- Rivercenter
:"For the St. Paul RiverCentre, see
RiverCentre ."infobox shopping mall
shopping_mall_name = Rivercenter
caption =
location =San Antonio, Texas , USA
opening_date = 1988
developer = Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation
manager =
owner = Ashkenazy Acquisition Corporation
number_of_stores = 100+
number_of_anchors = 2
floor_area = convert|1060000|sqft|m2|abbr=on
floors = 4
website = [http://www.shoprivercenter.com www.shoprivercenter.com]Rivercenter is a shopping mall located in downtown
San Antonio, Texas along the River Walk. It is anchored by retailersDillard's andMacy's , as well as a 38-story, 1,001-room Marriott hotel. The mall was purchased in 2005 by Ashkenazy Acquisition Corporation. [ [http://sanantonio.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/stories/2005/07/11/story1.html?page=1 N.Y. group acquires Rivercenter Mall] , "San Antonio Business Journal", July 8, 2005.]History
Rivercenter opened in 1988 with San Antonio's first
Lord & Taylor department store, anIMAX theater, as well asDillard's (Closed August 2008). Part of the downtown redevelopment included an extension of San Antonio's famed River Walk into the Rivercenter lagoon.Lord & Taylor, then owned by
May Department Stores , was converted into aFoley's in 1989. In 2006, the space became Macy's after Macy's parent,Federated Department Stores , bought May Department Stores. The structure that housesDillard's , anAMC Theatres , as well as other shops originally opened in 1887 as a freestandingJoske's at the corner of Alamo and Commerce streets. Several expansions from 1909 to 1953 brought the space to convert|551000|sqft|m2|-2. Joske's closed the flagship store for remodeling in 1987, planning to reopen in 1988, to coincide with the Rivercenter opening. But Dillard's acquired the Joske's chain shortly after the store closed for remodeling. The massive flagship store was divided up, with Dillard's occupying only a portion of the five-level building. The remaining area of the building was converted into lease space and a retail atrium for Rivercenter and an AMC movie theater. Even with the division of the building into other uses, portions of the structure, including convert|200000|sqft|m2|abbr=on. of space on the top two floors, as well as the old "bargain basement," remain unoccupied to this day.In October 2006, plans were revealed to redevelop the property over a number of years. [cite web | publisher=MySA.com | title=Redevelopment plans afoot for downtown mall | url=http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/stories/MYSA100406.01A.rivercenter.redo.35e79a8.html | date=
October 4 ,2006 | accessdate=9 October | accessyear=2006] Five-star restaurants and more outdoor seating would be added in the first phase of redevelopment. The redevelopment of the Joske's space would be the next phase. The Joske's facade along Commerce Street would be restored, bringing back the windows and brick that were covered in one of Joske's own renovations before Rivercenter was built, and tenants would be added for the currently vacant two upper floors. A luxury hotel would be added in the last phase, forcing a multi-level parking garage to close, but another parking garage would be built on another part of the property. San Antonio's Historic and Design Review Commission approved the redevelopment plan on October 4, 2006. [cite web | publisher=MySA.com | title=Mall makeover plan gets tentative approval | url=http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/stories/MYSA100506.rivercenter.93594a2.html | date=October 5 ,2006 | accessdate=9 October | accessyear=2006] A grand re-opening is planned for 2008. [ [http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/stories/MYSA012507.6E.rivercenter.131011c.html Downtown's updated Rivercenter is thriving] , "San Antonio Express-News", January 25, 2007.]It was reported in June 2008 that Ashkenazy purchased the historic Joske's building from Dillard's and plans to revitalize the landmark property as part of the property's redevelopment. [ [http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/stories/MYSA.060608.MAINNewJoskes.EN.36e07ff.html New use for downtown Joske's] , "San Antonio Express-News", June 6, 2008.] [ [http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/stories/MYSA.060508.Joskesstore.EN.2045a8d.html Old Joske's building sold, downtown Dillard's to close] , "San Antonio Express-News", June 5, 2008.] [ [http://sanantonio.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/stories/2008/06/02/daily29.html?surround=lfn Historic Joske's building purchased by Rivercenter Mall owners] , "San Antonio Business Journal", June 5, 2008.]
Anchors
*
Dillard's "(opened 1887 as freestandingJoske's , became Dillard's 1988; only occupying convert|131900|sqft|m2|abbr=on. on two floors of convert|551000|sqft|m2|abbr=on. five-floor building and went out of business on August 4, 2008)"
*Macy's "(opened 1988 asLord & Taylor , becameFoley's 1989, became Macy's 2006; 92,892 sq ft)"
*IMAX Theater "(34,467 sq ft)"References
External links
* [http://www.shoprivercenter.com/ Rivercenter website]
* [http://www.aacrealty.com/ Ashkenazy Acquisition Corporation website]
* [http://sanantonio.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/stories/2004/09/20/story3.html?page=1 New owner needed to breathe fresh life into downtown mall] , "San Antonio Business Journal", September 17, 2004.
* [http://sanantonio.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/stories/1998/04/20/story1.html?page=1 Rivercenter Mall will be put on sales block] , "San Antonio Business Journal", April 17, 1998.
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