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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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West Oaks Mall (Orlando)
West Oaks Mall is a local mall located in Ocoee, Florida near Orlando. It is anchored by Dillard's Clearance Center, J. C. Penney, a SunPass Customer Service Center, and a Bed Bath & Beyond Call Center, and has 115 store spaces, a food court, and a 14-screen AMC theater.

History

The West Oaks Mall, originally called the Lake Lotta Mall, was announced in April 1995 when the Homart Development Company bought 130 acres of land for the mall. Designed by the Atlanta based design firm Thompson, Ventulett, Steinbeck, and Associates, the mall was slated to be a total of 950,000 sq ft, with anchors Sears, Dillard's, Gayfers, and JCPenney as well as 125 specialty stores and a multi-screen theater. By June 1996, the mall, now managed by General Growth Properties after their takeover of Homart's mall-development arm, had reached 73% occupancy, with the opening pushed back to October 2. In September 1996, it was announced the mall was to feature a 600 sq ft playground, designed by International Inc of New Braunfels, Texas. The mall opened October 2 to a crowd of 30,000 people.

In December 1996, AMC Theatres requested to be able to expand their planned 14-screen theater into a 24-screen theater, however this was not approved. The 14-screen theater opened on March 19, 1997.

The Gayfers location was sold to Parisian in 1998, after its acquisition by Dillard's that year. In February 2004, it was announced that the Parisian location would be converted to McRae's, which it operated as for around a year, when the location was sold to Belk in April 2005. In 2008, it was announced that the Belk location at the mall would be closing by the end of February. At the time, owners GGP had announced speculative plans to demolish the anchor building for lifestyle-center style tenants, but this never occurred.

In 2012, it was announced that Sears would be closing its location at the mall by January 2013, along with 10 others, with plans to sell the properties to GGP. The space remained vacant until 2016, when it was converted into a customer service center for SunPass, operated by Xerox Corp. In November 2012, the mall was purchased by Moonbeam Capital Investments, for $15.9 million. In 2017, it was announced that a call center operated by Bed Bath & Beyond would take over half of the former Belk anchor, with plans to create 500 jobs by 2018.

The small chain tenants at the mall remaining during the decline of the mall include Banter by Piercing Pagoda, Bath & Body Works, and Rainbow. These are all still open.

Foot Locker and The Children's Place closed in 2022. Jimmy Jazz closed in 2023. Champs Sports, Spencer's, and Underground by Journeys closed in 2024.

Anchors and tenants

  • AMC Theatres (1997-present) (opened 1997)
  • Dillard's Clearance Center (1996-present) (opened 1996 with the mall, downgraded to a clearance center later in the store's lifespan)
  • JCPenney (1996-present) (opened 1996 with the mall)
  • SunPass Customer Service Center (2016-present) (opened 2016 in former Sears)

Former anchors and tenants

  • Belk (2005-2008) (opened 2005 in former McRae's, closed 2008 and a portion replaced by Bed Bath & Beyond call center in 2017)
  • Gayfers (1996-1998) (opened 1996 with the mall, closed 1998 and replaced by Parisian)
  • McRae's (2004-2005) (opened 2004 in former Parisian, closed 2005 and replaced by Belk)
  • Parisian (1998-2004) (opened 1998 in former Gayfers, closed 2004 and replaced by McRae's)
  • Sears (1996-2013) (opened 1996 with the mall, closed 2013 and replaced by SunPass customer service center in 2016)
  • Bed Bath & Beyond Call Center (2017-2023) (opened 2017 in portion of former Belk and closed in 2023 after Bed Bath & Beyond filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy and closed all stores)

References

  1. ^ Brad Kuhn (January 8, 1996). "Retailers can expect modest growth, analysts say". The Orlando Sentinel. p. 49. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  2. ^ "Store Directory". West Oaks Mall. Retrieved 2013-03-19.
  3. ^ "West Oaks Mall". Moonbeam Capital Investments. Retrieved 2013-03-19.
  4. ^ "OCOEE MALL". The Orlando Sentinel. April 17, 1995. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
  5. ^ Kuhn, Brad (June 6, 1996). "West Oaks Mall at 73% Occupancy". The Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  6. ^ "Playtime at Ocoee Mall". The Orlando Sentinel. September 16, 1996. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
  7. ^ Kuhn, Brad (October 3, 1996). "Traffic was bad - especially at new mall". The Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  8. ^ Quintana, Craig (December 29, 1996). "Ocoee to screen theater request". The Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  9. ^ Comas, Martin (March 13, 1997). "THEATER OPENING". The Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  10. ^ "Chains still expand despite dire predictions". The Orlando Sentinel. August 4, 2002. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  11. ^ "Parisian will convert". The Orlando Sentinel. February 4, 2004. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  12. ^ "Saks to sell Proffitt's, McRae's stores". The Orlando Sentinel. April 30, 2005. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  13. ^ Fluker, Anjali (January 21, 2008). "Belk out, opportunity in at West Oaks Mall". Orlando Business Journal.
  14. ^ "Sears to close..." Orlando Business Journal. Oct 25, 2012.
  15. ^ Fluker, Anjali (June 28, 2016). "Exclusive: Interior buildout begins at former West Oaks Mall Sears". Orlando Business Journal. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  16. ^ Fluker, Anjali (December 5, 2012). "West Oaks Mall's new owner: Las Vegas firm Moonbeam Equities". Orlando Business Journal. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  17. ^ Fluker, Anjali (February 21, 2017). "Exclusive: Bed Bath & Beyond call center to bring 500 more jobs to West Oaks Mall". Orlando Business Journal. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
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