Springfield Town Center

Springfield Town Center is a shopping center in Springfield, Virginia. It opened in 1973 as Springfield Mall, an enclosed shopping mall, which closed on June 30, 2012 as part of a multimillion-dollar redevelopment plan to turn it into a multifaceted "Town Center"-style shopping center with a main indoor area similar to the nearby Tysons Corner Center and Dulles Town Center, while transforming the exterior into a pedestrian friendly environment with restaurants with cafe style outdoor seating and entrances. It is located at the intersection of Interstate 95 and Franconia Road (Route 644), which is part of the Springfield Interchange, 1/4 mile north of Franconia-Springfield Parkway (State Route 289) and the Franconia-Springfield Metro station. The mall reopened on October 17, 2014 following its two-year renovation.
Original anchors were Lansburgh's (later E.J. Korvette), Garfinckel's (later Sports Authority), JCPenney, and Montgomery Ward (later Target). Macy's was added in 1991. The mall was notable for having one of the top two performing locations of the Time Out chain of amusement arcades, which featured in its "mall rat" culture during the 1980s golden age of arcades.
In 1998, The Home Depot opened next to the mall.
Prince Charles and Princess Diana visited the JCPenney store at the mall on November 11, 1985, during their famous American tour. However, the mall's fortunes declined in the 1990s and 2000s. Its DMV office was where Hani Hanjour and Khalid al-Mihdhar, two of the hijackers in the September 11 attacks, illegally obtained state identification. The mall also experienced two gang-related stabbings in 2005, a fatal shooting in December 2007, and a fatal carjacking in September 2008.
One of the largest malls in Northern Virginia, it was owned and operated by Vornado Realty Trust. In 2005, Vornado purchased an option valued at $36 million to buy the mall from the previous owners Franconia Two LP. In early 2006, Vornado purchased the mall for an additional $80 million along with plans to redevelop.
In March 2012, Vornado announced plans to close all but the three anchor stores starting on July 1, ahead of the two-year renovation and redevelopment, which is part of a decade-long plan intended to turn the Mall and its surrounding area into the new Springfield Town Center. Springfield Town Center re-opened as scheduled on October 17, 2014.
In March 2014, Vornado announced plans to sell Springfield Town Center to Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust for $465 million, with the deal slated to close in March 2015. In late 2015, Dave and Buster's, a popular family owned entertainment and sportsbar opened.
== Gallery ==
=== Videos ===
File:Faded Commerce Episode 4 Springfield Town Center|Mall Tour
File:Kone hydraulic elevator at Spring Field Mall in Springfield VA|The Main Elevator
File:MEI Hydraulic Modded Freight Elevator at Springfield Town Center Mall, Springfield, VA|The Mall Freight Elevator
File:Montgomery Hydraulic Elevator at Macy's, Springfield Town Center Mall, Springfield, VA|The Macy’s Elevator
File:General Hydraulic Elevators at Target, Springfield Town Center Mall, Springfield, VA|The Target Elevator
File:LARGE Montgomery Hydraulic Elevators at JCPenney, Springfield Town Center Mall, Springfield, VA|The JCPenney Elevator
File:ThyssenKrupp Endura MRL Elevator at Dave & Buster's, Springfield Town Center Mall, Springfield, VA|The Dave & Buster's Elevator
File:Schindler 3300 MRL Traction Elevator @ Forever 21, Springfield Town Center|The Forever 21 Elevator
== External Links ==
Springfield Town Center's Official WebsiteCategory:Malls in Virginia
Category:Malls in the United States
Category:Shopping Malls
Category:Multi-Level Malls
Category:Malls that opened in 1973
Category:Target-anchored Malls
Category:Macy's-anchored Malls
Category:JCPenney-anchored Malls
Category:The Home Depot-anchored Properties
Category:PREIT Malls