Paradise Valley Mall

Paradise Valley Mall is a shopping mall located in Paradise Valley Village, within northeastern Phoenix, Arizona.
Despite having the same name as the town of Paradise Valley it is one mile to the north of that community, in one of the Urban Village of Phoenix, named Paradise Valley Village. The urban village of Phoenix containing this mall as well as several other major facilities (Paradise Valley Community College, Paradise Valley High School, Paradise Valley Hospital, Paradise Valley Golf Course, Paradise Valley Park, etc.) is casually called Paradise Valley, like the nearby independent town.
The mall is surrounded by a circular street named Paradise Village Parkway and this design was inspired by the circulator streets (Metrocenter Parkway) around Metrocenter Mall which was also developed by Westcor in the years prior (1970–73).
== History ==
=== Opening ===
The mall opened in 1978, however the opening ceremony was held on February 28, 1979. The mall opened with three anchor tenants, JCPenney occupying the West anchor space, Goldwater's (later Robinsons-May, now Macy's) occupying the center space and Diamond's (later Sears, now vacant) occupying the Eastern space. The mall was designed by local architect Rafique Islam. It was constructed of Slump Block and white stucco, and featured skylights, landscaped courtyards and Terrazzo tile in Indian patterns. Diamond's was the first anchor to open, opening in early February 1979. JCPenney opened with the grand opening ceremony on February 28, 1979. Goldwater's was the last of the three anchors to open opening on August 11, 1980. General Cinema Theater opened June 15, 1979. It later became a Harkins Theatres then was vacant for almost a decade until Picture Show moved in in 2010.
The mall is the hub of a master planned community called Paradise Valley Village. The entire project was developed by Westcor, the leading shopping center developer in Arizona, which is now a unit of The Macerich Company. Dayton Hudson Corporation, now Target Corporation, was an early investor in the project and owned the Diamond's department store chain, which was one of the original anchor tenants.
=== Expansion ===
The mall was expanded in the late 1980s with two additional anchor stores built to the north of the original structure, the expansion consisted of two new wings. The northeast wing housing a new anchor store for Dillard's. Also in this Wing a restaurant space was built which now houses Chompie's. The northwest wing housed additional stores as well as a new Broadway store which would later become Macy's. The northwest wing would be demolished in 2008 to make way for a new Costco. between the two 1980s wings a three-story parking garage was constructed at the same time directly north of the original food court. A carousel was installed off the food court in 1998.
Originally owned by Westcor, in 2002 Paradise Valley Mall became part of The Macerich Company's portfolio.
=== Anchor History ===
* JCPenney opened February 28, 1979
* Goldwater's opened August 11, 1980, became J. W. Robinson's in 1989, Robinsons-May in 1993 and Macy's in 2006
* Diamond's opened February, 1979, became Sears in 1989 and closed on January 19, 2019. The building remains vacant.
* Dillard's opened circa 1989 as an expansion to the mall
* Broadway opened 1991 as an expansion to the mall, became Macy's in 1996 closed in 2006, demolished and replaced with Costco in 2008
=== Development and Decline ===
Paradise Valley Mall is just west of Scottsdale. Much of the area's original development was spurred by that community, although the demographics of Paradise Valley Village have moderated somewhat over the years to be less upscale and more middle-class. During the 1980s and 1990s, new extensions were constructed, and shopping centers also opened on the ring roads. Paradise Valley Mall has a large park-and-ride stop for Valley Metro buses. An elevated rail station, as part of the 1989 ValTrans proposal, had been slated for construction here, but the referendum was voted down.
Since the late 1990s, higher income shoppers became more inclined to shop at newer facilities such as Kierland Commons and the Scottsdale Road/Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard corridor, which features power centers that cater to upscale shoppers. This has caused Paradise Valley Mall retailers such as Macy's to carry fewer high-end name brand goods and sell items more in line with a middle-income customer base.
The owners also added improvements in 2001 intended to attract teenagers and young families, a move made necessary by it being the oldest mall in the area. Despite these changes, decline eventually started with the opening of Desert Ridge Marketplace and The Promenade in Scottsdale. Still, Paradise Valley Mall remains several times its original size, with a gross leasable area of 1,222,353 square feet (113,560.3 m2).
On November 8, 2018, it was announced that Sears would be closing this location in late January 2019 a part of a plan to close 40 stores.
== Surrounding area ==
The mall is surrounded by a circular street named Paradise Village Parkway. Tatum Boulevard and Cactus Road intersect within the circle thus creating four quadrants.
The Northwest quadrant consists of the original mall and its parking lot, the parking lot has a circular access road called the Paradise Valley Mall Loop. Between the parking lot and Tatum Boulevard are several restaurant buildings constructed in the 1980s, there are also restaurant buildings of the same era along Cactus Road. The Phoenix Public Library Mesquite Branch Is located north of the mall on Paradise Village Parkway, it opened circa 1980 and was designed by local architect Will Bruder.
The Northeast quadrant Consists of the Village Plaza and Village Fair shopping centers as well as The Paradise Plaza shopping and medical center. There is also an In-N-Out Burger located in the parking lot of the Village Plaza and a Red Lobster and Olive Garden located on Cactus Road South of Paradise Plaza.
The Southeast quadrant also called Paradise Village Crossroads was the last of the quadrants to be developed. It consists of the Village Crossroads Shopping Center and the Paradise Valley Corporate Center. They're also restaurant buildings located in the parking lot of the shopping center including Outback Steakhouse and Chick-fil-A.
The Southwest quadrant consists of the Village Square I and II shopping centers, Jackson's car wash and several apartment buildings There is also an APS substation south of Village Square II.
The only other retail Center is the Village Center which is located outside the loop to the West of Paradise Village Parkway.
The first shopping center constructed was the Village Plaza which predates the mall by several months, it was completed in the fall of 1978. The anchors consists of a CVS Pharmacy originally an Osco Drug and a Sprouts Farmers Market. the rest of the plaza contains small shops. The exterior of Village Plaza was renovated in the late 2000s Natural Stone was added to the building's facade also new sidewalks and plantings were installed and the buildings were given a new color scheme.
After the completion of the mall Village Square I was constructed in 1979. It is anchored by TJ Maxx, Stein Mart formerly a Mor Furniture and HomeGoods formerly a Borders Bookstore.
Village Square II was constructed in 1980 anchored by a Big 5 Sporting Goods and a Mervyn's department store. The Mervyn's store closed in the 2000s and the space was split in half and is now Hobby Lobby and Tuesday Morning The rest of the center consists of small businesses. the exterior of Village Square II was renovated in 2012 with the original slump block stuccoed smooth and colorful awnings installed over the storefronts.
Paradise Plaza was constructed in 1982 and consists mostly of furniture stores and medical offices.
Village Center was constructed in the mid-1980s and is anchored by Target and Dollar Tree.
Village Fair North was constructed in the late 1980s and is anchored by EoS Fitness formally Sports Authority, Office Max, Ulta Beauty, 99 Cent Only store. and a Toys "R" Us that closed in 2018. The shopping center was expanded in 1993 with a new building housing Best Buy.
Development of Paradise Village Crossroads began with Village Crossroads constructed in 1993 anchored by a Montgomery Ward now a Walmart Supercenter. The Paradise Valley Corporate Center was constructed in 2001 and was built upon the last piece of open land within the parkway.
The immediate area surrounding the parkway consists of Apartments to the North, South and West the Stone Creek Golf Club, Embassy Suites Hotel and the Paradise Village Office Park to the South and single family homes to the East.
== In popular culture ==
In 1987 the mall was used in the filming of Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure as the exterior of the San Dimas Mall. This footage was later cut and does not appear in the final film. Interior mall scenes were filmed at Metrocenter Mall.
== Future plans ==
Currently, most visitors arrive by car, but there are plans to extend the Valley Metro Rail to serve Paradise Valley Mall and other parts of the northeastern areas. Such improvements are not part of the current development phase and are not expected until the 2030s. Long-term plans include the construction of Valley Metro Rail powered by Overhead lines further north along Tatum Boulevard as well as frequent "supergrid" bus service. Plans for Northeast Phoenix in 2034, and Arizona State University's West campus in 2040.
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