SAWGRASS MILLS
West Sunrise Boulevard and Flamingo Road
Sunrise, Florida
The Western Development Corporation, of Washington, DC, was formed in 1967. In 1984, they entered into a joint venture with West Germany's KanAm Grunderbesitz GmbH. The first shopping mall project to evolve from this pairing, Virginia's POTOMAC MILLS, was dedicated in September 1985.
It was a unique and trend-setting retail center which eschewed traditional anchor department stores in favor of several junior anchor-sized, off-price retailers. The value mega mall was born!
The second Western-KanAm endeavor, Philadelphia's FRANKLIN MILLS, debuted in May 1989. Clocking in at over 1 million leasable square feet, it would be substantially bested by the next Mills mall project. This was under construction at a 138-acre site, located 10.7 miles northwest of downtown Fort Lauderdale, in the Broward County suburb of Sunrise.
SAWGRASS MILLS, designed by the Coral Gables-based Arquitectonica firm, opened in four stages. The first operational store, Myrtle Beach-based Waccamaw Pottery, began business on August 26, 1990. Sears Outlet became the second operational store, on September 5th. A mall-wide grand opening was held on October 4, 1990, with 202 stores and services on the retail roster. These included Bed, Bath & Beyond, Toy Works, Ann Taylor Clearance Center, Bugle Boy and Van Heusen Factory Outlets and the 16-bay Hurricane Food Court.
Five single-level stores anchored the mall; a (107,600 square foot) Waccamaw Pottery, (75,400 square foot) V.F. Outlet, (78,700 square foot) Phar-Mor Drug, (104,500 square foot) Sears Outlet and (77,500 square foot) BrandsMart USA.
A second grand opening, held on November 15, 1990, brought twenty-three additional stores. These included a 1-level (77,300 square foot) Marshalls Superstore and 19-bay Sports Food Court. A 1-level (25,000 square foot) Spiegel Outlet opened, as the mall's seventh anchor, on October 17, 1991. The freestanding Cobb Theatres Sawgrass 18 showed its first features on December 13, 1991. A 1-level (138,300 square foot) Target Greatland was dedicated on March 15, 1992.
SAWGRASS MILLS now housed around 230 stores and services. The sprawling, single level shopping center was divided into four themed concourses; Modern Main Street, Mediterranean Main Street, Art Deco Main Street and Caribbean Main Street. Its Hurricane Food Court had a whooshing wind sound effect.
Five court areas separated the "Street" concourses; the Entertainment Court, Video Court, Rotunda Court, New Ideas Court and Cabana Court. The latter had a simulated swamp with an animatronic singing flamingos and alligators display.
The complex was also wired with the "Mills TV" closed circuit system, with monitors placed throughout courts and concourses. Mall entrances and adjacent parking areas were also given names, such as Green Toad, Purple Parrot, White Seahorse, Blue Dolphin and Pink Flamingo.
Western Development Corporation converted into a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) in 1994, renaming itself the Mills Corporation. This new entity proceeded with an enlargement of SAWGRASS MILLS. A (65,000 square foot) Burlington Coat Factory commenced operation on January 1, 1994. This store was a precursor of an 11 million dollar Phase II (or Veranda Main Street) expansion.
Phase III, the "Entertainment Phase," was announced in January 1998. It was to add thirty-nine upscale retailers and enlarge the existing Burlington Coat Factory to 111,300 square feet. The Oasis wing was officially dedicated on April 15, 1999. Flanking its open-air shopping concourse were Gameworks, American Wilderness Experience, Ron Jon Surf Shop, Cafe Tu Tu Tango, Ruby's Diner and Foot Locker Outlet.
The existing movie multiplex had become a Regal Entertainment venue in 1997. During the Oasis expansion, five screens were added. The theater re-opened, as the Regal Sawgrass 23, on November 12, 1999.
Shopping venues in the SAWGRASS MILLS trade area included PEMBROKE LAKES MALL (1992) {9.3 miles southeast, in Pembroke Pines}, DOLPHIN MALL (2000) {25 miles southwest, in Dade County} and POMPANO CITI CENTRE (nee' POMPANO FASHION SQUARE) (2006) {14.8 miles northeast, in Pompano Beach}.
The third expansion of SAWGRASS MILLS got underway in December 2004. Dubbed The Colonnade at Sawgrass Mills, it was to add 118,000 leasable square feet and thirty tony tenants...all in an open-air format. At the same time, an 8-month-long renovation of the existing mall was done, with new flooring and lighting installed. Restrooms and Food Courts were also refurbished. The original "Main Streets" and named courts and entrances theme was also scrapped in favor of a new "Avenues" orientation.
The Colonnade Outlets grand opening, originally scheduled for December 8, 2005, was delayed by Hurricane Wilma. It was rescheduled for March 3, 2006. Tenants in the new "discount upscale" section included David Yurman, Coach Factory Outlet, Escada Company Store, Juicy Couture and Stuart Weitzman. As these stores were being built, Target Greatland was enlarged into a (173,300 square foot) SuperTarget store. Its re-grand opening took place in July 2006.
In April 2007, the Mills Corporation portfolio was acquired by the Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group. Between the fall of 2009 and winter of 2010, 22,000 square feet of store space was added to Colonnade Outlets. New retailers included Georgio Armani, Canali, Tag Heuer and a Villagio Restaurant. Prada Outlet welcomed first shoppers on December 16, 2010.
A fifth mall enlargement added 40,000 leasable square feet. This was built after the shuttering of the Wannado City indoor amusement park, on January 12, 2011. The vacant store was sectioned into a new "Fashion Row," which housed Calvin Klein, Max Studio, Columbia Sportswear Company and Cache. This section was officially dedicated on November 15, 2012.
A facet of this remodeling was an enlargement of the Forever 21 store, which expanded to 60,000 square feet and re-opened in the Spring of 2013. With all work completed, the gross leasable area of SAWGRASS MILLS had grown to approximately 2,289,400 square feet, with a retail roster of over 335 stores and services.
Not to be outdone, Simon Property Group pursued yet another enlargement of the mall. 82,000 square feet were added to Colonnade Outlets. The project was underway by October 2014, with thirty retail stores and restaurants opening for business between the winter of 2015 and spring of 2019.
Meanwhile, The Oasis section was given a "massive upgrade" during 2016 and a multilevel parking garage (the mall's first) was completed. Moreover, a vacant VF Outlet store was retenanted by New York City-based Century 21. The discount department store was dedicated in October 2016. SAWGRASS MILLS now covered approximately 2,370,600 leasable square feet and housed 400 stores and services.
Five single-level stores anchored the mall; a (107,600 square foot) Waccamaw Pottery, (75,400 square foot) V.F. Outlet, (78,700 square foot) Phar-Mor Drug, (104,500 square foot) Sears Outlet and (77,500 square foot) BrandsMart USA.
A second grand opening, held on November 15, 1990, brought twenty-three additional stores. These included a 1-level (77,300 square foot) Marshalls Superstore and 19-bay Sports Food Court. A 1-level (25,000 square foot) Spiegel Outlet opened, as the mall's seventh anchor, on October 17, 1991. The freestanding Cobb Theatres Sawgrass 18 showed its first features on December 13, 1991. A 1-level (138,300 square foot) Target Greatland was dedicated on March 15, 1992.
SAWGRASS MILLS now housed around 230 stores and services. The sprawling, single level shopping center was divided into four themed concourses; Modern Main Street, Mediterranean Main Street, Art Deco Main Street and Caribbean Main Street. Its Hurricane Food Court had a whooshing wind sound effect.
Five court areas separated the "Street" concourses; the Entertainment Court, Video Court, Rotunda Court, New Ideas Court and Cabana Court. The latter had a simulated swamp with an animatronic singing flamingos and alligators display.
The complex was also wired with the "Mills TV" closed circuit system, with monitors placed throughout courts and concourses. Mall entrances and adjacent parking areas were also given names, such as Green Toad, Purple Parrot, White Seahorse, Blue Dolphin and Pink Flamingo.
Western Development Corporation converted into a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) in 1994, renaming itself the Mills Corporation. This new entity proceeded with an enlargement of SAWGRASS MILLS. A (65,000 square foot) Burlington Coat Factory commenced operation on January 1, 1994. This store was a precursor of an 11 million dollar Phase II (or Veranda Main Street) expansion.
Twenty-five stores would be added to the directory. A 1-level (53,700 square foot) Service Merchandise was dedicated on November 2, 1995. A wing-wide grand opening was held on November 16th. Inline tenants included Bernini, Collezione, Cache', the MCM Foot Store and 1-level (25,100 square foot) Last Call by Neiman Marcus Clearance Center.
Phase III, the "Entertainment Phase," was announced in January 1998. It was to add thirty-nine upscale retailers and enlarge the existing Burlington Coat Factory to 111,300 square feet. The Oasis wing was officially dedicated on April 15, 1999. Flanking its open-air shopping concourse were Gameworks, American Wilderness Experience, Ron Jon Surf Shop, Cafe Tu Tu Tango, Ruby's Diner and Foot Locker Outlet.
The existing movie multiplex had become a Regal Entertainment venue in 1997. During the Oasis expansion, five screens were added. The theater re-opened, as the Regal Sawgrass 23, on November 12, 1999.
Shopping venues in the SAWGRASS MILLS trade area included PEMBROKE LAKES MALL (1992) {9.3 miles southeast, in Pembroke Pines}, DOLPHIN MALL (2000) {25 miles southwest, in Dade County} and POMPANO CITI CENTRE (nee' POMPANO FASHION SQUARE) (2006) {14.8 miles northeast, in Pompano Beach}.
The third expansion of SAWGRASS MILLS got underway in December 2004. Dubbed The Colonnade at Sawgrass Mills, it was to add 118,000 leasable square feet and thirty tony tenants...all in an open-air format. At the same time, an 8-month-long renovation of the existing mall was done, with new flooring and lighting installed. Restrooms and Food Courts were also refurbished. The original "Main Streets" and named courts and entrances theme was also scrapped in favor of a new "Avenues" orientation.
The Colonnade Outlets grand opening, originally scheduled for December 8, 2005, was delayed by Hurricane Wilma. It was rescheduled for March 3, 2006. Tenants in the new "discount upscale" section included David Yurman, Coach Factory Outlet, Escada Company Store, Juicy Couture and Stuart Weitzman. As these stores were being built, Target Greatland was enlarged into a (173,300 square foot) SuperTarget store. Its re-grand opening took place in July 2006.
In April 2007, the Mills Corporation portfolio was acquired by the Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group. Between the fall of 2009 and winter of 2010, 22,000 square feet of store space was added to Colonnade Outlets. New retailers included Georgio Armani, Canali, Tag Heuer and a Villagio Restaurant. Prada Outlet welcomed first shoppers on December 16, 2010.
A fifth mall enlargement added 40,000 leasable square feet. This was built after the shuttering of the Wannado City indoor amusement park, on January 12, 2011. The vacant store was sectioned into a new "Fashion Row," which housed Calvin Klein, Max Studio, Columbia Sportswear Company and Cache. This section was officially dedicated on November 15, 2012.
A facet of this remodeling was an enlargement of the Forever 21 store, which expanded to 60,000 square feet and re-opened in the Spring of 2013. With all work completed, the gross leasable area of SAWGRASS MILLS had grown to approximately 2,289,400 square feet, with a retail roster of over 335 stores and services.
Not to be outdone, Simon Property Group pursued yet another enlargement of the mall. 82,000 square feet were added to Colonnade Outlets. The project was underway by October 2014, with thirty retail stores and restaurants opening for business between the winter of 2015 and spring of 2019.
Meanwhile, The Oasis section was given a "massive upgrade" during 2016 and a multilevel parking garage (the mall's first) was completed. Moreover, a vacant VF Outlet store was retenanted by New York City-based Century 21. The discount department store was dedicated in October 2016. SAWGRASS MILLS now covered approximately 2,370,600 leasable square feet and housed 400 stores and services.
In May 2019, a mall-wide face lift commenced. The enclosed sections of the mall were refurbished, with special emphasis on the two food courts. A new entrance was added, along with tile flooring, signage and LED lighting. The project was complete by October 2020...just in time for the SAWGRASS MILLS 30th anniversary.
Sources:
The Miami Herald
Sources:
The Miami Herald
The South Florida Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Florida)
https://www.sawgrassmillsmall.com
https://www.simon.com / Simon Property Group
http://www.arquitectonica.com (Arquitectonica Architects)
http://www.thefreelibrary.com
http://www.cinematreasures.org
https://www.simon.com / Simon Property Group
http://www.arquitectonica.com (Arquitectonica Architects)
http://www.thefreelibrary.com
http://www.cinematreasures.org
https://www.bizjournals.com
"Sawgrass Mills" article on Wikipedia
"Mills Corporation" article on Wikipedia
"Sawgrass Mills" article on Wikipedia
"Mills Corporation" article on Wikipedia
