Southlake Mall (Indiana)

Southlake Mall is an indoor shopping mall located in the city of Hobart, Indiana. The entire mall and surrounding area share a mailing address with the town of Merrillville, Indiana- the location most commonly referenced by local & regional residents and shoppers alike. The reason people mix up the city/town location is because the tract of land on which the mall sits was annexed from unincorporated Ross Township in 1993 by the city of Hobart. Prior to that time Ross township included the actual town of Merrillville as well as unincorporated Ross township when even back then, the two shared the same zip code and mailing address. Regardless, the entire mall area is recognized as part of the Chicago metropolitan area. Southlake Mall is not only the one enclosed "super mall" in Northwest Indiana, but also one of largest shopping malls in the entire state of Indiana. The other two are Castleton Square in Indianapolis, and Glenbrook Square in Fort Wayne.
Anchor stores include Kohl's, JCPenney, Macy's, Dick's Sporting Goods, Sears, Books-A-Million and H&M. It also has one restaurant Cooper's Hawk Winery & Restaurants. The Macy's store was previously an L. S. Ayres prior to September 9, 2006. Across the street from the mall is a combined shopping center called Merrillville Plaza And Crossings Of Hobart. The two other shopping centers are Merrillville Crossings and Crossroads Plaza Of Merrillville.
The mall has over 160 retailers to meet the demands of an increasingly sophisticated shopper and growing marketplace. People can spend the day viewing the latest trends, finding a new favorite store, watching a movie or catching up with friends over a meal.
Conveniently located on US-30 just off I-65 connecting to I-80, I-90 and I-94, Southlake Mall is at the epicenter of a bustling tri-state trade.
== History ==
=== Opening and 1970s ===
The mall first opened with only two anchor stores - JCPenney and Sears - and the north and south anchor wings were added later. Carson's once housed the cafeteria-style "The Garden Restaurant" next to the entrance near the security garage on the south side of the mall from 1975-89. Richard E. Jacobs Visconsi group built the mall in 1974. The company put it up for sale in 1999, but it was not purchased until 2002 by The Westfield Group, who renamed it Westfield Shoppingtown Southlake, and again to Westfield Southlake.
=== 1980s ===
In 1982, Popeyes was built across the street from the mall. Olive Garden opened in the mall's area in 1988.
=== 1990s ===
On March 12, 1993, Kohl's opened outside of the mall. Target Greatland and Circuit City opened on October 6, 1993. Circuit City closed in 2009 and hhgregg opened in its place. Hhgregg filed for bankruptcy in 2017.
In 1995, The Home Depot and Petsmart opened as part of a nearby shopping center.
=== 2000s ===
In 2000, Ruby Tuesday opened between JCPenney and L. S. Ayres, but closed in 2010.
Century Mall, the city's other mall closed in 2001.
In 2001, a tornado damaged shopping areas and overturned tractor-trailer rigs in northwest Indiana, but only two people suffered minor injuries. The twister touched down in Merrillville late Saturday afternoon, damaging a shopping center and overturning tractor-trailers parked nearby, police said. It stayed on the ground and made its way through Hobart, about 5 miles away, where it ripped the roof off the Kohl’s department store and damaged a Bennigan’s restaurant near the busy Southlake Mall. This was my first time seeing a tornado that close, and it was both scary and cool, said 10-year-old Seth Gunter of Wheeler. He watched the storm as his father drove along a nearby highway, swerving to avoid debris from the Kohl’s building. Two people were treated for cuts caused by flying glass at Bennigan’s.
On May 15, 2004, Build A Bear Workshop opened at the mall.
Westfield Southlake underwent a significant expansion in 2006, which added Dick's Sporting Goods and a Borders bookstore, as well as several structures in the mall's outlot areas, including a 12 screen AMC theater, a Fifth Third Bank branch, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Potbelly Sandwich Works, Red Robin, and Buffalo Wild Wings.
=== 2010s ===
In July 2011, Borders Group announced it would be closing all of its stores by the end of September due to Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Liquidation, including the Southlake Mall location. After Borders was closed, it became Books-A-Million. Books-A-Million relocated in 2014 and the old location became Forever 21 the same year. H&M opened at Southlake Mall in the same wing in 2015.
Cooper's Hawk Winery & Restaurants opened in August 2012. It is the only location attached to a mall.
On November 10, 2012, a group of teens ranging from age 14-16 were arrested after an altercation with another group of teens. One of the teens shot a 7.62×25mm Tokarev into the ceiling which caused the gun to jam. Witnesses reported a chaotic scene as people fled after the gunshot, and traffic was backed up on exit roads around the mall for an hour following the evacuation. The mall remained locked down into the night. Brandon Wright, of Crown Point, and his cousin Tabitha Dolton, of Merrillville, told The Times they had been near the carousel and Gloria Jean's about 6:30 p.m. when a group of teenagers walked by talking about fighting. Word quickly spread through the mall, but some diners at restaurants like Cooper's Hawk Winery and Restaurant, at the other end of the mall, reportedly finished their meals before leaving, while others exited quickly without paying. Leeanna Penick, 26, of Hobart, was shopping for Christmas candy and for the upcoming holidays in Macy's at the time of the fight. The mall was shutdown after the shooting and resumed business on November 11, 2012.
Specialty discount retailer, rue21, opened a store in the JCPenney wing in March 2013.
Westfield Group sold the mall to Starwood Capital in September 2013. As part of the sale, the mall's name reverted to Southlake Mall. Westfield also sold Louis Joliet Mall and Chicago Ridge Mall to Starwood Capital.
On July 31, 2015, Maurices opened the the mall. The 4,940-square-foot location is next to Hollister on the first level of the super-regional mall at U.S. 30 and Mississippi Street. The retailer gave shoppers $25 off every $75 off from then through August 8.
On July 31, 2015, Southlake Mall in Hobart got a park with a river, trees and fish, which is only its all digital. Visitors can create digital blooms and fish at seven iPad stations along the virtual river. They can even skip virtual stones across the water. Indiana's first state-of-the-art interactive digital river will flow through the mall's remodeled center court, which has been renamed "The Docks." New owner Starwood Retail removed the carousel that had been there after buying the 1.36 million-square-foot super-regional mall at U.S. 30 and Mississippi Street from Westfield in 2013. "This unique element offers a relaxing ambience for our shoppers," Southlake Mall  Director Erin Webster said. "It is intended to be a place for families to gather, take a break from shopping, grab a coffee and enjoy playing with the digital river." A new seating area was located in a "park-like atmosphere" with shimmering leaves on digital trees on five towers in the area. At the river's end, shoppers can conjure up a digital salmon that will swim upstream against the current. "The digital river is being entirely custom built and is a first of its kind," Webster said. "The only Starwood Retail property to have anything similar would be the digital tree at Louis Joliet Mall."
In 2017, Smoothie King opened across the street from the mall by Jimmy John's. The building that houses the restaurant was originally an Arby's.
On June 17, 2017, Macy’s Backstage made its grand debut in the Greater Chicagoland area inside the Macy’s store. Customers will now have a brand new outlet to find designer deals and fabulous finds, all at significant savings. Carving retail space within the full-line department store on the first floor, this new retail combination of an outlet store within a store gives shoppers a new discount destination located right inside of their favorite store.
In 2018, Porkchop Barbecue closed to the public.
On April 12, 2018, the Sears building was put up for sale.
On April 18, 2018, it was announced that Carson's would be closing as parent company The Bon-Ton was going out of business. The store closed in August 2018. However, a new owner of Carson's hopes to reopen the once-busy department store at the Southlake Mall, which closed as a result of the bankruptcy of Carson's former parent company, The Bon-Ton Stores.
In Late November 2018, Lake County officials say they have won a favorable ruling in a property tax appeal by Southlake Mall. John Dull, an attorney for the Board of Commissioners, said Monday the Indianapolis-based Indiana Board of Tax Review issued a decision last week upholding Lake County's valuation for the years 2011 through 2014 of the regional shopping mall on U.S. 30 in Hobart. "This was one of the largest valuation disputes in (local) property tax — going against the state’s largest law firm with a taxpayer with more resources than us — and we beat them back," Dull said. Ross Township Assessor Angela Guernsey, whose office oversees assessments of the mall, said the township and county gained millions of dollars a year in assessed value they would have lost if the tax board had ruled against them.
On April 3, 2019, a crash involving up to 10 vehicles near Southlake Mall caused a vehicle to roll on its side and traffic to be backed up on U.S. 30 for about a mile. Hobart police responded around 1:20 p.m. to a crash involving multiple vehicles at U.S. 30 and Mississippi Street, Capt. James Gonzales, police spokesman, said. A tow truck was heading west on U.S. 30 toward Mississippi Street “when a small passenger vehicle cut in front of the tow truck,” according to Gonzales. The tow truck struck the vehicle, causing the vehicle to lose control and roll on its side, Gonzales said. The tow truck driver also lost control and veered into the eastbound lanes of U.S. 30 and crashed into several vehicles, he said. The tow truck was then struck by a semitractor-trailer, according to Gonzales. Roughly 10 vehicles were involved in the crash, Gonzales said.
On August 6, 2019, it was announced that Sears would also be closing as part of a plan to close 26 stores nationwide. The store will close in October 2019. 
The super-regional mall at U.S. 30 and Mississippi Street in Hobart, the second-largest mall in the state, is already trying to fill the vacancy left behind by Carson’s, which dissolved in bankruptcy last year amid a period of unprecedented upheaval in the brick-and-mortar retail industry. Southlake Mall will have to find new uses for two of its five anchor spaces. Long the largest retailer in the United States, Sears has lost $11 billion since 2011. It last turned an annual profit in 2010. In the latest of many rounds of closings, it's shuttering 26 larger format stores nationwide as it shifts to a focus on smaller stores. Other malls, such as the Greenwood Park Mall in the Indianapolis suburb of Greenwood or the Glenbrook Square Mall in Fort Wayne, have responded to the loss of traditional anchors by tearing them down and replacing them with lifestyle centers, restaurants and more modern attractions. Glenbrook Square is replacing its Sears with an outdoor strip mall and a Portillo's, while the Orland Square Mall is building a 10-screen AMC multiplex where its shuttered Sears department store used to be. Mall operator Simon Properties plans to replace vacant Sears with new "retail, fitness, dining and entertainment concepts" at its shopping centers across the country, including the Castleton Square Mall in Indianapolis.
=== 2020s ===
In March 2020, it was reported that owner, Starwood Retail Partners, defaulted on ₪900 million (approximately $250 million) in Israeli bond loans and was forced to restructure and divest their "Starwood West" package of malls, including Southlake. The top bidder on the package was a joint venture of Golden East Investors and Pacific Retail Capital Partners. The venture, as agreed to by Starwood's senior trustees, is designed to resolve debts and stabilize assets, ending in a potential sale to Pacific Retail or a similar company. Pacific Retail assumed management in December 2020.
== Anchors ==
=== Current ===
* Macy's (originally L. S. Ayres)
* Books-A-Million (downsized and moved)
* H&M
* Kohl's (opened 1993)
=== Former ===
* Sears (opened 1974, closed October 2019)
* Carson's (closed August 2018)
* Borders (closed 2011)
* L. S. Ayres (opened 1978, converted into Macy's in 2006)
* Dick's Sporting Goods
* J C Penney's
== Restaurants ==
=== Current ===
* Cooper's Hawk Winery & Restaurants (opened August 2012)
=== Former ===
* Ruby Tuesday (opened 2000, closed 2010)
* Porkchop Barbecue (closed 2018)
== See also ==
* Century Mall
* Merrillville Crossings
* Merrillville Plaza And Crossings Of Hobart
* Crossroads Plaza Of Merrillville
== Gallery ==
=== Videos ===
File:Graeginator Rides 6 Elevators at Westfield Southlake Mall in Merrillville, IN|Elevator Tour
File:Video Tour Carson Pirie Scott Southlake Mall|Carson's Closing Tour
=== Photos ===
Books-A-Million At Southlake Mall In Merrillville, Indiana.jpg|Books-A-Million
Sunshine Mart.jpg|Sunshine Mart
Yankee Candle.jpg|Yankee Candle
Victoria's Secret-0.jpg|Victoria's Secret
== External Links ==
Southlake Mall's Official Website
Category:Malls in the United States
Category:Shopping Malls
Malls in Indiana
Category:Starwood Capital Group Malls
Category:Former Westfield Malls
Category:Malls that opened in 1974
Category:Multi-Level Malls
Category:Macy's-anchored Malls
Category:Former Sears-anchored Malls
Category:Dick's-anchored Malls
Category:Former L.S. Ayres-anchored Malls
Category:JCPenney-anchored Malls
Category:Former Carson's-anchored Malls
Category:Books-A-Million-anchored Malls
Category:Former Borders-anchored Properties
Category:Kohl's-anchored Properties
Category:Target-anchored Properties
Category:Cooper's Hawk Locations
Category:Former Ruby Tuesday Locations
Category:Schoop's Locations
Category:Pacific Retail Capital Partners Malls