The Great Mall of the Great Plains

The Great Mall of the Great Plains was a shopping mall located in Olathe, Kansas, United States. It was the largest outlet mall in the state of Kansas,[2] and boasted over 150 stores and 10 anchors, laid out in a half-mile racetrack pattern. Burlington Coat Factory is the mall's last remaining anchor store;[1] amenities included indoor glow-in-the-dark miniature golf course, a food court, a Game Zone arcade, and a Dickinson Theatres movie theater with sixteen screens. Great Mall of the Great Plains was owned & managed by Glimcher Properties Trust until January 2009.[1] The mall closed on September 18, 2015, although Burlington Coat Factory remained open. Demolition on the mall began on July 11, 2016 and was finished in January 2017. As of January 2017, the Burlington Coat Factory Store is the only store still open on the site. In January 2018, developers announced that a redevelopment called Mentum would replace the old mall.

The Great Mall of the Great Plains
Entrance to The Great Mall of the Great Plains, May 2012
Coordinates38°51′29″N 94°49′16″W
Address20700 West 151st Street
Olathe, Kansas 66061
Opening dateAugust 14, 1997
  • Dillard's, Marshalls, Oshman's SuperSports USA, and Burlington: July 25, 1997
Closing dateSeptember 18, 2015
(demolished July 11, 2016)
DeveloperGlimcher Realty Trust and Jordan Robert Perlmutter & Co.
ManagementMark Levin
OwnerGreat Olathe Center, LLC.
No. of anchor tenants1 (11 at peak)
Total retail floor area783,010 sq ft (72,744 m2)[1]
No. of floors1
ParkingParking Lot

History

Great Mall of the Great Plains was co-developed by Glimcher Realty Trust and Jordan Robert Perlmutter & Co. The mall was intended to feature a "value oriented megamall" with a mix of outlet stores, traditional mall stores, big box retail, and entertainment venues, comparable to malls developed by the former Mills Corporation.[3][4] Construction began on the Great Mall of the Great Plains in 1996.[5] The mall was originally slated to open in March 1997 but did not open until August 14 of that year due to leasing issues with several tenants.[4][6][7] When the mall opened, it had a total of 150 stores including 10 anchor stores: Burlington Coat Factory, Dillard’s, DSW (Designer Shoe Warehouse), Eddie Bauer Outlet, Foozles Bookstore, Group USA Clothing Company, Linens 'n Things, Marshalls, Old Navy, Oshman’s Supersports USA, and a Jeepers family entertainment center which became Zonkers in 2007. [3] In addition to the anchor stores, the mall had a 12 restaurant Marketplace food court and a 16 screen Dickinson theater. All of the malls stores were arranged in a half-mile racetrack pattern and organized into four theme courts: Fashion, Home and Hobby, Sports and Adventure, and Techtainment.[3] A corridor at the northwest portion of the wall was left as a dead end in anticipation of an expansion that would bring the malls total area to over a million square feet. Off 5th Saks Fifth Avenue Outlet opened as the 12th anchor store in 1999.[8] The mall was the largest outlet mall in the state of Kansas.[2]

Closures

Despite a highly successful opening which attracted more than 1.5 million visitors,[3] some analysts' assert that the Great Mall of the Great Plains saw its success waning with time, due in part to a retail saturation in the market.[9] Others point out that its anchor store tenants were of a variety usually relegated to strip malls that did not require the higher rents of a large enclosed destination shopping mall.

The first anchor store to close at the mall was Dillard's which converted its store into a clearance center. It closed in 2001 and was replaced with VF Outlet 3 months later.[10] In early 2003, Oshman's Sports, Linens 'n Things, and Off 5th shuttered.[2] Later in 2003, Cosmic Mini Golf opened in the former Oshman's sports store and then relocated to the former Off 5th store and then the DSW store. In 2005, Marshalls relocated to a nearby strip center on the north side of Olathe.[11] That same year Steve & Barry's opened in the former Oshman's store. Old Navy also relocated to a shopping center on the north side of the town in 2006 and was replaced with Hibbett Sports. Famous Labels opened in the former Off 5th store in 2007 but closed at the end of 2009 along with VF outlet. Steve & Barry's also closed in 2009 when the chain declared bankruptcy. By 2009, the food court only had four restaurants in it.

In an early 2008 Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Glimcher Realty Trust expressed a desire to sell the Great Mall of the Great Plains.[12] On January 6, 2009, Glimcher sold the Great Mall of the Great Plains to focus on more valuable assets to Cecil Van Tuyl of the Van Tuyl Group. The mall is currently managed by MC Realty Group, LLC. In September 2010, Olathe approved a 1.5 cents sales tax increase at all of the malls stores to help improve the conditions of the mall. At that time, the mall was at 63% occupancy. A Driver License Bureau opened in the center of the mall in 2011.

On Monday, February 16, 2015, the mall announced that it would be closing in the fall of 2015. By that time, the mall's occupancy dropped below 50%. [13] In April 2015, the remaining tenants were given 60 days to close or relocate. The Marketplace food court was closed on June 7, 2015. Cosmic Mini Golf closed on June 13, 2015. By mid July 2015, only 5 tenants were still open - Burlington Coat Factory, B & B Theatres, Sportibles, Zonkers Family Entertainment Center, and the Kansas Driver License Bureau. Zonkers Family Entertainment Center closed on August 2, 2015 and B & B closed on August 17, 2015. Sportibles closed about a week later than that. By September 1, 2015, the mall was completely vacant with the exception of Burlington and the Driver License Office. The mall closed its doors for good on September 18, 2015. The Driver License Office closed on December 16, 2015, leaving Burlington Coat Factory as the only store left as of that date. Demolition of the mall was announced in April 2016 and began on July 11, 2016. By January 2017, the only portion of the mall remaining was the Burlington Coat Factory Store.

As of July 2020 the only remaining tenants are 54th Street Grill And Bar Restaurant, Burlington Coat Factory Department Store, Chili's Grill And Bar Restaurant, Days Inn And Suites Hotel, La Quinta Inn And Suites Hotel, and Taco Bell Restaurant.

On January 2, 2018, developers announced redevelopment plans that called for a small town center that would include a 4,000 to 5,000 seat arena, an ice rink, interactive golf, and rock climbing in addition to many stores, restaurants, hotels, and office spaces.

References
  1. "The Great Mall of the Great Plains leasing information" (PDF). Glimcher.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-08-17.
  2. Roth, Stephan (December 27, 2002). "Two big anchors plan to go away from Great Mall". Kansas City Business Journal. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
  3. "Great Expectations". Retail Traffic Mag.com. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-08-17.
  4. Roth, Stephen (1997-08-10). "Work bustles at Great Mall of the Great Plains". Bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2007-08-17.
  5. "What's Happening at... The Great Mall of the Great Plains". Kansas City Star. 1996-05-29. p. 7.
  6. "Olathe mall's debut delayed The Great Mall of the Great Plains to open its 1,200,000 square feet (110,000 m2) of retail space in August". Kansas City Star. 1997-01-08. p. B4.
  7. Ball, Brian R. (1997-08-18). "Great Mall project helps put Glimcher on national map". BizJournals.com. Retrieved 2007-08-17.
  8. "OFF 5TH Saks Fifth Avenue Outlet Newest Anchor at Glimcher Realty Trust's The Great Mall of The Great Plains". PRNewswire.com. Retrieved 2007-08-17.
  9. Trollinger, Amy (1999-11-28). "Retailers say things aren't so great at Olathe's mall". BizJournals.com. Retrieved 2007-08-17.
  10. City, Kansas (2001-08-06). "VF Factory Outlet will replace Dillard's at Great Mall". BizJournals.com. Retrieved 2007-08-17.
  11. "Cityscape: Great Mall's loss Olathe Pointe's gain". FindArticles.com. Retrieved 2007-08-17.
  12. City, Kansas (2008-02-12). "Owner wants to sell Great Mall in Olathe". BizJournals.com. Retrieved 2008-02-11.
  13. "Olathe's Great Mall closing this fall". kansascity.
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