CityCentre

CityCentre is a mixed-use development in the Memorial City district of Houston, Texas, located at the southeastern corner of the intersection of Interstate 10 (Katy Freeway) and Beltway 8. Opened in 2009, CityCentre is a 50-acre (20-hectare) development with 2.1 million square feet (200,000 m2) of gross floor space,[2] including 400,000 square feet (37,000 m2) of retail, restaurants and entertainment, a 149,000-square-foot (13,800 m2) fitness facility, 425,000 square feet (39,500 m2) of office space, and a variety of rental and non-rental residential developments.[3][4] CityCentre has been recognized by the Urban Land Institute as a successful example of walkable, high-density development and progressive site planning in the United States.[5]

This article is about the Houston property development. For other uses, see City Center (disambiguation).
CityCentre
BB&T-branded building at the northern entrance to CityCentre along Town and Country Way in 2010
LocationHouston, Texas, United States
Coordinates29.780470°N 95.560423°W / 29.780470; -95.560423
Address800 Town & Country Boulevard
Opening date2009 (2009)
DeveloperMidway Companies [1]
Total retail floor area400,000 sq ft (37,000 m2)
Public transit accessMETRO Route 39
Websitecitycentrehouston.com

CityCentre is located on the former site of Town & Country Mall, a 1-million-square-foot (93,000 m2) shopping center which competed with neighboring Memorial City Mall from 1983 to 2004.[6] Poor accessibility to the site due to the construction of the Sam Houston Tollway, as well as a local recession in the late 1980s, resulted in the gradual decline of Town & Country into a dead mall.[6] In 2004, the site was bought out by Midway Companies and closed to develop CityCentre.[6] CityCentre is immediately north of Town & Country Village, an open-air shopping center which retains the 1960s-era Town & Country moniker.

History

Beginnings (1983–1996)

In 1983, Town & Country Mall opened on Interstate 10 and Beltway 8 in Houston. Before opening in 1983, Town & Country was originally supposed to be a magnet for high-end retail tenants, as well as being able to sign on some blue chip anchors, including Neiman Marcus, Marshall Field's, J.C. Penney and Joske's.[7] The three-level mall debuted with anchor tenants Joske's (became Dillard's after 1987 acquisition), JCPenney, Marshall Field's (became Saks Fifth Avenue after 1996 acquisition) and Neiman Marcus. The large, comfortable interior attracted residents from all over the surrounding area. Many large anchors, such as Dillard's, continued to flourish in the golden years of the mall.

The mall initially had a large food court on the third floor in the JCPenney wing, but it was soon replaced by a children's store called Twelve & Under, which offered a selection of toys and clothing in addition to a giant play structure. The only restaurant that remained in the food court area was a McDonald's. It featured booths within the inline store as well as seating out on the mall street. Numerous other restaurants were located throughout the rest of the mall.

By the late 1980s, Memorial City Mall, a nearby rival, was teetering on the brink of closure after Town & Country had taken the neighboring mall's 20-year grasp as the leading mall away. Town & Country was very popular through the 1980s and the early and mid 1990s, yet the late 1990s saw a great depression.

Rapid decline (1997–2001)

Town & Country was a leader until the mid-1990s, when its popularity started to decrease. The mall was losing style with Houston shoppers as the interior became small and clogged while leasing space that was available could not handle larger stores that were demanded by many retailers. In fact, much of the mall's third level was vacant by the middle of the 1990s.

When the Beltway 8 and Interstate 10 interchange was rebuilt in 1989,[8] it obscured the view of the mall from the highways, giving Memorial City Mall an advantage since it was at the next Interstate 10 exit. Also, it was very hard to access the mall due to the limited amount of signage guiding people to the mall, and the clogged traffic of the Beltway 8 and Interstate 10 frontage roads. JCPenney pulled out in 2000 with the closing of several other stores nationwide. By the late 1990s, Town & Country was desperate for shoppers and tried to persuade them to come back by hosting model train conventions and such, but the mall never regained strength. By 2000, the mall was almost empty.

Closure (2002–2005)

In 2002, Memorial City Mall saw its opportunity to take back thousands of shoppers and started a huge renovation project. Dillard's then announced it would leave the mall and relocate to Memorial City after their lease expired in 2003. By 2004, only Neiman Marcus and a handful of national and local retailers remained, and when Dillard's relocated to Memorial City in favor of large, inexpensive retail space, Town & Country saw no other option but to close. JCPenney reopened inside the former Lord & Taylor space in Memorial City Mall after Lord & Taylor vacated the property in 2005. Late in 2004, the mall was demolished save for Neiman Marcus, which was slated to become part of a new development on the site of the former mall. However, Neiman Marcus later closed with an official closing sale in early 2006. The building has also since been demolished.

Following the demolition of the mall, all that remained were the mall's parking garages. In 2007, construction on a brand new outdoor shopping center, dubbed CityCentre, began. In mid-2008, the last structure from the original Town & Country Mall (the mall's entrance sign on the Beltway 8 frontage road) was taken down and replaced with a CityCentre sign. The new mall opened in early 2010.[9]

General design

The CityCentre was designed to be pedestrian friendly and car-independent. Since Houston has a low population density, and flourishing suburbs, the CityCentre is marketed towards people desiring to live in the city without having to travel far for food or the office.

  • Hotel Sorella [10]
  • RA Sushi[11]
  • Eddie V's[12]
  • Cyclone Anaya's[13]
  • Bistro Alex[14]
  • Norris Conference Center [15]
  • Sur La Table
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References
  1. Archived January 11, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  2. Cultivating Development: Trends and Opportunities at the Intersection of Food and Real Estate (PDF) (Report). Urban Land Institute. 2016. pp. 30–31. ISBN 978-0-87420-394-3.
  3. "CityCentre Houston". CityCentre Houston. Retrieved 2012-05-26.
  4. CityCentre information at Midway Companies Archived February 16, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  5. "CityCentre – ULI Case Studies". Urban Land Institute. January 2015. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
  6. Sarnoff, Nancy (June 3, 2004). "Mall finally bows out - As long era of decline takes its toll, 1-million-square-foot center is sold to be demolished for redevelopment". Houston Chronicle. Business, page 1 – via NewsBank.
  7. "Saks takes Town & Country Mall by surprise with abrupt exit". Bizjournals. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  8. Slotboom, Oscar F. "Erik" (2003). Houston Freeways. Oscar F. Slotboom. ISBN 0-9741605-3-9. Also available in full online: Houston Freeways.
  9. Dawson, Jennifer (February 16, 2007). "CityCentre explodes with roster of high-end tenants". Houston Business Journal.
  10. "Affordable Luxury Houston Hotel: Hotel Sorella CITYCENTRE, A Boutique Hotel in Houston". Texas: Hotelsorella-citycentre.com. Retrieved 2012-05-26.
  11. "RA Sushi Bar Restaurant, Sushi, Sake & Japanese Fusion Cuisine, Takeout & Catering". Rasushi.com. Retrieved 2012-05-26.
  12. "Eddie V's Prime Seafood, Steak, & Rhythm Restaurants | Eddie V's Restaurants". Eddiev.com. Retrieved 2012-05-26.
  13. "Great Mexican Restaurants In Houston And Dallas | Cyclone Anaya's Mexican Kitchen". Cycloneanaya.com. Retrieved 2012-05-26.
  14. https://web.archive.org/web/20100305182736/http://www.citycentrehouston.com/dining-and-shopping.php. Archived from the original on March 5, 2010. Retrieved March 8, 2010. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  15. "Norris Conference Centers - CityCentre Houston - Norris Conference Centers - Corporate Headquarters Norris Conference Centers". Norriscenters.com. 2009-05-04. Retrieved 2012-05-26.
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