West Town Mall
Entrance to West Town Mall, January 2024 (post renovation) | |
| Location | Kingston Pike, Interstate 40, and Interstate 75 Knoxville, United States |
|---|---|
| Opening date | August 1972 |
| Management | Simon Property Group |
| Owner | Simon Property Group (50%) |
| Stores and services | 140 |
| Floor area | 1,341,519 square feet (124,631 m2) (GLA) |
| Floors | 1 plus 2nd floor access to Regal Cinebarre (2 in anchors except Belk Women) |
| Website | www |
West Town Mall is a super-regional shopping mall located in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. Opened in August 1972, this one-level mall is located in the western portion of Knoxville in the West Hills community. West Town Mall is located along Interstates 40/75 and Kingston Pike. The mall has 1,339,000 square feet (124,397 m2) of gross leasable area, making it the largest of any enclosed shopping mall in Tennessee.[1] The anchor stores are Dillard's, Dick's House of Sport, 2 Belk stores, JCPenney, plus a Cinebarre.
There is a food court in the center of the mall. This was the original location of a junior anchor Frankenbergers Department Store until 1985. This food court was the first mall location for Knoxville-based Petro's Chili & Chips.[2]
In 1994, there was a major expansion, which included 2 new anchors along with 32 smaller shops.[3]
On October 15, 2018, it was announced that Sears would be closing as part of a plan to close 142 stores nationwide. The store closed on January 6, 2019,[4] and demolition began on January 9, 2020[5] Subsequent to the demolition, it was replaced by Dick's House of Sport, a new concept by Dick's Sporting Goods.[6]
Movie theaters
In 1998, Knoxville based Regal Entertainment Group opened a Funscape entertainment complex in the mall.[7] In 2018, the Regal Cinemas was rebranded to Cinebarre.
Anchors
- Belk Women- Northeast anchor (Opened in 1972 as Proffitt's, expanded in 1995, became Belk in 2006)
- Belk Men, Home, and Children- Southwest anchor (Opened in 1994 as Parisian, became Belk Men, Home, and Children in 2007)
- Dick's House of Sport- West anchor (Opened in 1972 as Sears, closed in 2019, was demolished in 2020 then rebuilt as Dick's House of Sport in 2021)
- Dillard's- Northwest anchor (Opened in 1972 as Miller's, became Hess's in 1987, then closed in 1992, became Dillard's in 1993)
- JCPenney- Southeast anchor (Opened in 1994 as part of an expansion)
Former anchors
- JCPenney (Opened in 1972, relocated in 1994)
- Sears (Opened in 1972, closed in 2019 and demolished in 2020)
- Frankenbergers (Opened in 1972, closed in 1985, became the food court)
References
- ^ Factual Information on West Town Mall
- ^ Petro's moves to malls after the World's Fair
- ^ Kousouris, Abby (August 2, 2022). "West Town Mall celebrating 50 years of business". wvlt8. Retrieved December 2, 2025.
- ^ Bomey, Nathan; Tyko, Kelly (October 15, 2018). "Sears store closing list: 142 more Sears, Kmart locations closing in Chapter 11 bankruptcy". USA Today.
- ^ McDermott, Brenna (January 9, 2020). "Demolition begins on West Town Mall's empty Sears building". Knoxville News Sentinel.
- ^ "Page Not Found - Simon Shopping Centers" (PDF). business.simon.com. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
{{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help) - ^ Deconstructing the Mall