First Colony Mall

infobox shopping mall
shopping_mall_name = First Colony Mall


caption = Sign at US 59 freeway entrance
location = Sugar Land, Texas, USA
opening_date = March 14, 1996
developer =
manager =
owner = General Growth Properties
number_of_stores = 150
number_of_anchors = 4
floor_area = convert|1110000|sqft|m2|abbr=on.
floors = 1
parking = 4,700 spaces
website = [http://www.firstcolonymall.com www.firstcolonymall.com]

First Colony Mall is a regional shopping mall in Sugar Land, Texas, an affluent suburb of Houston. The mall, located west of the intersection of U.S. Highway 59 and State Highway 6, opened on March 14, 1996 and was recently expanded in 2006. First Colony Mall is owned by General Growth Properties and is the only mall within Sugar Land.

The mall is anchored by Macy's, Dillard's and JCPenney. Dillard's will open an additional location that will focus on men's clothing in the former Mervyn's store in the near future.

Tornado of 1998

On February 16, 1998, a tornado damaged the mall and the Sugar Land Aerodrome ice skating complex located south of the mall. [ [http://www.cnn.com/WEATHER/9802/16/texas.storm/index.html/ Texas twister hits mall] , CNN.com, February 16, 1998.] The tornado hit the southwest corner of the Dillard's store and caused a support wall to collapse, sending bricks to the sidewalk below. Part of the interior was damaged and 5-6 inches (125-150 mm) of water accumulated inside the store.

The tornado also damaged an exterior wall at the JCPenney store, and also damaged part of the roof and the mall's sprinkler system, resulting in water damage to several specialty stores in the mall. No one was injured in the tornado, even though two patrons in the nearby ice skating complex sought medical attention on their own. This was especially surprising given the President's Day shopping crowd present that day.

2006 expansion

In 2006, First Colony Mall underwent an expansion that added a lifestyle center wing in front of the main entrance. Several stores established in the mall such as Ann Taylor have relocated to the new addition, while others such as White House/Black Market are opening their first locations in the mall. Additionally, one retailer, Barnes and Noble, relocated from an adjacent shopping center.

There are also two restaurants next to the addition, Kona Grill and The Cheesecake Factory. Since the lifestyle wing was built on the front parking lot, parking garages were built in front of the Dillard's and Macy's stores to alleviate parking problems created by the new addition.

Traffic lights were installed at the intersection of North Town Center Boulevard at the ring road to alleviate the extreme traffic problems at the main entrance.

Anchors

*Dillard's "(210,000 sq ft., opened 1996)"
*Dillard's Men "(84,000 sq ft., opened 1996 as Mervyns, closed 2006, reopened June 2008)"
*JCPenney "(125,000 sq ft., opened 1996)"
*Macy's "(200,000 sq ft., opened 1996 as Foley's, became Macy's in 2006)"

In addition to the anchors, the mall also has a 24-screen AMC Theatres complex located on an outlying parcel southeast of the mall.

The mall's tenant mix is comprised of middle-to-higher-end clothing and specialty stores such as Pottery Barn, American Eagle Outfitters, Abercrombie & Fitch, Forever 21, Banana Republic, Hollister Co., Williams-Sonoma and Victoria's Secret, as well as common mall staples such as GNC and Bath & Body Works.

References

External links

* [http://www.firstcolonymall.com First Colony Mall] Official website