Port Plaza Mall (Washington Commons)

infobox shopping mall
shopping_mall_name = Washington Commons
(Port Plaza Mall)


caption = Washington Commons entrance
circa July 2007
location = Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA
opening_date = August 4, 1977
closing_date = February 27, 2006
developer= Hunzinger
number_of_stores = 120
number_of_anchors = 3
floor_area = convert|7|acre|m2
no._of_floors = 2

Washington Commons, formerly known as Port Plaza Mall, was an urban shopping mall/multi-use facility located in downtown Green Bay, Wisconsin in the United States. It opened on August 4, 1977 with two anchor stores, JCPenney and H.C. Prange (the latter of which had been open since 1927). Later years would see the addition of Boston Store and a food court (1981), a major renovation (1988), a name change (2001), and a change to mixed use tenants (2002).

The mall shuttered its doors on February 27, 2006, 7 days after mall ownership notified the remaining tenants of its closure. The mall is currently empty, with plans pending to turn the space into a mixed-use high-rise office building. The former locations of Boston Store and Younkers have been already redeveloped or will be in the future.

Timeline

*1975 - Groundbreaking begins on Port Plaza Mall.
*August 4, 1977 - Port Plaza Mall opens with space for two anchor tenants (Prange's and JCPenney) and 99 smaller stores. The mall is owned by Mansur & Associates of Chicago, Illinois.
*August 9, 1977 - The four-faced clock tower at Port Plaza is activated. The bell in the clock tower is originally from a courthouse in Winona, Mississippi.
*1981 - Boston Store opens as a third anchor, along with a food court featuring McDonald's, Sbarro, Arby's and Taco Bell.
*1986 - Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. buys Port Plaza Mall from Mansur & Associates.
*1988 - In response to competition from newer malls in Ashwaubenon (Bay Park Square) and Appleton (Fox River Mall), Port Plaza Mall undergoes renovation. The remodeling, performed by Hunzinger Construction Co. (the company responsible for Mayfair Mall's 1986 renovation) includes the use of neon lights and fountains.
*1992 - H.C. Prange Co. is acquired by Younkers, and the Prange's store is rebranded as Younkers by the end of the year.
*1997 - Port Plaza Mall is purchased by Whitehall Funds and Zamias Services.
*2000 - Boston Store closes after its parent company merges with Younkers. This is the start of an exodus of stores from the mall that would last through its closure.
*2001-2002 - Development Associates LLC purchases Port Plaza with the intention of changing it to a mixed use mall of both retail and office space. The mall would be rechristened "Washington Commons" to reflect on the reconnection of Washington Street at the former location of the food court (which was relocated to the center court at the former water fountain). McDonald's and Osco Drug close their downtown locations. Subway moves into the new food court from their old location next to Claire's and across from Gadzooks.
*2003 - Payless ShoeSource and Touch of the World close.
*2004 - Champs Sports and Bath & Body Works close, as does Younkers, which opened a new, more modern location at Ashwaubenon's Bay Park Square one year earlier. The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay opens a new Learning Center at Washington Commons. Lerner New York becomes New York & Company.
*February 2005 - The Green Bay Children's Museum leaves the mall.
* June 2005 - SpongeBob SquarePants visits Wild Air! Play Zone in Washington Commons as part of a promotion between Time Warner Cable, Nickelodeon, and Wild Air! Play Zone.
*September-October 2005 - JCPenney, the mall's last remaining anchor tenant, relocates to Village at Bay Park.
*Late 2005-Early 2006 - Plans to have APAC Customer Services relocate from suburban Allouez to the former JCPenney location fall through when a financing deal with the City of Green Bay could not be reached. APAC would instead reach a deal with the City and BayLake Bank to move to the former Boston Store location, where BayLake Bank was developing a branch. Development Associates would take the issue to court, citing conflict of interest by the City and BayLake Bank (which happened to be the mall's lender); though the parties would eventually reach an out-of-court settlement, the cost of the suit would leave Development Associates in debt.
*February 20, 2006 - With the mall facing foreclosure by BayLake Bank and electrical services about to be disconnected, the mall's last six tenants are forced to leave by February 27. Green Bay Mayor Jim Schmitt said that the city would help relocate the displaced businesses. The mall is then closed to the public and is kept clean and secure daily by maintenance crews for potential future development. The property is put up for sale for $8 million.
*2006 - Bay Lake Bank and APAC Customer Services formally move into the former Boston Store location.
*Summer 2007 - Demolition begins on the Prange's/Younkers building to make way for three separate developments, the River Center, Flatley Marketplace and the Astor Place Condominiums. The skyway above Washington Street, which connected Prange's/Younkers with the rest of the mall, is also demolished. Subway opens in its new location on Washington Street between Brewbaker's Pub and China Palace.
* 2008 - The City of Green Bay, which gained ownership of the mall property as part of the settlement with Development Associates, transfers ownership to its Redevelopment Authority.
* May 2008 - Middleton, Wisconsin-based T. Wall Properties, which holds planning options for the mall property, reveals its redevelopment plans. The plans include an 8-10-story office building with ground-floor stores and restaurants, re-establishment of the original pre-mall street grid, and other new buildings after the first building is complete. Groundbreaking is planned for 2009, with completion of the first building by 2010.

External links

* [http://www.ci.green-bay.wi.us/artwork/monfils_mall_opening.jpgImage of Port Plaza Mall's grand opening celebration in 1977]
* [http://www.ci.green-bay.wi.us/artwork/monfils_mall_opening_2.jpgImage of Port Plaza's grand opening (escalator and Thom McAn in the background)]
* [http://www.ci.green-bay.wi.us/artwork/ppmall_77.jpgImage of Port Plaza's second floor in 1977]
* [http://www.ci.green-bay.wi.us/artwork/boston_store.jpgImage of Port Plaza Boston Store (1990s)]
* [http://terraserver-usa.com/image.aspx?T=1&S=10&Z=16&X=2097&Y=24648&W=1 Port Plaza Mall Aerial Photo from 1992]
* [http://www.hunzinger.com/experience/detail.php?projectID=41 Hunzinger Port Plaza Mall 1988 Renovation]
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20031208225344/http://www.washingtoncommons.com/ Official Washington Commons Website (Waybacked)]
* [http://www.wbay.com/Global/story.asp?s=6938131 August 2007 WBAY-TV report on redevelopment plans for Washington Commons]
* [http://www.flickr.com/groups/730331@N24/] Flickr photo group for Port Plaza Mall and Washington Commons.
* [http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080514/GPG03/805140680/1247 "High-rise pitched for Washington Commons site"] , "Green Bay Press-Gazette", May 14, 2008.