Burnsville Center

Burnsville Center is located in Burnsville, Minnesota. It is one of the larger enclosed malls in Minnesota with 100 stores on 3 floors and approximately 1,100,000 square feet (100,000 m2). The mall opened in 1977 with Sears (closed in 2017), JCPenney, Dayton's (became Marshall Fields in 2001, now Macy's since 2006), and Donaldson's (became Carson Pirie Scott in 1987, Mervyn's in 1995, Steve & Barry's in 2004, and was split between Gordman's on the first level and Dick's Sporting Goods on the second level from 2009 to 2020. Dick's remains, but the bottom floor was a Spirit Halloween in 2021 and is being converted into an Asian mini-mall) as anchors after Hannah Rimnac sold farmland to Homart Development. Until 2020, the mall was by owned by CBL & Associates.
=== 1971–1976: Planning and Construction ===
Sears and Powers jointly announced in May 1971 the acquisition of a 114-acre plot in Burnsville, Minnesota from Rimnac and Hanson for the development of a regional shopping center. The purchased land was situated at the southwest corner of the intersection of Interstate 35W and County Road 42. Two years later, in June 1973, developer Homart Development Company, a Sears subsidiary, unveiled plans for the Burnsville shopping center. The mall was intended to be 1.4 million square feet, costing $30 million, making it the largest shopping center in the area at the time. An opening in late 1975 or early 1976 was initially expected. In January 1974, Homart announced that groundbreaking would occur in the spring of 1974, with the mall slated for completion by late 1976. A later 1974 article revealed that the mall's name was to be Burnhaven Shopping Center.
By November 1975, the mall was nearing completion as planned; however, concerns were raised by Homart about sluggish population growth and a recession in the area. Notably, the construction highlighted the provision of facilities and amenities for disabled and handicapped shoppers, 15 years ahead of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. In late 1976, the opening date was shifted to August 1977.
=== 1977: Opening ===
Burnsville Center opened on August 3, 1977. The grand opening featured Pat Paulsen, Miss USA, and Miss Minnesota. Approximately 29,000 visitors attended on opening day, parking 10,800 cars. The mall was designed to accommodate around 165 stores when fully leased and opened with approximately 95 stores on its first day.
=== Stores on Opening Day ===
The three anchor stores were Dayton's, Powers Dry Goods, and Sears. Other stores included GNC, RadioShack, Jeans West, Topps & Trowsers, Berman Buckskin (later Wilsons Leather), Gallenkamp Shoes, Liemandt's, Rings 'n Things, Peck & Peck, Nina B, Cedrics, B. Dalton, Goodman Jewelers, Schaak Electronics, Thom McAn, Fanny Farmer, Toys Plus, Malings Shoes, The Banque Store, 1st Barber Stylist Company, Nutrition World, Pearle Vision, Kinney Shoes, Spencer Gifts, Desmond's Formal Wear, Artsign, National Uniform Shops, County Seat, Midland Records, Pipe Den, Unique Keepsake Diamond Center, Foot Locker, Hanover Shoe Store, Swiss Colony (later Colony Brands), Foxmoor Casuals, Waldenbooks, Record Bar, Gordon's Jewelers (later acquired by Zale Corporation), Bachman's, Morrow's Nut House, Frederick's of Hollywood, Bejeweled, Brown Photo, The Gap Gap Inc., Travel World of Minnesota, Bakers Shoes (Edison Brothers Stores), Merry-Go-Round, Kreiser Real Estate, UA Theater (later acquired by Regal Cinemas), Panache, Aladdin's Castle, Carousel Hot Dogs, Team Electronics, and Kinderfoto.
=== Late 1970s ===
A year after opening, in August 1978, it was reported that J.C. Penney would build a store and become the fourth anchor. Business at the mall exceeded plans in 1978, with many tenants reporting satisfaction with their sales totals.
=== 1980s ===
By 1983, Homart had sold the mall to Corporate Property Investors of New York, and management passed to Pembrook Management by 1984. In June 1985, Donaldson's purchased Powers Dry Goods, resulting in the first name change for an anchor at Burnsville Center. Ultimately, Donaldson's would be acquired by Carson's; later Carson's properties in the Twin Cities would sell to Dayton-Hudson (later Target Corporation) and become Mervyn's. These name changes were reflected on the anchor building at Burnsville Center. In 1985, the mall ranked 7th in sales volume among Twin Cities malls, despite being the area's largest at the time. However, by its 10th birthday in 1987, 66 of the original tenants were still at the mall, and the leasing rate was in the high 90th percentile range. In 1989, the carpeted ramp was removed and replaced with stairwells and elevators, increasing the food court capacity and upgrading restrooms with changing stations and infant seats.
=== 1990s ===
In 1992, Mall of America opened in nearby Bloomington, leading Burnsville Center and other malls to make adjustments to compete with the new mega-mall. CBL & Associates purchased the 20-year-old mall from Corporate Property Investors in February 1998 for $81 million.
=== 2000s-2010s ===
The first major renovation since opening occurred in 2001, introducing new stores, carpet, a remodeled food court, carousel, sky lights, improved lighting, and other amenities. In 2001, Dayton's renamed itself to Marshall Field's. After acquiring Marshall Field's, Dayton's renamed all its existing stores to the Marshall Field's name, reflected at Burnsville Center. With the closing of Mervyn's in 2004, mall management updated the former anchor space into two separate anchors in 2006, adding a Steve & Barry's on the lower level and a Dick's Sporting Goods on the upper level. In 2006, an exterior lifestyle center was added next to the Dick's entrance, a 50-foot tall stone hearth fireplace was constructed, and the carousel added five years earlier was removed. In April 2017, there was speculation that Burnsville Center needed to reinvent itself as malls were evolving, but it had not seen additions or developments in 10 years, unlike other area malls. In 2015, Sears Holdings spun off 235 of its properties, including the Sears at Burnsville Center, into Seritage Growth Properties. Sears closed this location in September 2017 as part of its plan to close 20 stores.
On February 4, 2016, the first At Home location in Minnesota opened outside the mall.
=== 2020s ===
As of August 2020, Burnsville Center housed approximately 90 stores and restaurants, with the Sears anchor store remaining vacant. Gordman's filed for bankruptcy, resulting in the closure of their mini anchor. In August 2020, CBL & Associates announced that Burnsville Center would go into foreclosure, owing $64.5 million in loans. The facility was greatly affected by coronavirus-related shutdowns in 2020, but the mall remained open. The mall's debt at auction was sold for $18 million in October 2020 to the Kohan Retail Investment Group. The auction did not include JCPenney, Macy’s, or the former Sears as they are separately owned. In February 2022, portions of Burnsville Center, including Dick's Sporting Goods, were purchased for $10.6 million by Pacific Square Burnsville LLC and Marshall Nguyen. As of September 2023, Pacific Square and Wyn Group purchased the remaining portion of the mall, excluding the three anchor stores, with plans for redevelopment.
As of May 2023, the former Sears building sits vacant and dilapidated, declared a fire hazard by the City of Burnsville.
As of October 2023, Kohan Retail Investment Group sold the mall to Pacifica Burnsville and Wyn Group.
== Transit ==
The mall is also used as a transportation stop in the region, with bus service linking the mall to other destinations. Regular public transit service is provided by the MVTA. A future extension of the under-construction METRO Orange Line, a bus rapid transit service to downtown Minneapolis, may also serve the facility.
== Gallery ==
=== Videos ===
File:Burnsville Center (Burnsville, MN) - Minnesota's largest dead mall
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