Mayagüez Mall

In October 1970, a $6.5 million permanent mortgage was arranged by the Miami office of Friedman-Drew Corp. on the Mayaguez Mall. The mall was planned to be on a 38-acre tract and would have 300,000 square feet of building area including an enclosed air conditioned mall, parking for 2,000 cars would also be provided. The loan was for 27 years, lender being a New York State savings bank.[4]

On October 3, 1972, Tiendas Capri would celebrate inaugurating at the Mayaguez Mall.[5]

On October 4, 1972, at a cost of $12 million dollars, being developed and administrated by Empresas Puertorriqueñas de Desarrollo Inc. a local firm represented by its president at the time Joaquín A. Villamil. Mayaguez Mall officially inaugurated with 60 establishments, of which included anchors Sears, González Padín, Woolworth, and a New York Department Stores. It also had a cinema Mayaguez Theaters, two banks, and cafeterias which served as food options. From very early in the morning, traffic to the place began to be almost paralyzed by people who wanted to witness the inauguration ceremonies and who arrived from different towns in the Western Area. The symbolic ribbon cutting was carried out by the Mayor of the city of Mayagüez, Bejjamin Cole and Mrs. Sara de Villamil, wife of Mr. Joaquín Villamil, president of Empresas Puertorriqueñas de Desarrollo, Inc. After the ribbon cutting, thousands of visitors spread out through all the sectors, visibly amazed by the spaciousness and beauty of the floors, walls and decoration of the shops, as well as what was offered there in. An aspect that gained the attention of almost the entire public was the beautiful fountain that constantly changed its way of throwing water into the air. During this opening week the mall had a series of recreational and cultural events which included different artistic groups of the island. Of the 60 established businesses included: Pueblo Supermarkets, Globus, Cinefoto, Jet Party, Cabrer, Carmen Chirinos, Light Center, Burger King, Almacenes Rodríguez, La Esquina Famosa, Foxmoor, Bakers Shoes, Agencias Soler, Chess king, Sultana Sport Shop, Walgreens, San Juan Loan Co., Naveira, Centro de Belleza Rita, United Federal Savings, Western Auto, Cristina’s, Chantilly, Lerner Shops, Kinney Shoes, Arias, among many others. And as it was informed Sears, which was one of the first stores to open at the mall serving as an anchor had record breaking sales which beat previous records at the time.[6][7]

Fountain at the mall in 1972

On October 27, 1972, González Padín would officially inaugurate their store at the Mayaguez Mall, serving as a junior anchor in the Sears wing of the mall.[8]

On November 1, 1972, New York Department Stores would officially inaugurate their store at the Mayaguez Mall, serving as a junior anchor in the Woolworth wing of the mall.[9]

On November 15, 1972, opening as the seventh establishment on the island, Walgreens would officially inaugurate at the Mayaguez Mall. This would be the 609th store in the entire Walgreens chain. The new facilities were located in an area of 10,000 square feet of space in the shopping mall, and included a cafeteria called "The Grille." The facilities had a service of cosmetics, pharmaceutical products, electronic effects, and other departments. The front of the store faced the central promenade of the shopping complex, being located in the Sears wing of the mall.[10][11]

In March 1977, with the mall having sales of $46 million dollars the previous year, plans for the mall to expand were announced. This would include expanding the north of the mall approximately 6,000 square meters that would add to the already 625 that were in use by the 60 establishments at the mall, active negotiations were also undergoing to bring establishments such as Mr. Donuts, JCPenney, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and Pizza Hut to the mall.[12]

In February 1978, Pizza Hut opened a location on the premises of the mall, being the chains 5th location on the island at the time.[13]

Pizza Hut on the mall premises in 1978

In October 1978, a new Gittys Toys store would open at the Mayaguez Mall.[14]

In December 1979, the first B. Dalton Booksellers store in Mayaguez opened at the mall.[15]

Throughout the late 1990s up to late 1991, the mall underwent extensive renovations, including the construction of its third and largest concourse anchored by JCPenney.

Walmart would open a 110,000 square-foot store at the mall in late 1991 as an addition to the ongoing renovations that underwent the mall during this period of time.[16]

In October 1995, González Padín which co-anchored the Sears concourse closed when the chain ceased operations.[17] Its former space was occupied later on by Sears Brand Central.

In 2008, an Old Navy store opened at the mall in the JCPenney concourse.[18]

The former CineVista Theatres building shuttered with the rest of the chain in November 2008 and was demolished by 2010. Later on being replaced by a Romano's Macaroni Grill.

Cinevista Theatres during Demolition

In 2011, the Borders Book Store store at the mall closed with the chains bankruptcy. The store had originally opened in 2005.[19]

In June 2, 2020, after being closed for some time during the COVID-19 pandemic, the mall reopened.[20]

In December 2020, it was announced that Sears would be closing as part of a plan to close 23 stores nationwide. Both the main Sears store and Sears Brand Central closed in February 2021.[21]

The mall underwent renovations in 2023 to celebrate its 50th anniversary.[22]