconstructed for a new wing with a new Dining Pavilion. The old food court was reconfigured to include more retail and dining space. Champs Sports and Footaction were added next to the existing Foot Locker store. In August 2014, it was announced Nordstrom would shutter after deciding against renewing their lease again because of the significant investment involved. In June 2015, Nordstrom was redesigned for Dick's Sporting Goods and the Crayola Experience.
The previous Lord & Taylor outpost was razed in 2007 and overhauled into a new outdoor plaza with stores Forever 21, H&M and Zara in 2009, with American Girl being added in the Fall of 2014.
In 2017, Shake Shack opened at the mall.
In early 2019, the mall hosted the Cirque du Soleil touring show Luzia under the big top. This limited engagement was the first time Cirque's iconic big top has been raised in the Orlando area.
In 2023, Forever 21 relocated its store from across American Girl to a smaller space next to the Dining Pavilion.
On August 29, 2024 Primark opened where the Forever 21 used to be with a big focus on Disney merchandise.

## Transportation

Right next to the mall stretches SR 528 (Beachline Expressway) which has an interchange with US 17/US 92/US 441 (Orange Blossom Trail) at exit 4. The exit is only few exits away from the Orlando International Airport. The mall is also accessible from exit 254 of Florida's Turnpike, which connects to Orange Blossom Trail.
The mall is serviced by Lynx buses (links) 7, 37, 42, 107, 108, 111, 418, and 441 at the Florida Mall SuperStop. The Florida Mall SuperStop has direct bus service from several points in the Orlando area including Lynx Central Station in Downtown Orlando, Kissimmee, Orlando International Airport, SeaWorld Orlando, and Universal Orlando Resort.