Southwest Center Mall (Formerly Red Bird Mall); Dallas, Texas
Located 10 miles southwest of downtown Dallas, at the interchange between US 67 and Interstate 20, Southwest Center Mall is both an anachronism and an eyesore. But what an amazing eyesore it is. One needs only to take a look at the photos to understand what a unique specimen this is, in terms of design, decor, and blatant inadequacy. But let’s dig a little deeper and try to figure out what happened.
It wasn’t always this way. Opened over 30 years ago in 1975, Southwest Center Mall opened to the masses with a different set of principles, and a different name – Red Bird Mall. The DeBartolo Group developed this two level mall with a simple layout, and Red Bird Mall was anchored by four stores - one on each end of the mall and two flanking center court. Sears anchored the east end of the mall, JCPenney the west, with Dallas based stores flanking the mall’s center court – Sanger-Harris on the north, and Titche’s on the south. Red Bird Mall enjoyed instant success as south Dallas’ only enclosed mall, inspired by a proud neighborhood and a good location.
Several anchor changes took place at Red Bird Mall throughout the 1970s and 1980s. In 1979, Titche’s became San Antonio-based Joske’s, and in 1987 two changes took place – Joske’s became Dillard’s, and Sanger-Harris became Houston-based Foley’s. Also, at some point a large Montgomery Ward was constructed at the southeast corner of the mall next to Sears.
As early as the mid-1980s, demographics began to change dramatically in the area surrounding Red Bird Mall, and at the same time a perception of crime began to brand the area – numerous car break-ins, vandalism, and robberies caused even loyal shoppers to begin taking their business elsewhere. And, in 1988, this became a lot easier, as a massive super-regional mall opened just 15 minutes from Red Bird Mall in Arlington. Called The Parks at Arlington, this new mega-mall would ciphon customers from Red Bird’s south Dallas consumer base more than any other, as most of its other competition is way up in north Dallas.
During the 1990s, Red Bird Mall continued its downward spiral. A man named John Wiley Price, a flamboyant Dallas politician, decided to make the mall and its woes part of his political platform, and staged protests outside the mall demanding retailers change their stock to reflect the black community, making statements it was ‘their’ mall. All the while, the mall got continuously worse, and DeBartolo, owners of the mall since it opened in 1975, unloaded it to NAAMCO Financial of California in 1997. At the time of the sale, the 1.12-million square-foot mall was only 65 percent leased.
In an attempt to disassociate the mall from its troubled environs and checkered recent past, NAAMCO gave the mall a small refurbishment and a new name – Southwest Center Mall – in 1997. A new food court, begun under the reign of DeBartolo, was finished and occupied in 1998 at the mall’s northwest entrance. With a price tag of $18 million, the food court took up the lion’s share of updates to the mall upon its change of hands and change of name. In addition, though, Dillard’s increased their store size from 100,000 to 150,000 square feet, and Sears renovated their entire store in 1998.
The new millenium brought more of the same problems for the newly named mall. In 2001, Montgomery Ward closed as that chain folded, but it was swiftly replaced by a Burlington Coat Factory which moved from a nearby box center. Also in 2001, JCPenney closed their store in Southwest Center Mall, which remains vacant today. In 2006 Foley’s became Macy’s, and Dillard’s left the mall in 2007 for a new development 10 miles further out – its store is also still vacant.
Also gaining speed in the early 2000s was a movement to bring more retail to Cedar Hill, a suburb of Dallas approximately 10 miles southwest of Southwest Center Mall along US 67. Cedar Hill, combined with surrounding communities such as DeSoto, Duncanville, and Lancaster – known locally as the Best Southwest – represent a portion of south Dallas with higher incomes and demographics expanding national chain stores like to see. In addition to a glot of big box centers and other retail which seemingly sprang up overnight, Cedar Hill is the home to the DFW Metroplex’s newest lifestyle center – Uptown Village at Cedar Hill – which opened in March 2008. This new urbanist-style shopping center is anchored by Dillard’s (the one that moved from Southwest Center), Dick’s Sporting Goods, Barnes and Noble, and features 725,000 square-feet of retail space – featuring stores found in better malls like Hollister, Chico’s, and Aveda. It’s an outdoor mall and features nicely landscaped courtyards between the modern-looking buildings contaning stores, and has a decidedly upscale feel not found in other centers in south Dallas. From the perspective of Southwest Center Mall, Uptown Village is not only a slap in the face, but a few more nails – possibly more than enough – in the coffin.
Perhaps another factor in Southwest Center Mall’s troubles is the lack of commitment from ownership. In the past eight years, the mall has had four owners, and its value on the tax rolls has decreased from $22 million in 2000 to just $6.25 million in 2008. In 2008, Southwest Center’s then-owner Thomas E. Morris – owner of other faily malls like Six Flags Mall in Arlington – declared bankruptcy, and in January 2009 the mall almost closed because the electricity was going to be shut off due to nonpayment. Whoops. An eleventh-hour save by a new owner – Madison Capital – who paid the bills, collected outstanding rent from some of the tenants, and even hired a professional security company. It’s no wonder the mall’s been in peril with such terrible past management problems, but Madison Capital is looking to sell the mall again to a more responsible owner. We’ll keep our fingers crossed.
In June 2009, nine economic development experts from the Urban Land Institute, with briefing books in hand from the Dallas Economic Development Office, will descend on Southwest Center for an intense week of study. Hired by the city of Dallas, the Urban Land Institute – a non-profit education and research organization focusing on land use and urban planning – is being paid $150,000 to study the mall, inteview patrons and tenants, and tour the environs in order to offer suggestions on how to make it better. In addition, Dillards – which relocated to Cedar Hill in 2007 – is currently marketing its dark anchor store to interested suitors.
Despite all of these problem, however, there remains a niche of stores which are making it at Southwest Center Mall. Most of these stores cater exclusively to an African-American clientele, and feature clothing and knicknack shops which reportedly attract shoppers from a multi-state region. According to the article, these tenants also realize the mall’s in poor shape and wish there were typical mall stores like Bath and Body Works, Victoria’s Secret, and discount boxes like Marshalls and Ross. One tenant even wants the old name, Red Bird Mall, to be re-established. Also, others have expressed frustration and concern that while there is direct access from the US 67 freeway, there is no direct access from Interstate 20.
Whatever happens to Southwest Center Mall, one thing is for sure – something drastic needs to happen in order to change fortunes here. The reality may be that demographics have shifted and other centers have opened to ciphon consumer pennies away from this particular mall, but even today a dedicated group of tenants and local residents still want this property to succeed. The photos featured here were taken in Summer 2005 (images 1-13) and January 2009 (images 14+). As usual, feel free to leave your own comments, experiences, and opinions about the mall and its plight.
Jonah Norason
June 3rd, 2009 at 5:52 pm
What’s tragic about this story is it was owned by two terrible owners who drove the mall into oblivion: NAMCO Financial (Summit Place Mall) and Tom Morris (Six Flags Mall). A dead Mervyn’s sits across from this mall, but other Dallas malls have this problem, too. Now both New Jersey and Texas have 13 malls on Labelscar. Excellent work.
[Reply]
SEAN Reply:
June 3rd, 2009 at 6:15 pm
@Jonah Norason,
Since you have knowledge of texas malls I have a question for you. How menny large format malls are in the DFW metroplex? I can think of about a dozen off the top of my head right now. Going one step beyond, how menny of those are within 7-10 miles of DeadBird. LOL
Sorry I couldn’t resist that shot. *cracking up*
Thanks JN
[Reply]
Jonah Norason Reply:
June 3rd, 2009 at 9:49 pm
@SEAN, in this “quadrant” of DFW, there is NorthPark Center, Town East Mall (which put the hurt on Big Town) and about ten lifestyle centers or outdoor shopping districts (Uptown Village included). There are, in total, about 20 enclosed malls altogether, 25 outdoor shopping districts or lifestyle centers, and Trader’s Village.
[Reply]
SEAN Reply:
June 4th, 2009 at 9:04 am
@Jonah Norason,
I maybe wrong on this, isn’t the population in the metroplex somewhere around 5.3 million? Using your figures from above that would equal 1 center per 120,000 residents in a sprawling area larger than Connecticut or Rhode Island. New York & it’s suburbs have nearly 50 malls & a population of about 20,000,000. That equals 1 center per 400,000 residents covering a 25 county region including Trenton, New Haven, Poughkeepsie & all of Long Island.
I realize this is an apples to oranges comparison & I didn’t look at demegraphics of density in particular neighborhoods, just raw numbers wich don’t tell the whole story.
[Reply]
Anonymous Reply:
June 3rd, 2009 at 10:00 pm
@SEAN,
What’s “menny”?
[Reply]
SEAN Reply:
June 4th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
@Anonymous, # of… large format malls
[Reply]
Steven Swain
June 3rd, 2009 at 6:50 pm
Won’t you take me to…Funky Town?
That one store, along with the vintage Sanger-Harris and groovin’ spiral staircase, make this mall a winner in my book, bad center court paint job notwithstanding.
[Reply]
Allan Marshall Reply:
June 4th, 2009 at 1:27 am
@Steven Swain, I completely agree with your analysis of this mall!
I wonder what NAMCO(or whenever the owner was at the time the mural in the center court was painted) was trying to do by painting that mural in the middle of the center court. Regardless, it’s ironic that both the mural and the tall palm trees in center court help to hide the struggles of this mall.
Is the Melrose store that’s in this mall supposed to be like a clothing store, or a different type of store? Too bad with many national retailers setting up shop at Cedar Hill, that it’ll probably add to the challenges of successfully reviving this mall. Hopefully, this mall could somehow come back, if dead malls at one time, such as Mall 205 in the Portland, OR area, can successfully make a comeback.
[Reply]
Prange Way Reply:
June 4th, 2009 at 11:48 am
@Allan Marshall, Melrose is a chain womens’ clothing store located mainly in malls all over Texas and other southwestern states.
Mall 205 is a great example of a dead mall coming back as an ancillary, box-anchored mall. It transitioned from tier-a mall to dead mall to that. This mall has gone from tier-a mall to a mostly-vacant mall catering to a minority niche, so that progression alone probably would lead to different redevelopment avenues. And yeah, the competition in Cedar Hill pretty much kills this one’s chance of having any of its former glory.
[Reply]
Jonah Norason Reply:
June 4th, 2009 at 12:33 pm
@Prange Way: Mall 205 failed ultimately because despite its big box anchors, the in-line spaces, despite being saved, ultimately fell by the wayside.
[Reply]
Allan Marshall Reply:
June 4th, 2009 at 10:01 pm
@Prange Way: Thanks for explaining what the store Melrose was. That’s definitely a chain I’ve never heard of, but I’m not surprised I haven’t heard of it. Is it re
@Jonah Norason: I thought the interior space was kept at Mall 205, despite that I’m sure you’re correct that virtually all stores open there have exterior entrances, and very few(if any) interior stores remain there. I recall the dead mall Deerbrook Mall in the north suburbs of Chicago(and was profiled by Labelscar in the past) was similar to Mall 205, since it redeveloped itself with box stores, once the owners realized they couldn’t compete with nearby mall Northbrook Court.
[Reply]
Allan Marshall Reply:
June 4th, 2009 at 10:04 pm
@Prange: One more thing, I initially(and probably not surprisingly) thought at first that Melrose was a chain that was ran by Stage, a la Peebles, Bealls, etc.). Guess it’s safe to say they aren’t, after just looking at Stage’s website.
[Reply]
SEAN Reply:
June 5th, 2009 at 8:37 am
@Jonah Norason,
True. Another thing about Portland OR is most of the retail is west of the Burnside Bridge in the hart of downtown & in the burbs beyond the West Hills. Of course you have the enormus Loyd Center on the east side & a box center in Gresham as well.
[Reply]
KarenR
June 3rd, 2009 at 8:35 pm
Wow. Just, wow. Love the mosaic at the former Sanger-Harris but yet again I will be at work tomorrow checking the archives to see if we had a store at this location. I hope I don’t fall off my platform shoes while researching this mall!
[Reply]
Jonah Norason
June 3rd, 2009 at 10:07 pm
The Red Bird name became quite tarnished as gangs roamed the area.
The “protests” outside the mall are insanity. Can you imagine whites doing that to a “black mall”?
Earguzum, from Six Flags Mall, is here as well. Actually, the whole thing smacks of Six Flags Mall a few years ago…a fourth-stringer mall clearly suffering but staying afloat by its “eccentric” retailers, and holding onto a bit of hope. However, because they were both ripped away from Tom Morris at the same time, Southwest Center holds onto a bit of hope, while Six Flags Mall is pretty much deep-sixed.
[Reply]
Jonah Norason Reply:
June 4th, 2009 at 5:29 pm
- I meant to say “eclectic”, and also I forgot to mention Sunrise Mall…there’s hope for that one, too. Sunrise is a different story, though…it’s in Corpus Christi, and made the mistake of building virtually right next to an existing mall. Still, Sunrise was a lot cooler (not literally, both were air conditioned) than Padre Staples…and less crowded.
[Reply]
Kev Reply:
June 13th, 2009 at 3:06 am
“The Red Bird name became quite tarnished as gangs roamed the area.”
And it didn’t help that, as the area’s demographics changed, people started referring to it as “Black Bird Mall.” That’s probably the main reason for the change to the (admittedly rather sterile) Southwest Center.
“The “protests” outside the mall are insanity. Can you imagine whites doing that to a “black mall”?”
Good ol’ John Wiley Price; he’s really a brilliant and effective county commissioner (who gets reelected again and again), but he’s rather extremist in the area of race; the protests can grow tiresome after a while. (One of those protests made a bunch of us wait through about five traffic light cycles to cross the street on the way into the Cotton Bowl game. Considering the cost of the tickets, the protest accomplished little aside from ticking off everyone in the crowd, even those who might have otherwise been sympathetic to his cause.)
[Reply]
Alpha
June 3rd, 2009 at 10:24 pm
Macy’s and Sears seem to do ok catering to African American clientelle, but Dillard’s seems to give up pretty quickly. (Columbia Place Mall is another example of this.)
[Reply]
Chip Reply:
June 4th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
@Alpha, Typical Dillards. They did the same thing in St Louis. Dumped Northwest Plaza and Jamestown as soon as the clientelle changed. As seem to be the first to jump ship.
[Reply]
Steven Swain Reply:
June 6th, 2009 at 12:54 am
@Alpha, From what I’ve seen, Dillard’s, Belk and especially JCPenney tend to close quickly when demographics change.
[Reply]
Allan Marshall Reply:
June 6th, 2009 at 2:05 am
@Steven Swain, You’re so right about JCPenney often being among the first tenants to jump ship when demographics change. JCPenney closed at several Chicago area malls during the early 2000s when I noticed some local malls starting to decline, and/or demographics who frequented a mall changed. Lincoln Mall(Matteson, south suburbs), the now-dead Randhurst(Mount Prospect, northwest suburbs), and Lincolnwood Towne Center(north suburbs) being examples of what I mean.
I do find it slightly surprising JCPenney kept their store at North Riverside(west suburbs), considering how many stores JCPenney seemingly closed in inner-ring suburbs of Chicago during the early 2000s. But then again, JCPenney I believe wasn’t doing very well in general during the early 2000s, IIRC. Belk seems to be similar too, based on dead mall accounts/stories I’ve read on southern malls. Won’t comment on Dillard’s, since I know even less about that company. But looking back to the rumor I remember reading about them looking at space at Marquette Mall in Michigan City a year or 2 ago, I wouldn’t be surprised if they are trying to find a way to someday establish a presence in the Chicago area. (say, if any anchor openings ever occurred at some of the more successful malls, and/or attaching a store to a new lifestyle or box center)
[Reply]
Chip Reply:
June 6th, 2009 at 10:59 am
@Allan Marshall, JCPenney did close their store in Market Place Mall in Champaign IL around the same time. However they moved back into that location in 2006 after a major remodel
[Reply]
Allan Marshall Reply:
June 6th, 2009 at 6:16 pm
@Chip, Interesting they did reopen the store at Market Place. I do remember reading they did reopen at Lincoln Mall in Matteson(south suburbs), so I think the period they went through when they closed many stores is different than the period JCPenney is in today, since I know they have been expanding and opening many new stores.
@Jonah Norason, I’m sure some JCPenney stores that did close in that period were definitely underperformers. I have heard the theory before that many people consider malls that had Montgomery Ward anchoring it at one time to be malls that later become weak, or dead malls. (guess you could theoretically say a curse) Although I have yet to reach a conclusion on whether this is true or not, since I haven’t researched enough malls that did once have a Ward’s store anchoring them.
And speaking of Blue Ridge, it’s sad how many malls in the Kansas City area seemingly have died and/or are struggling, other than Oak Park Mall on the Kansas side. I do remember reading articles and blog entries on Blue Ridge Mall in the past.
[Reply]
Bobby Reply:
June 9th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
@Allan Marshall, Wards usually got stuck with bum malls that either had a bunch of anchors jump ship all at once (such as Maple Hill Mall in Kalamazoo, which had a shaky Target, as well as two local chains that went splat) or large, once-first-tier malls that got killed by changing demographics (Eastland Mall in Harper Woods, which is huge but very ghetto). I think one of the only exceptions is Genesee Valley in Flint, which had Wards for only about a decade.
[Reply]
SEAN Reply:
June 9th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
@Bobby, I seme to recall only one Wards in metro New York. It was located at the Poughkeepsie Galleria a mid-level mall owned by the boaring Pyramid Company.
[Reply]
Bobby Reply:
June 9th, 2009 at 4:15 pm
Oh yeah, another mall that once had a Wards and isn’t suffering: Spotsylvania Mall in Virginia. Their Wards is now a Costco, of all things — one of the only malls I know of that has a nonconventional big box anchor that isn’t sucking the life out of it. Usually anchors of that ilk coincide with dead, mostly big boxed malls.
[Reply]
Jonah Norason Reply:
June 9th, 2009 at 6:32 pm
@SEAN, some other mall Wards that lived to move on.
In Texas alone, there was Barton Creek Square (Nordstrom), Parkdale Mall (Foley’s), Sunrise Mall (a furniture store…after nearly seven years of vacancy!), Memorial City Mall (Target), Baybrook Mall (Foley’s), and several others.
And in Metro New York? Monmouth Mall.
[Reply]
Bobby Reply:
June 9th, 2009 at 10:32 pm
@Jonah Norason, Also to an extent Lansing Mall in Lansing. It was replaced with a Younkers, although most of the Wards wing has been big boxed with Dunham’s, Old Navy and Barnes & Noble, and TJ Maxx took up another section of mall stores near the middle. Even so, Lansing Mall is still mostly full, save for a dead Mervyns/Steve & Barry’s near the back.
[Reply]
SEAN Reply:
June 10th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
@Jonah Norason,
And in Metro New York? Monmouth Mall. I forgot that one.
Thanks.
[Reply]
Jonah Norason Reply:
June 6th, 2009 at 3:43 pm
@Allan Marshall, JCPenney closed a slew of stores around 2000. Because of there was Wards in those malls too, the malls would end up dead in a few years (Blue Ridge, Randhurst, Mall of Memphis). Others were simply underperformers regardless of the mall (Pyramid Mall Ithaca)
[Reply]
Rich Reply:
June 9th, 2009 at 1:53 pm
@Jonah Norason and others; some of the underperforming malls wdefinitely were in malls that were doing well like Perimeter mall in Atlanta, which probably skewed too upscale for them. they also may have gotten out of expensive leases. Significantly, they have acquired and kept stores in places with minoruity and non-weall-off demographics like PG Palza and Wheaton Plaza in the DC area. I don’t think they can be seen as a early-leaver.
Dilliard, OTOH, relies on a highly centralized buying model which means that when a store’s clientele changes, they aren’t very able to adapt. They have closed stores in changing areas, esp. in their more noethern markets, where they tend to be more out of step in the first place.
[Reply]
Rich
June 3rd, 2009 at 10:26 pm
This mall seems destined to repeat what I can piece together as the history of Wynnewood Center a dead strip that is further North, near the slowly gentrifying Oakcliff area. Wynnewood Center was part of a planned community also known as Wynnewood. The housing stock is mostly okay, although the apartments have problems and the center has slowly shrunk. It was an attractive open “shopping village” with over 150 stores at one point. Red Bird was probably part of its decline, along with the economic decline of the Wynnewood area. It seems doubtful that a one-time regional mall can attract traditional mall tenants. Wynnewood is a good is example of why strips are more practical than malls–it can be turned into something else and slowly is, but Southwest Center just sounds like it might wind up as a dead mall with perhaps a live wing, at best.
[Reply]
Chip
June 4th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
Was Titche owned by Marshall Fields at one point? The Foley/Macy looks like an early 70’s Fields design. Story of this mall mirrors that of Lincoln Mall in Matteson IL. Demographic changes and perception of crime (real or imaged) killed off the mall.
[Reply]
Jonah Norason Reply:
June 4th, 2009 at 2:36 pm
@Chip, No. That was Sanger-Harris’s trademark…arches and murals!
[Reply]
Steven Wilson
June 5th, 2009 at 1:57 am
Hi!
I just scanned an early Red Bird Mall directory and put it online here: http://www.greatamericaparks.com/images/thumbnails.php?album=165
[Reply]
Jonah Norason Reply:
June 5th, 2009 at 7:46 am
@Steven Wilson, amazing! Thank you!
The center court looked a lot better back then.
[Reply]
Bobby Reply:
June 5th, 2009 at 6:38 pm
@Steven Wilson, what’s the date on the directory? I”m finding a lot of vacancies, surprisingly.
[Reply]
Dante Reply:
June 23rd, 2009 at 8:25 am
@Steven Wilson, thanks for the link! The center court from the modern pics looked odd to me (not just because of the mural) and I couldn’t figure out why until I saw the old pics. They used to have that mid-level area in the center court that wasn’t part of the second level or the first.
For some further historic info, there was a nice Aladdin’s Castle inside and a cookie store by one of the anchors that made proper M&M cookies (a sugar cookie with M&Ms on it). We used to get one and eat it in that center court.
There were two bookstores (B Dalton and Walden) which was pretty fancy for its day. The anchors I remember were Sanger Harris, Sears, and JC Penney. For some reason, I have absolutely no recollection of Titche’s, Dillards, or Joskes being there. Go figure.
It had one of the larger Oshmanns Sporting Goods I’ve seen. The center court had a ton of red carpet and the wood back then was all dark instead of that lighter color. While it was technically the only enclosed mall in south Dallas, Six Flags and Forum weren’t too far away. Sometimes, we’d make a Saturday of going to all 3.
For years and years, there was a mattress store right off the Interstate. Outside the mall in the same parking lot there was a Best and a Showbiz Pizza. Other things in the mall area I remember are a Highlands electronics, a Luther’s/Colter’s, Mervyn’s, and an awesome Mexican restaurant called the Monterey House. We probably ate there once a week when I was younger.
[Reply]
Matt
June 5th, 2009 at 2:16 pm
In Photo #33, is that not the saddest (and smallest layout) kiddie train ever to be seen in a dying mall?
The spiral staircase rocks. I miss the days of the 1970s malls with the wide-open interiors, and outrageous stairways and giant walkway ramps.
[Reply]
Ex-Duncanville
June 5th, 2009 at 3:58 pm
I grew up in Duncanville in the 80s. Oh man, looking at this is sad. Just 20 years ago this place looked so much different. So very different. I remember the Toys R Us with the huge aisles stuffed with GI Joes, Transformers, and Nintendo aisle. I remember the Mervyn’s next to it, that always had oddball toys you couldnt find anywhere else. I remember the Colters bbq smokehouse on the corner that I used to think was so awesome.
I really wish I hadn’t seen these photos.
[Reply]
Steven Wilson
June 5th, 2009 at 9:51 pm
Jonah: Thanks for the feedback!
Bobby: It doesn’t have a year on it. I believe, however, it’s from the first year of operation.
[Reply]
Laura
June 6th, 2009 at 9:38 pm
Thanks for doing another Texas mall. I have a kind of dumb question – so many times I see malls in areas hit by newer, fancier competition, demographic changes, lack of freeway access, etc. (like Richardson Square Mall) and I see statements like “then they spent a zillion dollars remodeling the mal…l etc…” I have not seen a case where it is not throwing good money after bad. A few years later it’s still empty or torn down. Are there examples where remodeling actually worked? Just curious.
It will be interesting to see what the study group has to say.
Thanks!
[Reply]
Jonah Norason Reply:
June 7th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
@Laura, well, ParkSide Mall (in Florida) is a good example. They repainted and gutted the place, added a new ice rink, and tore down a few years later.
Memorial City Mall in Houston was not doing so well, but it wasn’t really dead, but then it remodeled (circa 2002) and has become one of the nicest malls in Houston.
[Reply]
Chris Whittaker
June 7th, 2009 at 7:06 am
Unlike the other two dead or dying malls nearby (SIx Flags and Forum 301), I never went into Red Bird. Still, it’s sad that despite all of the existing space in the area, developers would rather build newer malls such as the Parks at Arlington or lifestyle centers further out than investing in what’s there.
[Reply]
SEAN Reply:
June 7th, 2009 at 9:36 am
@Chris Whittaker,
There are a few ways to answer that question.
1. Follow the roof tops as the old retailing saying goes.
2. Along the lines of #1 as sprawlburgs keep growing, more retail is being built. Even if that ends up diluting the entire market. Dallas is a great example of this.
3. It is cheaper to build NEW than remoddle what already exists. That is unfortunite because there are plenty of viable centers being killed by newer malls that didn’t need to be built.
I saw this in practice when visiting family in the miami area over several years. A mall would be built, be hot for a few years then die quickly because it wasn’t the newest in spot. A few malls have stood the test of time like Aventura, but that is in the minority of cases.
[Reply]
Laura
June 7th, 2009 at 10:36 pm
Thanks for the info. Dallas really is a good example of that. If something is not brand spanking new, people don’t want to go there. NorthPark mall being the exception. Even NorthPark is going to have to fight to keep up because even in this already-dense area, it’s is being surrounded by new lifestyle centers. Including one across the street that is almost completely impossible even on a weekday to navigate in and out of but that is another story.
Since the credit crisis, I wonder if the days are gone when millions of dollars are put into a mall that stands no chance due to permanent demographic and development shifts. It seems horribly extravagant now.
[Reply]
Blue Collar Reply:
June 23rd, 2009 at 4:09 pm
@Laura,
I feel those days are gone Laura. At least for the most part. A recent addition to the city of Atlanta is called Atlantic Station. This project combined large retail space with residential towers that were in high demand in the area. A micro-community of sorts where a resident has full access to amenities and retail on foot. As usual, prices for residential space was kept high to discourage the criminal element, and if the area can be kept safe, it may stand the test of time.
Outside of that model, it would seem that shifting demographics and crime statistics are making a hit-and-run retail model much more attractive for a retailer to avoid heavy losses. I would think that high rent and energy costs will easily stifle the old enclosed mall model. Couple that with shifting economics and urban flight, and many nails go into that coffin.
It would seem that the tactics of Walmart are good example of hit-and-run retail. Their model is mainly a stand-alone facility that is not expected to anchor a retail mall model. These facilities can be opened and closed quickly, and are designed to pay for themselves in short order. That model is highly mobile, and reacts instantly to fickle economics, demographic changes, and shifting crime rates. It’s much more survivable.
[Reply]
Jerry Darnell
June 8th, 2009 at 2:43 am
Did you know that two developers put a contract on the mall for $15,million and Madison rejected it. The had another 60million for re-development.
[Reply]
Jonah Norason
June 9th, 2009 at 10:09 pm
I just realized how picture 41 and 43 are geographically right next to each other. And how creepy the food court looks, what with all the HVAC, bizarre neon icons, and the old Sbarro (hastily converted to “Italy Express”)
[Reply]
Bryan D
June 20th, 2009 at 4:36 pm
That store entrance for Macy’s looks exactly like other store entrances I have seen at Valley View and Collin Creek malls too. I guess either it was from the same architect for all three malls or a long gone store chain with a signature entrance may have been at each of them. Those tall white columns with the bright tile mosaic behind them can be found at all three malls as entrances for anchor stores.
[Reply]
RB
July 17th, 2009 at 12:57 pm
Does anyone know if the foolowing really happened there; I’ve been told that this occurred in the early 90’s and that ever since its when crime started to take over…a boy was assaulted, attacked sexually somewhere in the 1st floor restrooms when they were located down a long hallway? it supposedly happened between 1990-93
[Reply]
Ed
September 16th, 2009 at 6:54 pm
Good old Red Bird Mall was my haunt growing up in the 80 living in Duncanville. I knew this place inside and out as iI found myself working there in 88.
In 76 i was a kid still and loved the trips or drop-offs anytime that i could get there. In the beginning there was a kick ass accade called the Sportarama. All the Freaks used to smoke pot in the UV lit pinball room in the back while guests could ride bumper cars and play games till the wee hours.Ahh the smell of the games in there,, nothing like it !. Then it became the Kalidescope and things got freaky. This was prolly about 80 or 81.The bumper cars were enclosed and a freaky light show and vid projection screens were added along w/ very loud music. Man that was the shit for a young stoner like myself,lol. And we knew the dude that operated the ride ! hed let us go and go if no one was waiting in line to take this trip,lol.
But yes, RBM was THE destination of choice for years to come . Am going to look at these pics and maybe comment more but this really caught my eye,,, damn ,mom used to take me school clothes shopping there every year,,memories.
[Reply]
Ed
September 16th, 2009 at 7:08 pm
RB that was an urban myth come to find out. The story was that a kid got his penis “:chopped off” in the bathroom. Years later was found to be untrue. I got to see all the cool long hallways and tunnels of that place when I worked @ Aladdin’s castle for a breif stint.
[Reply]