Chandler Fashion Center

Chandler Fashion Center is a regional shopping center located in the city of Chandler, Arizona, and is the second largest mall in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The mall is owned by Macerich and was developed by Westcor a former subsidiary of Macerich. The mall features Dillard's, Scheels, Macy's as well as a Harkins Theatres. The mall is located on the northwest corner of the AZ Loop 101 (Price) and AZ Loop 202 (SanTan) but can also be accessed from Chandler Boulevard. Chandler Fashion Center serves as a transit center for Valley Metro Bus.[1]

Chandler Fashion Center
Chandler Fashion Center logo
Chandler Fashion Center in 2007
LocationChandler, Arizona, US
Coordinates33°18′05″N 111°53′55″W
Opening dateOctober 19, 2001 (October 19, 2001)
DeveloperWestcor
ManagementMacerich
OwnerMacerich
No. of stores and services220+
No. of anchor tenants4 (1 vacant)
Total retail floor area1,300,000 sq ft (120,000 m2)
No. of floors2
Parking6,200 spaces
WebsiteOfficial Website

Sales at Chandler Fashion Center are more than $600 per square foot, which is well above the national average of $392 per square foot.[2]

Layout

Chandler Fashion Center is designed like the letter "A" with the food court as the top point. All of the indoor mall shops radiate out into three wings from the food court. The mall features stone columns, marble floors and large skylights all incorporated in a modern contemporary design. The mall is also a showcase of Arizona scenery courtesy of Arizona Highways. Large photographic murals of the Grand Canyon, Sedona and Arizona's Sonoran Desert are displayed on walls at the ends of each wing as well as certain outdoor entrances to the mall.

Adjacent to the food court entrance of the mall is an outdoor entertainment and dining plaza called The Village. The entertainment and dining options at The Village include the Harkins Theatres, Escape the Room, The Old Spaghetti Factory, and Buffalo Wild Wings. A popular attraction of the outdoor plaza used to be the Dancing Waters fountain featuring a display of water, lights and music. The fountains were later demolished in the Summer of 2014 and renovated into a picnic area that featured patio seating, lawn areas, and a children's splash pad. Surrounding the mall there are many large retail centers including Chandler Festival, Chandler Gateway, Chandler Village Center and the Boulevard Shops at Chandler Fashion Center, all of which Westcor used to own.

History
Scheels Corridor (original tenant Nordstrom pictured above)

The mall opened on October 19, 2001 with 229 stores and five anchors (Arizona's second Nordstrom, Sears, Dillard's, Robinsons-May and Harkins Theatres).

Originally owned by Westcor, Chandler Fashion Center became part of The Macerich Company's portfolio in 2002. In 2006, Robinsons-May transitioned into a Macy's store. On January 5, 2011, a shootout occurred at the mall with the suspect and two officers, causing a lockdown immediately. The standoff lasted shortly, and police arrested the suspect after his surrender, no deaths or injuries were recorded.[3] Sears announced in October 2018 that it would shutter as part of an ongoing decision to eliminate its traditional brick-and-mortar format. Several potential replacement tenants are reportedly in the midst of early on discussions.[4] In 2019, the Crayola Experience opened near the food court.[5][6][7] In May 2020, Nordstrom, which also retains an additional outpost in nearby Scottsdale, announced plans to shutter along with several additional locations as a direct result of pulling back due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[8] In May 2021, it was announced that specialty sporting goods retailer Scheels would be reconstructing the original Nordstrom space.[9] It is also set to include a 65-foot Ferris wheel, a 16,000-gallon saltwater aquarium featuring more than 600 fish, an arcade, sports simulators, a wildlife mountain, a restaurant, and a specialty candy shop.[10] It opened as the first Scheels store in the state of Arizona on September 30, 2023.

Chandler Village outdoor plaza, water feature has since been removed.

Anchors

References
  1. "Transit Centers". Valley Metro. 2017-11-10. Retrieved 2021-10-11.
  2. "Help Center - the Arizona Republic".
  3. "Mall Shooting Suspect Arrested after Standoff". www.cbsnews.com.
  4. Tyko, Nathan Bomey and Kelly. "Sears store closing list: 142 more Sears, Kmart locations closing in Chapter 11 bankruptcy". USA TODAY.
  5. "'Crayola Experience' announces opening date at Chandler Fashion Center". KNXV. May 9, 2019.
  6. "Harkins Backlot: Harkins planning to open multi-entertainment venue at Chandler Fashion Center mall, documents show". abc15.com. 2020-04-01. Retrieved 2023-09-30.
  7. "Harkins Theatres is going beyond movies". azcentral.com. 2023-03-27. Retrieved 2023-09-30.
  8. "Chandler Fashion Center Nordstrom among 16 stores nationwide to permanently close". AZFamily.
  9. "Macerich And Scheels To Bring Arizona's First SCHEELS Store To Chandler Fashion Center". prnewswire.com. 2021-05-20.
  10. https://www.visitchandler.com/listings/scheels/4344/
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