Mission Center Mall

Mission Center Mall

Location	Mission, Kansas, USA
Opening date	1989
Closing date	2006
Owner	Copaken White Blitt
No. of stores and services	50+
No. of anchor tenants	2
Total retail floor area	350,000 s.f.
Parking	2-level parking garage
No. of floors	2

Mission Center Mall was a small mall in Mission, KS located on a block of land wedged between four major roads, including Shawnee Mission Parkway and Johnson Drive. The 350,000 sq ft (33,000 m²). mall opened in 1989, replacing the former Mission Shopping Center that was destroyed. In 2006, Mission Center Mall was closed and demolished and the property sits vacant at this time. A mixed-use development, The Gateway, is proposed to eventually take its place.

History

Mission Center Mall began as Mission Shopping Center, which opened in 1956 as the major shopping center for the city of Mission, Kansas. It was designed as an open-air mall with a Macy's. The land was low and flooded very often, up to 10 feet (3.0 m) under water. In 1989 the mall was demolished and rebuilt completely from the ground up, leaving no trace of the old mall. Flooding was solved by building a huge double tunnel 30 feet (9.1 m) under the property in which Rock Creek now flows. Little Rock-based Dillard's had taken Macy's, and fashioned it into a Dillard's Women's Store, called "Dillard's South". The store on the opposite end of the mall ("Dillard's North") sold men's and children's apparel. The mall featured 50 leasable storefronts in 350,000 s.f. of space, and had a two-story parking garage.

The mall retained about a 65-75% occupancy throughout its life. Its design included massive skylights, decorative trees and banners, and a large staircase in the middle, with a pool of water beneath it. Mission Center Mall was owned by Copaken, White & Blitt.

In August 2005, plans were announced for the mall's sale, demolition, and replacement by a mixed-use development called The Gateway. The mall was closed and shuttered on February 12, 2006, giving the current 30 or so stores chances to relocate and sell off their merchandise. The last stores to close were Wolf Camera, and Christopher & Banks, which stayed open until closing day.

The mall was torn down in March 2006. The land has remained vacant since, now an overgrown patch of weeds with a steel fence surrounding out it. No construction has yet taken place on The Gateway.

Slogan

Imagine THAT!

Anchors

• Dillard's South (Women's and Housewares, 123,000 square feet) Closed late 2005
• Dillard's North (Men's and Children's, 60,000 square feet) Closed late 2005

External links

Official sites

• The Gateway