Everett Mall

Everett Mall is a 673,000-square-foot (62,500 m2) indoor/outdoor shopping mall located in Everett, Washington, United States. Planned in the late 1960s, the mall began with the construction of two anchor stores, Sears in 1969 and White Front in 1971. The mall was originally built and opened in 1974 after the Boeing bust stalled construction in 1972. It was further plagued upon opening with one anchor store closing before the rest of the mall could open as well as a low tenant rate. The mall began to rebound after The Bon Marché (later Macy's) opened in 1977, leading to the construction of an additional north wing to the mall anchored by the upscale Frederick & Nelson department store. In 2004, the mall underwent a massive expansion and renovation that included the addition of a 16-screen movie theater and outdoor stores along the south side.

Everett Mall
LocationEverett, Washington, United States
Coordinates47.91035°N 122.21309°W / 47.91035; -122.21309
Opening dateOctober 1974 (original mall portion)
DeveloperEarl Cohen & Associates (1967–1972)
Hanson Development Company (1972–1979)
ManagementSteadfast Companies
OwnerBrixton Capital
ArchitectLaw Construction Company
MulvannyG2 Architecture (2004 remodel)
No. of stores and services100+
No. of anchor tenants5 (3 open, 2 vacant)
Total retail floor area673,000 sq ft (62,500 m2)
No. of floors1
Websiteshopeverettmall.com

Mervyn's, an anchor since 1992, closed late 2006. The store was replaced with LA Fitness and Steve & Barry's.[1] Steve & Barry's in turn was closed in 2009 after its owners filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and was replaced by Burlington Coat Factory in 2013. Macy's closed its store in 2017 followed by Sears in early 2020.

History

Development and early construction: 1968–1972

The plan for a modern shopping mall in Everett was first formulated in the mid-1960s under the moniker "Broadway Mall". In 1968, developers Norman L. Iverson & Associates of Tacoma and Earl Cohen & Associates of Beverly Hills purchased a 60 acre lot south of downtown in the diagonal area bound by Interstate 5, US 99, and the Broadway cutoff, now known as Everett Mall Way. 10.4 acres (42,000 m2) of the property nearest to the interstate would be the focus of future mall development. The first merchant they attracted to the new site was the Sears, Roebuck and Company department store, who would leave their location of 40 years at 2701 Colby Street in downtown Everett to build the first store on the property. Robert Freidenrich, soon-to-be manager of the new store, discussed the rationale of the store's exodus to the suburbs with The Seattle Times:

We have seen the need for an enlarged store in the Everett area for years. Present and future growth patterns indicate that our new site will eventually form the center of a dense suburban market.[2]

The store, which opened to the public on February 12, 1969, contained 114,375 square feet (10,625.8 m2) arranged into 50 different departments. The store also contained a 14-stall automotive repair center, an outdoor garden center, a tailor shop and a 40-seat coffee shop.[2] The Richardson Associates were the architects and engineers.[3]

Sears was joined by another large anchor store on the property with the grand opening of the California-based discount department store chain, White Front on May 13, 1971. It was the chain's fifth store in the Puget Sound region.[4] The Iverson and Cohen firms soon began planning for the construction of an enclosed mall to connect Sears and White Front as well as a planned third anchor store but construction was halted when massive cutbacks at Boeing threatened the economic stability of the entire region.[5] Hackensack, New Jersey based developer, Hanson Development Company purchased the unfinished mall in July 1972 with promises to complete the project.[5]

In late 1973 came the announcement of a new triplex theater at the mall by General Cinema Corporation of Boston, who operated theaters in Renton and the Overlake area of Redmond. It was billed as Washington's first triple-auditorium indoor theater.[6] The Everett Mall Cinemas I, II and III opened on February 13, 1974 with a seating capacity of 1,300. The opening attractions were The Sting, Serpico and American Graffiti.[7]

New construction and further setbacks: 1973–1977

Construction of the mall continued on and by March 1973, Hanson claimed that 21 leases had been signed with tenants, filling about 60% of the 150,000 square feet (14,000 m2) of retail planned for the mall upon completion, projected for sometime that Summer.[5] The Law Company of Wichita, Kansas handled construction of the theater and mall from its own architectural plans. Local firms Wick Construction Co. and Douglas Mulvanny, Seattle architect, were in charge of the construction and design of tenant spaces.[5]

Things began to fall apart for the developers when, in 1974, White Front declared bankruptcy and shuttered its large store at the mall, the last one in the state to close. Investors soon became wary of opening stores at the mall. After much delay, the Everett Mall finally opened in October 1974 with only one anchor tenant and little more than half of its stores occupied. The mall resembled a ghost town and was not actively promoted by its owners. The atmosphere of the mall at the time was described by The Seattle Times in 1977:

Large canvas curtains blocked off undeveloped retail space. Youths played tag, darting through rips in the canvas, and young smokers hid in the shadows of closed-off stalls. Seldom were shoppers forced to park more than three or four stalls from the building. Store aisles were uncrowded and benches for weary shoppers inside the mall were usually empty[8]

Turnaround and expansion: 1977–1992

Fortunes began to turn around when The Bon Marche purchased the former White Front store in 1976 with plans of moving their store from downtown Everett. An opening was set for February 25, 1977[8] Soon after the Bon's announcement, new retailers began to move to the mall. At the same time, Roebling Management Company, who managed the mall as a subsidiary of the Hanson group (later known as the Titanic Associates) announced plans to carry out the originally intended plans for the mall, including the third anchor store.[8] In August 1977, construction began on the second triplex theater at the mall just east of Sears, to be operated but not owned by General Cinema. At that time the theater was a stand-alone building.[9]

Construction of the mall's new $20 million east wing began in the fall of 1979 and was completed by the fall of 1980. The new addition officially opened on Friday, August 1, 1980 fully leased.[10] The centerpiece of the expanded mall was the two-story, 120,000-square-foot (11,000 m2) Frederick & Nelson department store, the Marshall Field subsidiary's 15th store, designed by Beverly Hills architects Martinez, Takeda & Hahn. The addition also contained a 39,000-square-foot (3,600 m2) Payless Drug store and 52,420 square feet (4,870 m2) of mall shops.[11] The mall's tenant mix remained stable until 1992 when Frederick & Nelson declared bankruptcy and the Everett store closed. It was immediately replaced by California-based Mervyn's department store who took over Frederick's lease in 1991.[12] After a major remodeling, that store opened on July 19, 1992 to much fanfare.[13]

Financial troubles and new owners: 1998–2002

In 1998, Everett Mall's management, Hampshire Management Co., submitted plans to the City of Everett for a major expansion that if carried out would rival Alderwood Mall in size. Under the plan, 275,000 square feet (25,500 m2) of retail space would be added as well as a new multiplex theater, a hotel and multiple restaurants. These plans soon became jeopardized when a financial crises hit the owners.[14]

During the fall of 2000, the Everett Mall was placed into receivership by the Snohomish County Superior Court after finding that its owners, Titanic Associates of Morristown, New Jersey had defaulted on a loan. By 2001, Titanic had amassed $61 million of debt and were facing foreclosure of the property. To eliminate the debt, they deeded the mall to the Equitable Life Assurance Society of New York, who assumed operations.[15] By the end of the year, Equitable hired Cincinnati-based Madison Marquette to manage the mall and direct its expansion.[16]

Village expansion and decline: 2003–present

In 2003, Expansion plans were put back on track. This time with over 227,068 square feet (21,095.3 m2) of new retail space including a new "power center", the Everett Mall Village and major exterior renovations planned. Construction began in 2004[17] In June 2004, Equitable sold Everett Mall for $50.2 million to Steadfast Commercial Properties of Newport Beach, California who proceeded to replace Madison Marquette with their own management company to carry out the expansion.[18]

The expansion project known as Everett Village finally broke ground in November 2004 with Best Buy, PetSmart, Old Navy, Borders Books and Bed Bath & Beyond announced as future tenants. Regal Cinemas also committed to building a 16-screen cinema[19] Once completed in 2006, Steadfast sold the Village for $21.7M to a private investor.[20]

In late 2006, Mervyn's announced that it was leaving the northwest and closed all of its Oregon and Washington locations and later declared bankruptcy. The Everett Mall store was divided in half with LA Fitness occupying one half and national discount family clothing chain Steve & Barry's occupying the other.[21] After only a year and a half, Steve & Barry's also declared bankruptcy and closed all locations. The vacant space has been occupied by Burlington Coat Factory since September 20, 2013.

Macy's closed its store at the Everett Mall in 2017 and was replaced by Floor & Decor the following year.[22][23] In October 2017, Brixton Capital, an affiliate of Brutten Global, purchased the property for an undisclosed price from Steadfast Companies.[24] On August 31, 2019, it was announced that Sears would be closing their Everett location in December 2019.[25]

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References
  1. "Steadfast Companies". Archived from the original on December 5, 2008. Retrieved February 28, 2007.
  2. "Sears Opens New Store on Everett Mall" The Seattle Times February 12, 1969. p. 35.
  3. "Sears' Everett Gears for Wednesday Opening" The Seattle Times February 9, 1969. p. C3.
  4. "Grand Opening Sale [Advertisement]" The Seattle Times May 16, 1971. p. B7.
  5. "Everett Mall 60% Leased" The Seattle Times March 10, 1974. p. E4.
  6. Hartl, John "At the Movies; 'Lady Ice' is a Clinker [Movie Notes]" Tempo [The Seattle Times] September 7, 1973. p. 2
  7. "Everett Has New Cinema Complex" The Seattle Times January 30, 1974. p. C7.
  8. Mallery, Jim "Everett Mall: Full in a Year?" The Seattle Times 26 Jan. 1977. p. H8.
  9. "New Theaters for Everett" The Seattle Times August 17, 1977. p. H4.
  10. "Frederick & Nelson Opens in Everett Mall August 1 [Advertisement]" Seattle Times July 25, 1980. Pg.A 12.
  11. "Expansion Planned at Everett Mall" Seattle Times May 31, 1979. p. G6.
  12. Alexander, Karen; Stevens, John H.; Williams, Scott "Stores Don't Feel Neighborly To F&N -- Bankrupt Anchor Is Just Dragging Them Down, Too, Say Mall Retailers" Seattle Times March 10, 1992. Retrieved January 21, 2011.
  13. Milburn, Karen "Mervyn's Gets Ready For Move" Seattle Times January 24, 1992. Retrieved January 21, 2011.
  14. Bishop, Todd "Everett Mall Put into Receivership; Lender seeks foreclosure on $55 million debt" Puget Sound Business Journal November 10, 2000. Retrieved September 21, 2010.
  15. Bishop, Todd "Everett Mall goes to lender; Ownership deal wipes out debt" Puget Sound Business Journal June 22, 2001. Retrieved September 21, 2010.
  16. "New Manager for Everett Mall" Puget Sound Business Journal December 5, 2001. Retrieved September 21, 2010.
  17. Chickowski, Ericka "Everett Mall makeover includes new power center" Puget Sound Business Journal June 27, 2003. Retrieved September 21, 2010.
  18. "Everett Mall fetches $50.2M; set for expansion" Puget Sound Business Journal June 10, 2004. Retrieved September 21, 2010.
  19. "New Everett Mall development under way with new tenants" Puget Sound Business Journal November 22, 2004. Retrieved September 21, 2010.
  20. "Everett Village Center sells for $21.7M" Puget Sound Business Journal March 29, 2007. Retrieved September 21, 2010.
  21. "Discounter Steve & Barry's heads to Everett" Puget Sound Business Journal May 30, 2007. Retrieved September 21, 2010.
  22. Tu, Janet I. (January 4, 2017). "Macy's in Everett, Sears at Alderwood Mall will be closing". The Seattle Times. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
  23. King, Rikki (April 27, 2018). "Former Everett Macy's will be replaced by a flooring business". The Everett Herald. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
  24. Davis, Jim (October 3, 2017). "Everett Mall sold to California real-estate investment group". The Everett Herald. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  25. Tyko, Kelly (August 31, 2019). "Kmart, Sears store closings: More locations to shutter by end of 2019". USA Today. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
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