Fiesta Mall

Fiesta Mall was a shopping mall located in the US city of Mesa, Arizona, a suburb located to the east of Phoenix, AZ, in the Greater Phoenix Metropolitan area. Located at the intersection of Alma School Road and Southern Ave, it was the second out of four malls that were eventually built within the city. The mall reached its peak during the 1980s and 1990s; however, it began to have a drop in traffic following openings of newer malls in the surrounding East Valley area in the late 1990s and into the early 2000s. Despite an effort by the City of Mesa to improve the area and attract business back, their efforts eventually failed as the mall itself closed on January 27, 2018. One store remained open past the closure of the entire mall, a Dillard's Clearance Center operating on only one floor, but it too closed in October 2019. The mall sat vacant for several years until it was eventually demolished in July 2023.
== History ==
=== Development ===
The initial announcement to the public of a possible new shopping center in Mesa came on October 9, 1970.https://azcentral.newspapers.com/article/arizona-republic-fiesta-mall/14081672/ Tri-City Mall, located approximately 2 blocks north of the future Fiesta Mall site, had been open for just over two years.https://www.newspapers.com/article/arizona-republic-gala-opening-planned-fo/58238974/ Homart Development Company, a subsidy of the greater Sears, Roebuck, and Co., purchased about 120 acres of then-vacant land at the southwest corner of Alma School Rd and Southern Ave in the hopes of building a new mall centered around a brand-new Sears anchor store. Initial proposals for the mall gave a projected opening date of 1973, however the grand opening was eventually delayed to 1977 for the Sears and 1979 for the rest of the mall. Additionally, initial estimates planned for the mall to have around 1.2-1.4 million square feet and cost roughly between $35-50 million dollars. Later figures given after the mall held its grand opening stated that the mall had cost $27 million to build."East Valley's largest shopping center is open" Mesa Tribune. October 4, 1979. The mall opened with just over 921,000 square feet, a far cry from the initial plans given in 1970 calling for 1.2-1.4 million square feet. Although an expansion was later proposed to bring Fiesta Mall up to nearly 1.3 million square feet, the plans fell through due to traffic concerns, as the expansion would have demolished the 2-story parking garage that served two anchor stores along with one of the mall entrances.https://azcentral.newspapers.com/article/arizona-republic-fiesta-mall-weighing-ex/38585426/
The development of Fiesta Mall additionally helped spur growth in the west Mesa area immediately surrounding it. The development of Arizona Highway 360, or the Superstition Freeway, allowed commuters from new subdivisions further to the east in Mesa or Apache Junction to reach the new mall faster than before.https://www.newspapers.com/article/arizona-republic-bonanza-is-expected-in/38585407/ Mesa Community College, located just across Longmore Avenue from the mall, underwent several expansions to account for the growing population of Mesa both while Fiesta was being built and after its opening. Several smaller retail shopping plazas on opposite corners of the Alma School Rd/Southern Ave intersections were either already in development or in the planning phases by Fiesta Mall's grand opening in October 1979. Desert Samaritan Hospital (now Banner Desert Medical Center) was built in 1976 near the intersection of Dobson Road and Southern Avenue about 1 mile west of Fiesta Mall and just across the street from Mesa Community College. The hospital featured an expansive maternity/children's ward and was the prime hospital for maternity services in the East Valley until the early 2000s, further helping economic growth and development in the area.
=== Opening & Early Years (1979-1989) ===
The first major opening of the mall was the Sears, which opened on April 13, 1977.https://www.newspapers.com/article/arizona-republic-sears-mesa-move/8690327/ The brand new store served to replace the downtown Mesa store which had operated since 1951. It had approximately 171,000 square feet of space and boasted two levels, along with an auto center with its own separate entrance on the lower level. Outside, the store was constructed out of red-brick walls with the exception of the auto center, which was painted white bricks.
=== Height of Popularity (1989-2000) ===
=== Decline & Attempt at Redevelopment (2000-2014) ===
=== Further Decline & Eventual Closure (2014-2019) ===
=== Attempted redevelopment & eventual demolition (2020-2023) ===
== Layout & Appearance/Decor ==
The mall was built in a rectangular shape with four numbered entrances at each corner of the main mall space. Along with the four main mall entrances, each anchor store had at least two entrances on the ground floor and at least one entrance on the upper floor - with the exception of the Best Buy/Dick's Sporting Goods building as each store only had one floor and one entrance.
== Anchor Stores ==
=== Northeast anchor ===
Sears remained the only store in the northeast anchor building of the mall all the way from its opening in 1977, two years prior to the mall's grand opening, to the mall's eventual closure in 2018. The northeast anchor building is the only anchor building that never changed stores.
=== Southeast anchor ===
Originally opened as The Broadway in 1979, then converted to a Macy's in 1996 after Federated Department Stores bought the chain. After the merger of Robinsons-May and Macy's in 2006, Macy's chose to move into the former Robinson-May building, leaving the southeast anchor building empty. The building underwent a remodel and later reopened in spring 2009 with two stores - a Best Buy on the bottom floor and a Dick's Sporting Goods on the top floor. Both stores later closed in 2016.
=== Southwest anchor ===
Originally opened as a Diamond's in July 1980, then converted to a Dillard's in 1986 following the sale of the chain to Dillard's. Following the economic troubles of 2008/2009, the Dillard's eventually converted into a Dillard's Clearance Center in 2009.https://www.eastvalleytribune.com/news/dillards-at-fiesta-mall-to-close-or-transform/article_57f6a65b-850f-5579-bc00-0a1afb424897.html The upper floor of the building was closed off following the conversion and the clearance center only operated on the bottom floor for the next 10 years. The Dillard's Clearance Center eventually closed in October 2019.
=== Northwest anchor ===
Originally opened as a Goldwater's in 1979, then converted to a J.W. Robinson's in 1989. Converted again to a Robinsons-May in 1993 following a merger of the two divisions of May Department Stores, then finally converted to a Macy's in 2006 following the Federated Department Stores purchase of Robinsons-May. The Macy's located in the northwest anchor building remained open until spring 2014.http://archive.azcentral.com/community/mesa/articles/20140115macys-closing-sparks-fear-mesa-fiesta-mall-demise.html
== Food Court ==
The food court of Fiesta Mall was located on the second floor and accessible from outside via Entrance 3. It was tucked away from the main concourses of the mall in an alcove. Restaurants lined the walls and the center of the food court held tables for eating. The north side of the food court held a few retail stores that could be accessed either by the food court or by the main mall walkway, allowing people to cut through. Several popular chain restaurants with locations inside the mall included a Dairy Queen Treat, a Chick Fil A, a Subway, a Panda Express, and an Auntie Anne's Pretzels. With the exception of Chick Fil A, these chains remained in the food court up until only a year or two before the mall's closure in 2018.
== Complete list of stores ==
=== Anchors ===
* Sears (April 13, 1977 - January 28, 2018) - 1425 W Southern Ave
* Dillard's (1986 - October 2019)
* Best Buy (Spring 2009 - 2016) - 
* Dick's Sporting Goods (Spring 2009 - 2016) - 
* Macy’s (2006 - 2014) 
=== Mall Interior ===
* Aéropostale - Suite 1260
* American Eagle Outfitters - Suite 2208
* Arizona Diamond Center - Suite 1232
* AT&T store - Suite 1008
* Auntie Anne's - Suite 2086
* Bad Boy Blades - Suite 2064
* Barcelona's Barber Shop - Suite 2088
* Bath & Body Works - Suite 1238
* Body Language - Suite 2222
* Candy King - Suite 1072
* Cellairis - Cart/kiosk
* Champs Sports - Suite 1270
* Charley's - Suite 2102
* Charlotte Russe - Suite 2032
* The Children's Place - Suite 1186
* Chinese Dim Sum - Suite 2114
* Claire's - Suite 2144
* Classic Grille - Suite 2092
* Cricket Wireless store - Suite 1004
* Cutting Edge - Suite 1004
* Dairy Queen/Orange Julius - Suite 2118
* Deb Shop Junior & Plus - Suite 1250
* Diamond Wireless/Verizon - Cart/kiosk
Category:Shopping Malls
Category:Defunct malls
Category:Dead Malls
Category:Malls in the United States
Category:Malls in Arizona
Category:Malls that opened in 1979
Category:TCBY Yogurt Locations