Greenspoint Mall
Encyclopedia
Greenspoint Mall is a shopping mall located in Greenspoint
and in Houston, Texas
, at the northeast corner of Interstate 45
and Beltway 8. It is anchored by retailers Dillard's
and Macy's
. In 2000, the mall was among the largest five Houston-area retail developments based on net rentable area.
, the latter of which was owned at the time by Federated Department Stores
who developed the mall. The mall eventually expanded by the late 1970s to include Joske's
, JCPenney, Montgomery Ward
and Lord & Taylor
. Revolving around a "Central Park" theme, complete with a sculpture court, Greenspoint was at one point the largest mall in Greater Houston before the Galleria's
later expansions in the 1980s and 2000s. Prudential Property Co. planned a $7 million renovation in 1988.
In February 1989 Greenspoint Mall was 94% occupied, making it the mall with the fourth highest percentage of occupied space in the Houston area.
Greenspoint Mall's fortunes began to wane at the end of the 1980s, when the Houston economy took a hit from the collapse of the energy industry and a subsequent bottoming out of the area real estate market. Also, the openings of Willowbrook Mall
to the northwest and Deerbrook Mall
to the northeast ate into Greenspoint's customer base. Making matters worse, after the kidnap and murder of a sheriff's deputy in the area that culminated from an uptick in criminal activity, the Greenspoint area became notorious for its high crime rate. Houstonians began to derisively refer to the once-booming area as "Gunspoint." In 1994, the mall lost even more business after the opening of The Woodlands Mall
in the burgeoning suburb
of The Woodlands
.
Dallas-based Archon was near a deal to purchase the mall in 1998, though a Los Angeles developer would unravel the deal when it entered negotiations to purchase the mall instead. Los Angeles developer Bob Yari of Day Properties would eventually purchase the 1700000 square feet (157,935.2 m²) mall from Prudential Real Estate Investments Separate Account, a pension fund investment group organized by Prudential Insurance Company of America. Yari sought to attract a mutliscreen movie theater.
The mall became a part of a redevelopment project in 1998. Office and convention center space, as well as a flea market were all being considered. As part of the redevelopment, the owners bought the closed Mervyn's and JCPenney locations in 2000.
In 2006, the management of Greenspoint Mall announced a $32 million project to refurbish the 30-year-old mall into an hybridized open-air/enclosed shopping center, entailing the demolition of the vacant anchor stores for new outdoor amenities. In November 2006, six months after the renovation was announced, Triyar Cos. LLC, owned by the Yari family, put the mall and several other Greater Houston
malls for sale; the company allowed a buyer to either buy an individual property, or buy all of them at once.
After several years of not anything happening, GlennLock Sports Bar & Grill announced it would sign a lease for the first phase of the Renaissance at Greenspoint.
After the destruction of the abandoned JCPenney's in May 2010, a movie theater was planned to be built on the spot, most likely as a part of the mall.
In May 2010 Sears announced that its store at Greenspoint Mall will close.
29°56′44"N 95°24′42"W
Greenspoint, Houston, Texas
The Greater Greenspoint District is an edge city in northern Harris County, Texas, United States. Portions of the district are in the City of Houston while portions are in unincorporated areas...
and in Houston, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, at the northeast corner of Interstate 45
Interstate 45
Interstate 45 is an intrastate Interstate Highway located entirely within the U.S. state of Texas. It connects the cities of Dallas and Houston, continuing southeast from Houston to Galveston over the Galveston Causeway to the Gulf of Mexico...
and Beltway 8. It is anchored by retailers Dillard's
Dillard's
Dillard's, Inc. is a department store chain in the United States, with 330 stores in 29 states. Headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas, Dillard's locations are concentrated in Texas and Florida; with a major presence in other states including Arizona, Iowa, Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, Missouri,...
and Macy's
Macy's
Macy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States...
. In 2000, the mall was among the largest five Houston-area retail developments based on net rentable area.
History
Greenspoint Mall opened in July 1976, anchored by Sears and Houston-based Foley'sFoley's
Foley’s was a chain of department stores owned by May Department Stores and headquartered in Downtown Houston, Texas. As of August 30, 2005, the division was dissolved and operation of the stores was assumed by Federated's Macy's West and Macy's South divisions. Foley's operated stores in Texas,...
, the latter of which was owned at the time by Federated Department Stores
Federated Department Stores
Macy's, Inc. is a department store holding company and owner of Macy's and Bloomingdale's department stores. Macy's Inc.'s stores specialize mostly in retail clothing, jewelery, watches, dinnerware, and furniture....
who developed the mall. The mall eventually expanded by the late 1970s to include Joske's
Joske's
Joske's, founded by German immigrant Julius Joske in 1867, was a department store chain originally based in San Antonio, Texas. In December 1928, Hahn Department Stores acquired the company along with the Titche-Goettinger department store of Dallas, and three years later Hahn became part of Allied...
, JCPenney, Montgomery Ward
Montgomery Ward
Montgomery Ward is an online retailer that carries the same name as the former American department store chain, founded as the world's #1 mail order business in 1872 by Aaron Montgomery Ward, and which went out of business in 2001...
and Lord & Taylor
Lord & Taylor
Lord & Taylor, colloquially known as L&T, or LT, based in New York City, is the oldest upscale, specialty-retail department store chain in the United States. Concentrated in the eastern U.S., the retailer operated independently for nearly a century prior to joining American Dry Goods...
. Revolving around a "Central Park" theme, complete with a sculpture court, Greenspoint was at one point the largest mall in Greater Houston before the Galleria's
Houston Galleria
The Galleria, stylized theGalleria, is an upscale mixed-use urban development centrally located in the Uptown District of Houston, Texas, United States. The development consists of a retail complex, as well as the Galleria Office Towers complex, two Westin hotels, and a private health club...
later expansions in the 1980s and 2000s. Prudential Property Co. planned a $7 million renovation in 1988.
In February 1989 Greenspoint Mall was 94% occupied, making it the mall with the fourth highest percentage of occupied space in the Houston area.
Greenspoint Mall's fortunes began to wane at the end of the 1980s, when the Houston economy took a hit from the collapse of the energy industry and a subsequent bottoming out of the area real estate market. Also, the openings of Willowbrook Mall
Willowbrook Mall (Houston, Texas)
Willowbrook Mall is a regional shopping mall located in the Willowbrook area of Houston, Texas that opened in 1981. Located at the intersection of State Highway 249 and FM 1960, the enclosed, single-level mall houses 160 retail stores and five anchors...
to the northwest and Deerbrook Mall
Deerbrook Mall
Deerbrook Mall is a 1.2 mil. square foot mall located in the northern Houston suburb of Humble. It is at the major intersection of US 59 and FM 1960, near George Bush Intercontinental Airport. Deerbrook Mall is classified as a super-regional mall and is the only mall in suburban Northeast Houston...
to the northeast ate into Greenspoint's customer base. Making matters worse, after the kidnap and murder of a sheriff's deputy in the area that culminated from an uptick in criminal activity, the Greenspoint area became notorious for its high crime rate. Houstonians began to derisively refer to the once-booming area as "Gunspoint." In 1994, the mall lost even more business after the opening of The Woodlands Mall
The Woodlands Mall
The Woodlands Mall is a two-story, enclosed shopping mall located in The Woodlands community and in unincorporated Montgomery County, Texas, United States, north of Houston. With a gross leasable area of , The Woodlands Mall is considered a super-regional mall by industry definitions...
in the burgeoning suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
of The Woodlands
The Woodlands, Texas
The Woodlands is a master-planned community and a Census-designated place in the U.S. state of Texas within the metropolitan area. The population of the CDP was 55,649 at the 2000 census—a 90 percent increase over its 1990 population. According to the 2010 census, The Woodlands' population rose...
.
Dallas-based Archon was near a deal to purchase the mall in 1998, though a Los Angeles developer would unravel the deal when it entered negotiations to purchase the mall instead. Los Angeles developer Bob Yari of Day Properties would eventually purchase the 1700000 square feet (157,935.2 m²) mall from Prudential Real Estate Investments Separate Account, a pension fund investment group organized by Prudential Insurance Company of America. Yari sought to attract a mutliscreen movie theater.
The mall became a part of a redevelopment project in 1998. Office and convention center space, as well as a flea market were all being considered. As part of the redevelopment, the owners bought the closed Mervyn's and JCPenney locations in 2000.
In 2006, the management of Greenspoint Mall announced a $32 million project to refurbish the 30-year-old mall into an hybridized open-air/enclosed shopping center, entailing the demolition of the vacant anchor stores for new outdoor amenities. In November 2006, six months after the renovation was announced, Triyar Cos. LLC, owned by the Yari family, put the mall and several other Greater Houston
Greater Houston
Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown is a 10-county metropolitan area defined by the Office of Management and Budget. It is located along the Gulf Coast region in the U.S. state of Texas...
malls for sale; the company allowed a buyer to either buy an individual property, or buy all of them at once.
After several years of not anything happening, GlennLock Sports Bar & Grill announced it would sign a lease for the first phase of the Renaissance at Greenspoint.
After the destruction of the abandoned JCPenney's in May 2010, a movie theater was planned to be built on the spot, most likely as a part of the mall.
In May 2010 Sears announced that its store at Greenspoint Mall will close.
Former anchors
- Foley'sFoley'sFoley’s was a chain of department stores owned by May Department Stores and headquartered in Downtown Houston, Texas. As of August 30, 2005, the division was dissolved and operation of the stores was assumed by Federated's Macy's West and Macy's South divisions. Foley's operated stores in Texas,...
(1976–2006, now Macy's) - Lord & TaylorLord & TaylorLord & Taylor, colloquially known as L&T, or LT, based in New York City, is the oldest upscale, specialty-retail department store chain in the United States. Concentrated in the eastern U.S., the retailer operated independently for nearly a century prior to joining American Dry Goods...
(1979–1989) - MervynsMervynsMervyns was an American middle scale department store chain based in Hayward, California. It carried national brands of clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, electronics, and housewares. Many of the company's stores were in shopping malls...
(1989–1998, former Lord & Taylor anchor) - Montgomery WardMontgomery WardMontgomery Ward is an online retailer that carries the same name as the former American department store chain, founded as the world's #1 mail order business in 1872 by Aaron Montgomery Ward, and which went out of business in 2001...
(1978-2001) - Joske'sJoske'sJoske's, founded by German immigrant Julius Joske in 1867, was a department store chain originally based in San Antonio, Texas. In December 1928, Hahn Department Stores acquired the company along with the Titche-Goettinger department store of Dallas, and three years later Hahn became part of Allied...
(1980-1987, now Dillard'sDillard'sDillard's, Inc. is a department store chain in the United States, with 330 stores in 29 states. Headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas, Dillard's locations are concentrated in Texas and Florida; with a major presence in other states including Arizona, Iowa, Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, Missouri,...
) - J.C. PenneyJ.C. PenneyJ. C. Penney Company, Inc. is a chain of American mid-range department stores based in Plano, Texas, a suburb north of Dallas. The company operates 1,107 department stores in all 50 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. JCPenney also operates catalog sales merchant offices nationwide in many...
(1977-1998) - Sears (1976-2010)
Anchors
- Dillard'sDillard'sDillard's, Inc. is a department store chain in the United States, with 330 stores in 29 states. Headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas, Dillard's locations are concentrated in Texas and Florida; with a major presence in other states including Arizona, Iowa, Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, Missouri,...
(opened 1978 as Joske's, became Dillard's 1987) - Macy'sMacy'sMacy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States...
(opened 1976 as Foley's, became Macy's 2006) 305165 sq ft (28,350.8 m²). - Fitness Connection (opened 1979 as Lord & Taylor, closed 1989, became Mervyn's 1989, closed 1998)
- Vacant (opened 1976 as Sears, closed May 2010)
- Vacant (opened 1976 as JCPenney, closed 1998, demolished May 2010 for redevelopment)
- Vacant (opened 1978 as Montgomery Ward, closed 2001)
External links
29°56′44"N 95°24′42"W