Post Oak Mall

Add links
Coordinates: 30°37′28″N 96°18′12″W / 30.6245°N 96.3034°W / 30.6245; -96.3034
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Post Oak Mall
Map
Location
Total retail floor area
776,898 square feet (72,176.2 m2)
No. of floors1 (2 in former Macy's)
Parking5228[2]
Websitepostoakmall.com

Post Oak Mall is a

anchor stores. As of 2015, it also houses a small food court and two restaurants. The anchor stores are two Dillard's stores, JCPenney, and Conn's. There are two vacant anchor stores that were once Gordmans and Macy's
.

The first mall to be opened in College Station, Post Oak is the largest mall within the Brazos Valley area. At its opening, it became the city's largest employer, and nearly doubled its city sales tax revenues. Though the mall generated additional traffic and added to the demand on city services, it also generated $1 million in annual sales tax revenue, $120,000 in property taxes, and a half-million in taxes for the city school district. It is credited with creating the first major impetus for growing economic and commercial developments for College Station, which previously lacked a major retail community. The mall generates over 75 percent of the area's retail sales through its approximately eleven million annual visitors. It remains the city's largest taxpayer and its second largest employer. It is also the top employer of the students of nearby Texas A&M University.

History

Beginnings

In the early 1980s, the demand for shopping opportunities and other businesses was growing with the populations of the side-by-side cities of

Briarcrest Drive (FM 1179). However, the owner of the land refused to sell. With the city unable to procure the land, the mall project was shifted to College Station.[3] Construction began on Post Oak Mall in the summer of 1979 at the intersection of Earl Rudder Freeway and Harvey Road.[4] Developer CBL & Associates Properties hired Eugene "Buck" Schimpf to act as the project manager. More than 1,000 workers were employed to help construct the mall, with the project "monopolizing the local (construction) trade" at the time.[5]

Post Oak Mall opened its doors on February 17, 1982.[6] Spanning 800,000 square feet (74,000 m2), the first phase of the mall contained approximately 80 stores, including four anchors: the area's first Foley's[3] and Dillard's department stores;[7] Sears, which relocated from its smaller Bryan location;[3] and H. J. Wilson Co.[5] In addition to the stores, the mall contained a three–screen Plitt-branded movie theater and a food court with fifteen small restaurants and a 300-person seating area. The mall walkways were decorated with a variety of small potted trees and plants in large atrium areas, with tiered glass ceilings above. A copper-piping fountain that emitted water in a "dandelion bubble" dominated one end of the building.[5] Plans were already underway for a second phase of construction that would expand the mall to hold up to 130 stores and push it up to 1,020,000 square feet (95,000 m2).[5]

At the time of its opening, it was the largest mall complex developed by CBL.[citation needed] In the first year, it was projected that the mall would employee 2,500 employees—instantly making it the largest employer in the city; this was expected to expand to 3,500 with the completion of the second phase.[5][8] It was hoped it would generate $80 million in sales.[5] In addition to helping to retain local shoppers who might otherwise travel the 2½ hours southeast to Houston for mall shopping, CBL and city officials expected the mall would draw shoppers from around the Brazos Valley.[8][9] Before its opening, the city did not have a highly developed retail community.[8] With the planned additions, then College Station city manager North Bardell said it was expected to generate $1 million in annual sales tax revenue, nearly equal to what the city collected in the previous fiscal year from all other sales.[8] It would bring in another $120,000 in property taxes, a half-million in taxes for College Station Independent School District, and $1 million in electric bills.[8] The increase in jobs was seen as good for the community, and the city hoped it would attract new civic groups to the area.[8] Taking a year longer than originally planned,[5] the expansion was completed in 1985.[3]

The mall also added new burdens to city services, with

Traffic signals were added to the mall's main entrance, while long-term plans were made to both expand the freeway and add additional interchanges along Harvey. Traffic studies were implemented to study the traffic after the mall's opening to developed additional plans to mitigate issues.[8] There were concerns that the mall would be the final blow to the downtown area of neighboring city Bryan, Texas, which was already suffering reduced business after the opening of smaller Manor East Mall and the Townshire shopping center, both within Bryan. Bryan city officials noted an immediate decrease in revenue due to Sears moving from Bryan to College Station, taking $50–100,000 of sales taxes with it. However, as a whole the city was hopeful that the mall would have benefits to the city in the form of increased city growth as a whole. The city planners felt it would only be a passing fad for local rural and lower-income families, who would still return to downtown Bryan due to its proximity.[8]

Renovations

On February 1, 2004, a short in an electrical box sparked a small fire at the Journeys shoe store. The sprinklers helped contain the flames, but eight stores and six kiosks in the area of the store suffered from smoke damage, as well as water damage[10] after water from the sprinklers flowed out of the store and into the middle of the mall walkway. The affected stores had to be closed for two days while repairs were made.[11]

In 2006, Anuncio Digital Media, a locally started digital advertising firm, installed its first mall-based

plasma screen televisions around the main concourse and in the food court that display six-second sound-free advertisements. Post Oak Mall was the first of four CBL-owned malls to receive this network, with four other CBL malls scheduled to follow. The advertising displays were activated on September 1, 2006.[12]

David Gwin, the economic development director for College Station, is working with the mall on a possible $8.5 million renovation project to give the mall a further boost. As of 2008, details about what the renovations would entail have not been released.[13] In February 2009, the city noted that plans had been designed to renovate both the interior and exterior of the mall.[14]

On January 19, 2012, CBL Properties announced, among others, that Post Oak Mall would receive major renovations sometime during 2012. In CBL's press release, they announced that "The renovation at Post Oak Mall will involve modern updates including new flooring and paint as well as all new amenities such as soft seating areas and décor, updated entrances, and lighting. In addition, the food courts at Cross Creek Mall, Turtle Creek Mall and Post Oak Mall will receive completely new designs, including new tables and chairs."[15] Renovations were completed in November 2012 with a grand reopening held the weekend of November 9, 2012.[16]

Stores

While the bulk of Post Oak Mall's 125 stores are clothing and accessory shops, as of 2009 it is home to several

Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants, and kiosk versions of Auntie Anne's and Dippin' Dots. There is a small indoor children's play area located in the food court, a night club, and recruitment centers for the United States Air Force, Army, Navy, and Marines.[17]

When it opened, the mall contained a three-screen movie theater owned by

Cineplex Odeon, which was later bought out the Plitt chain.[5][18] The Post Oak Mall theater location was eventually sold to Carmike Cinemas before closing for good by 1999.[19] The empty space was replaced with a full-service restaurant and an entertainment section.[20]

Anchors

The first four anchor stores in the mall were

Bealls, became the fifth anchor when it opened a second location in Post Oak a few weeks after the mall's opening.[3][21] The sixth anchor was added in 1985, when JCPenney moved into the newly expanded mall from its Bryan Manor East Mall location.[3][5] In 1985, the H. J. Wilson Company, owner of Wilson's, was taken over by Service Merchandise. After Service Merchandise went bankrupt in 1999, the Wilson's location closed and the empty anchor location became a second Dillard's location, housing their specialty Mens & Housewares store.[22][23] Both Dillard's locations, Foley's, JCPenney, and Sears were all independently owned, separate from mall ownership, and considered "stand-alone" buildings for tax purposes.[24]

After

May Department Stores, the parent company of Foley's, merged with Federated Department Stores, the Foley's location was temporarily closed while it was converted to a Macy's department store. The new Macy's officially opened on September 9, 2006.[25] With the opening of its 30,000-square-foot (2,800 m2) location on August 5, 2005, Steve & Barry's became the mall's only anchor store to have no exterior exit.[26] In September 2008, after Steve & Barry's declared bankruptcy, the Post Oak store was closed as part of the parent's company attempt to save its business, but it went out of business altogether less than three months later.[27][28]

On August 22, 2018, it was announced that Sears would be closing as part of a plan to close 46 stores nationwide. The store closed in November 2018.[29]

On March 17, 2020, Bealls was converted into Gordmans.[30] Just two months later on May 19, 2020, it was announced that Gordmans would also be closing due to parent company Stage Stores going out of business.[31]

In 2020, Conn's HomePlus opened in the former Sears anchor store.[32]

On January 5, 2021, it was announced that Macy's would be closing in March 2021 as part of a plan to close 46 stores nationwide.[33] After Macy's closes, the 2 Dillard's stores and JCPenney will be the only traditional anchor stores left. The store closed on March 22, 2021.

Food court

Post Oak Mall's food court contains seven food stall vendors. In addition to the more "traditional"[

weasel words] mall offerings, including a Charley's Philly Stakes, a burger place, an Asian restaurant, and a pizza stall, the food court houses the locally operated Taste of the Tropics, a maker of pure fruit smoothies, and a Nestlé Toll House Café. The stalls arranged around half of a semi-round area, retail stores along the other half, and openings to the mall concourse on both ends.[17]

A McDonald's was located in the mall for fifteen years, but left in 2002 as part of regional owner Ron Blatchley's overall renovation plans. It was quickly replaced by the Brazos Valley seventh

drive through option.[34] The Sonic closed in late 2012.[citation needed][35]

Economic impact

Post Oak Mall was the first mall in the city of College Station, and as of 2008, it is the largest mall in the Brazos Valley. There were concerns that the mall would hurt existing area businesses, but CBL was certain the mall would have a "trickle-down" effect that would result in the Harvey Road area to be "fully developed with smaller strip shopping centers."[5] Before the mall opened, plans were already underway for one such center, Post Oak Village, which began constructed to the west of the mall along Harvey Road. Farther west, zoning was approved for new office complexes and commercial developments. Immediately south of the mall, an additional commercial zone was approved, along with 36 acres (15 ha) along the freeway.[8]

The mall's opening helped create the impetus for growing economic and commercial developments for College Station.

Brazos County and the twelve surrounding counties.[24]

References

  1. ^ McLaughlin, Kessler (19 January 2015). "Famous Bar and Grill Set to Open in College Station". KBTX. Retrieved 20 June 2015. said Post Oak Mall General Manager Paul Loy
  2. ^ "Post Oak Mall Fact Sheet". CBL Properties. Archived from the original on 2012-07-28. Retrieved January 25, 2008.
  3. ^
    OCLC 173165657
    .
  4. ISBN 0-944091-00-8
    .
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Lee, Steve (February 11, 1982). "Mall will open 80 stores next week". Bryan-College Station Eagle. College Station, Texas. p. 7B.
  6. ^ a b Hensley, Laura (February 16, 2007). "Post Oak Mall to celebrate 25 years". The Bryan-College Station Eagle. Archived from the original on May 29, 2011. Retrieved January 7, 2008.
  7. ISBN 1-55728-021-5
    .
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Crisp, David; Lee, Steve (February 14, 1982). "Post Oak Mall's impact to be felt in many ways". The Bryan-College Station Eagle. Vol. 106, no. 45. pp. 1A, 13A–14A.
  9. ^ "Getting to Texas A&M..." Texas A&M University, Math Department. Archived from the original on March 15, 2008. Retrieved September 13, 2009.
  10. ^ "College Station Water Damage Restoration Project". UAC Water Restoration Group. 2008-01-17.
  11. ^ "Electrical box ruled cause of mall fire". The Bryan-College Station Eagle. February 1, 2004. Archived from the original on May 29, 2011. Retrieved January 25, 2008.
  12. ^ a b "Post Oak Mall Goes High Tech!" (PDF) (Press release). Anuncio. September 1, 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 22, 2007. Retrieved January 26, 2008.
  13. ^ Avison, April (September 14, 2007). "College Station examines city's economic incentives". The Bryan-College Station Eagle. Archived from the original on May 29, 2011. Retrieved January 25, 2008.
  14. ^ a b "Economic Development, Chapter 4 – Draft 2, February 2009" (PDF). College Station, Texas. February 9, 2009. Retrieved March 31, 2009.
  15. ^ "CBL & Associates Properties Announces 2012 Renovation Program" (Press release). CBL Properties. June 11, 2012. Archived from the original on January 19, 2013. Retrieved January 19, 2012.
  16. ^ "Post Oak Mall Gears Up for Grand Re-Opening". www.kbtx.com. Archived from the original on 2012-11-11.
  17. ^ a b "Stores by Category". Post Oak Mall. Archived from the original on December 29, 2007. Retrieved January 25, 2008.
  18. Society of Independent Motion Picture Producers
    . Retrieved July 13, 2008.
  19. United States Securities and Exchange Commission
    . October 26, 2000. Retrieved December 2, 2009. ...Last week, General Cinema became the latest of five operators to file for bankruptcy. Though we have no exposure to General Cinema in our existing portfolio we have had four locations closed to date by Carmike, which has also filed for bankruptcy protection. These closed theaters were located at Post Oak Mall in College Station, TX...
  20. ^ Bodamer, Dave (April 2002). "Owners Show How To Bring Dead Anchor Spaces to Life". Shopping Centers Today. April 2002. International Council of Shopping Centers: 1c. Archived from the original on October 12, 2007. Retrieved March 6, 2008.
  21. ^ "Bealls advertisement". Bryan-College Station Eagle. College Station, Texas. February 21, 1982. p. 8E.
  22. United States Securities and Exchange Commission
    . April 29, 1999. Retrieved December 2, 2009.
  23. United States Securities and Exchange Commission
    . July 29, 1999. Retrieved December 2, 2009.
  24. ^ a b c d Levey, Kelli (April 4, 2004). "Post Oak Mall works to retain costumers". The Bryan-College Station Eagle. Archived from the original on May 29, 2011. Retrieved January 25, 2008.
  25. ^ Watkins, Matthew (September 3, 2006). "Post Oak Mall welcomes Macy's". The Bryan-College Station Eagle. Archived from the original on 2011-05-29. Retrieved January 25, 2008.
  26. ^ "College sportswear store to open in College Station". The Bryan-College Station Eagle. July 10, 2005. Archived from the original on 2011-07-04. Retrieved January 25, 2008.
  27. ^ "Steve & Barry's to close mall store". Bryan/College Station Eagle. September 3, 2008. Archived from the original on September 4, 2008. Retrieved September 3, 2008.
  28. ^ McCracken, Jeffrey; Lattman, Peter (November 18, 2008). "Apparel Chain Faces Closure Three Months After Rescue". The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company. Retrieved January 2, 2009.
  29. ^ "Sears in Post Oak mall among 46 stores to close in November".
  30. ^ "Gordmans opens doors at Post Oak Mall".
  31. ^ "COVID-19 affecting businesses coming, leaving Post Oak Mall".
  32. ^ https://www.kbtx.com/content/news/Conns-Appliances-taking-over-old-Sears-building-567078931.html
  33. ^ "Macy's to close Post Oak Mall location".
  34. ^ Levey, Kelli (June 19, 2002). "Several McDonald's to undergo alterations". The Bryan-College Station Eagle. Archived from the original on May 29, 2011. Retrieved January 26, 2008.
  35. ^ "Post Oak Mall, Part 2 - The Food Court". Brazos Buildings & Businesses. 9 August 2013. Archived from the original on 5 January 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  36. Bryan-College Station Eagle. Archived from the original
    on June 12, 2012. Retrieved August 30, 2009.

External links
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Post_Oak_Mall&oldid=1211675304"