Collin Creek Mall

Collin Creek Mall was built by Federated Stores Realty, the real-estate arm of department store chain Federated Department Stores, as a regional mall that would serve Collin County communities along North Central Expressway.^[3] Construction included the installation of three 2,400-foot (730 m) culverts that carried Spring Creek under the structure.^[4] The mall opened on July 29, 1981.^[5]

At opening, the mall's center court included a 300-foot (91 m) indoor creek with a waterfall, fountains, and shrubbery. Surrounding the creek was The Village Walk, an 18,000-square-foot (1,700 m²) section of smaller, locally-owned shops,^[6] as well as The Patio, a food court.^[7] The center court was remodeled in 1992,^[8] which removed the Village Walk, replaced the creek with a smaller fountain, and renamed the food court to The Terrace.^[9]

In 1995, real estate firm The Rouse Company purchased a 30% stake in the mall and took over mall management.^[10] Rouse assumed full ownership of the mall in 2002.^[11] In 2008, the mall underwent a renovation.^[12]

In 2011, General Growth Properties (which had acquired The Rouse Company in 2004) spun off 30 underperforming properties, including Collin Creek, into a new company, Rouse Properties.^[13] The mall's underperformance was attributed to competition with newer shopping centers such as Stonebriar Centre.^[14] In 2012, the city of Plano offered Collin Creek a $600,000 grant for renovations.^[14]

In 2014, Rouse designated Collin Creek as a "special consideration asset", which signaled that the mall might be foreclosed. A report by analysis firm Trepp stated the mall had not made a profit since 2011.^[15] The following year, the mall was sold to its lender, Midland Loan Services (a division of PNC Financial Services) for $57.6 million.^[16]

In 2018, the mall property was sold to developer Centurion American, which planned to substantially redevelop the mall into a mixed-use development.^[17] The mall held a farewell celebration on July 26, 2019,^[18] and it closed on July 31.^[19]

A Sears department store and accompanying Sears Auto Center opened with the mall on July 29, 1981.^[5]

In December 2018, following a bankruptcy filing, Sears Holdings announced the sale of 505 locations, including the Collin Creek Mall location.^[20] The store was purchased by mall owner Centurion American and closed in March 2019 to allow for redevelopment.^[21][22]

A Dillard's department store opened with the mall on July 29, 1981.^[5] The store was the third Dillard's to be built in the area, following those at Valley View Center and Richardson Square Mall.^[23]

On October 7, 2013, Dillard's announced that its Collin Creek location would close by January 2014.^[24] The store never reopened and was demolished as part of the mall's redevelopment.

Lord & Taylor opened on October 5, 1981, several months after the rest of the mall. The store was the third Lord & Taylor to open in the Dallas area.^[25]

In April 1990, Mervyn's purchased the store for an undisclosed sum, intending it as a larger replacement for its existing Plano store.^[26] The store was closed for renovation and re-opened in October.^[27] The store was closed in 2006 when Mervyn's exited the North Texas area.^[28]

In December 2007, Collin Creek management announced the beginning of construction for Amazing Jake's Food and Fun, a family entertainment center and buffet restaurant, in the former Mervyn's space.^[29] Amazing Jake's opened on July 11, 2008.^[30] The center closed on April 1, 2019 in anticipation of the mall's closure.^[31]

While JCPenney was announced as an anchor tenant at the mall's opening,^[5] the store itself did not open until July 29, 1983.^[32] The store was a prototype for a major repositioning by JCPenney, which moved the chain's focus to contemporary fashion, leisure, and home furnishings.^[32]

JCPenney did not close with the mall, as it owned the land under the store. Initial plans for the site's redevelopment included a new store for the chain.^[1] However, on August 18, 2020, shortly after JCPenney filed for bankruptcy protection, it was announced that the store would close by November 2020.^[33] The 10.6-acre site was sold to Centurion American, the company heading the mall's redevelopment, for $15 million.^[34]

 

The mall's southernmost anchor was opened as a Sanger–Harris department store on October 20, 1980, ten months prior to the mall itself opening.^[35] The store was converted to a Foley's in 1987 when the two chains were merged.^[36] On September 9, 2006, the store was converted to a Macy's as part of a nationwide rebranding initiative by owner Federated Department Stores.^[37] The store closed on March 31, 2017.^[38]

Like most Sanger–Harris locations, entrances to the store were marked with four-story marble columns and an abstract tile mosaic.^[39] Initial plans for the mall's redevelopment called for the mosaics to be preserved, but this was abandoned when it was discovered that they contained asbestos.^[40]

 

In early 2018, developer Sam Ware of Dreien Partners (who had previously developed the Legacy West project in northwest Plano) announced a $1 billion plan to revitalize the site. The plan would remove a significant portion of the mall's northern wing and replace much of its parking lot with office space, residences, restaurants, and green space. It would also add a synthetic river (loosely following Spring Creek, which the mall's parking lot was built on top of), which would be lined with retail space, similar to the San Antonio River Walk.^[41] The city of Plano, which was involved in the project, intended to promote the site as a potential location for Amazon HQ2.^[42] However, the plan fell through due to a conflict between Dreien and its lender which caused the company's purchase agreements to expire.^[43][44]

Later that year, the property was acquired by Centurion American Development Group.^[17] Centurion American offered a similar redevelopment proposal, which consisted of a residential district, two office buildings, a hotel, a concert venue, an underground parking garage, and several restaurants.^[44] Unlike Dreien's proposal, Centurion American's would preserve both wings of the mall, but it did not include a water feature.^[2] The mall was closed in July 2019 to allow for construction.^[19]

A groundbreaking for the new development was held on September 24, 2021.^[45] The development included a municipal project to install a sanitary sewer and to reinforce the culverts carrying Spring Creek.^[4][46] As of July 2024^[update], the project's infrastructure is complete, two apartment buildings have started construction,^[47] and single-family residences are expected to be available by the end of the year.^[46][48]

• Collin Creek (redevelopment)
• Collin Creek Mall (2016 archive)

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