Rivertown Crossings Mall

RiverTown Crossings is a two-story enclosed super-regional shopping mall in Grandville, Michigan. It has four and a half anchors: Macy's, Kohl's, JCPenney, Dick's Sporting Goods, Soar N Bounce, and one and a half vacant anchor stores last filled by Sears and Younkers.
== History ==
=== Design and development ===
The idea for a commercial development in Grandville began in 1981 when developer General Growth Properties purchased 99 acres of land on Rivertown Parkway. In 1990, Homart Development Company, a subsidiary of Sears, had begun eyeing a development of a new mall near the intersection of 44th Street and Ivanrest and met with the city for approval. In November 1990, Homart Development Co. originally proposed a 1 million square foot, 120-store indoor mall on 94 acres of land near the intersection, seeking for the land to be rezoned from high-tech industrial to commercial. However, the City of Grandville turned down the plans in January 1991, stating that a 99-acre lot on Rivertown Parkway, which was adjacent to the property sought by Homart, was already zoned for commercial usage and was owned by General Growth. Homart's plan for a mall was then put on hold after its director, Roy Vice, left the company and Homart Development Company was put up for sale in 1994, later being sold to General Growth in 1995.
In October 1994 after waiting for the economy to strengthen, General Growth vice president John Bergstrom proposed a 150-store mall with 4 anchor stores, stating that the project could be completed by Spring 1997. This plan was also declined on October 12, 1994, with Grandville Mayor James Buck stating that more commercial was not needed in the city. General Growth then made a deal to acquire more land adjacent to the site in August 1996, with a new proposed mall site totaling 138 acres.General Growth and the City of Grandville then made a deal in October 1996 after General Growth promised in August that the mall would only remain in Grandville and not span into Wyoming, with Grandville Mayor James Buck stating, "The construction of this mall has been anticipated for years. ... Our goal will be to provide the finest shopping mall in Michigan". A revised plan for the mall was later developed in May 1997 which reduced the size of the mall to just over 130 stores. Construction for the mall broke ground on December 6, 1997 with a total construction cost of about $160 million.
=== Opening ===
RiverTown Crossings opened on November 3, 1999, just prior to the holiday season with five original anchor stores: Sears, Hudson's, Kohl's, Younkers and JCPenney. Barnes & Noble also featured as a junior anchor. In 2000, Galyan's (now Dick's Sporting Goods) and Old Navy opened, with Galyan's becoming the mall's sixth anchor tenant and Old Navy becoming another junior anchor. The mall also offered a Cinemark cinema with 20 screens near its food court.
The mall was one of the first developments in the area. After the mall was built, many other restaurants and stores opened around it. Now the area is well developed and a major shopping district for the West Side of Grand Rapids including the Holland Area.
=== Further Changes ===
On March 26, 2002, Meijer opened outside the mall. Duluth Trading Company opened in the mall's property on November 16, 2017.
On April 18, 2018, it was announced that Younkers would be closing its doors because to its parent company, The Bon Ton, was unable to find a buyer and was going out of business. The store closed on August 29, 2018. 
On November 9, 2020, it was announced that Sears would also be closing as part of a plan to close 7 stores nationwide. The store closed on January 24, 2021.
In 2022, Underground Building purchased the vacant Younkers space from Brookfield Properties and renovated the building. In early 2024, the second level was leased to Soar N Bounce and they started construction in spring the same year.
On August 30th, 2024, Poag Development Group bought Rivertown Crossings from Brookfield Properties. There intentions are to work with Jones Lang LaSalle in order to revitalize the mall and to keep it up to date.
On December 6, 2024, Soar N Bounce Trampoline and Adventure Park opened on the upper floor of the vacant younkers space.
== Stores and attractions ==
The mall has a total of over 130 stores with about 1,249,697 square feet (116,100.7 m2) of retail space available. Outside are more than 6,000 parking spaces.
Food and beverage merchants are located in the mall. There is also a food court with a carousel in the center that is surrounded by 8 quick service restaurants.
The mall features murals painted by Chicago-based artist Thomas Melvin in 1999, when the mall first opened. As part of a minor renovation in 2017, many of these murals were painted over, with only those above the anchor stores remaining.
Near the food court, there is also a 20 screen Celebration Cinema movie theater. The theater serves as one of the mall's anchor tenants and is one of the most popular cinemas in Michigan, consecutively performing as one of the top 3 theaters in the state.
Across from Dick's Sporting Goods on the second floor, there is Soar N Bounce Trampoline and Adventure Park. The attraction is the largest trampoline park in West Michigan. It opened on December 6, 2024.
The mall's slogan is Mix it up, one of few major slogans that General Growth Properties uses with some of their malls.
== Current Anchors ==
* JCPenney - Opened in 1999.
* Kohl's - Opened in 1999.
* Dick's Sporting Goods - Opened as Galyan's in 2000/became Dick's Sporting Goods in 2004.
* Macy's - Opened as Hudson's in 1999/became Marshall Field's in 2001/renamed Macy's in 2006.
* Celebration Cinema - Opened as Cinemark in 2000/became Celebration Cinema in 2007.
* Soar N Bounce Trampoline and Adventure Park - Opened in 2024 in the vacant Younkers upper floor.
== Former Anchors ==
* Hudson's - Renamed as Marshall Field's in 2001.
* Galyan's - Acquired by Dick's Sporting Goods in 2004.
* Marshall Field's - Acquired by Macy's in 2006.
* Cinemark - Became Celebration Cinema in 2007.
* Younkers - Closed in 2018 due to The Bon Ton's bankruptcy.
*Sears - Closed in 2021 due to Sears bankruptcy.
== Gallery ==
=== Videos ===
File:Rivertown Crossings, Grandville, Michigan a nice mall about to get a sore thumb|August 14, 2018 Mall Tour
File:MontgomeryKone Traction Elevator at RiverTown Crossings in Grandville, MI|The Main Elevator
File:Montgomery-KONE Hydraulic Elevator at Sears, Rivertown Crossings Mall|The Sears Elevator
File:Schindler MT Hydraulic Elevator at JCPenney, Rivertown Crossings Mall|The JCPenney, Elevator
File:Schindler RT Hydraulic Elevator at Macy's at RiverTown Crossings in Grandville, MI|The Macy's Elevator
File:Schindler Elevator at Kohl's in the Rivertown Crossings Mall in Grandville, MI|The Kohl's Elevator
File:Montgomery Kone Glass Elevator @ Younker's Rivertown Crossings Mall Grandville,MI|The Younkers Elevator
File:Kone Hydrualic Elevator @ Dick's Sporting Goods Grandville,MI|The Dick's Sporting Goods Elevator
== External Links ==
Rivertown Crossings Mall's Official Website
== See Also ==
* Woodland Mall
* Shops At CenterPoint
* The Lakes Mall
* The Shops At Westshore
Category:Malls in Michigan
Category:Shopping Malls
Category:Malls in the United States
Category:Multi-Level Malls
Category:Malls that opened in 1999
Category:Brookfield Properties Retail Group Malls
Category:Former Cinemark-anchored Properties
Category:Former Galyan's-anchored Malls
Category:JCPenney-anchored Malls
Category:Kohl's-anchored Malls
Category:Former Marshall Field's-anchored Malls
Category:Macy's-anchored Malls
Category:Sears-anchored Malls
Category:Celebration Cinema-anchored Properties
Category:Former Hudson's-anchored Malls
Category:Former Younkers-anchored Malls
Category:Barnes & Noble-anchored Malls
Category:Old Navy-anchored Malls
Category:H&M-anchored Malls
Category:Former Sears-anchored Malls
Category:Trampoline Park-anchored Malls
Category:Recreation Center-anchored Malls
Category:Former Express-anchored Malls