Conestoga Mall (Nebraska)

Conestoga Mall is an enclosed shopping mall in Grand Island, Nebraska. It was opened in 1974 and is owned by Woodsonia Real Estate. The mall's anchor store is Best Buy. Previous anchor stores included Sears, Dillard's, Younkers and JCPenney.

For the shopping mall in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, see Conestoga Mall (Waterloo, Ontario).
Conestoga Mall
LocationGrand Island, Nebraska, United States
Coordinates40°56′03″N 98°22′51″W
Opening date1974
DeveloperEricson Development
OwnerWoodsonia Real Estate
No. of anchor tenants5 (1 open, 4 vacant)
Total retail floor area611,719 sq ft (56,830.6 m2)
No. of floors1
Websiteshopconestogamall.com

History

Ericson Development of Edina, Minnesota, built the mall in 1974.[1] At the time, it included Miller & Paine and Brandeis as its anchors.[2] Later expansions brought Sears and JCPenney as anchors, as well as regional department store chain J.M. McDonald.

Dillard's purchased Miller & Paine in 1988, and Younkers purchased Brandeis in 1987. Best Buy serves as a junior anchor, located in part of the former J.M. McDonald space.

In 2003, J. Herzog & Sons bought the mall from the Richard E. Jacobs group, which had put it up for sale in 1999.[3][4] In 2017, New York-Based Namdar Realty Group purchased the mall.[5]

The Younkers store closed in August 2018 with the liquidation of its owner, Bon-Ton Stores.[6] The mall's Sears location closed in early 2019 as part of the retailer's plan to close 40 stores.[7] On June 4, 2020, it was announced that JCPenney would be closing around October 2020 as part of a plan to close 154 stores nationwide. On February 1, 2023, it was announced that Dillard's would be closing its location at the mall leaving it with only Best Buy as the remaining anchor.[8]

In early 2023, the mall was sold to Omaha, Nebraska-based Woodsonia Real Estate. The company announced a $250 million redevelopment plan for the site, to be renamed Conestoga Marketplace, which involves tearing down much of the mall including the vacant anchor stores, converting the remaining inline mall space into outside-facing retail space and building a new Target store as an anchor. A hotel and apartments would also be added on outparcels.[9]

References
  1. CSA Super Markets. Vol. 49. Lebhar-Friedman. 1973. Retrieved 2015-08-14.
  2. "Conestoga Mall still a magnet for shoppers far and wide". The Grand Island Independent. 2005-02-28. Retrieved 2015-08-14.
  3. "McCook Daily Gazette - Google News Archive Search". Retrieved 2018-11-30.
  4. "Archives : The Rocky Mountain News". nl.newsbank.com. Retrieved 2015-08-14.
  5. "Conestoga Mall sold to New York group". The Grand Island Independent. 2017-06-20. Retrieved 2018-11-30.
  6. "Younkers store closes its doors". The Grand Island Independent. 2018-08-27. Retrieved 2018-11-30.
  7. "Sears to shut 40 more stores early next year". CNBC. 2018-11-08. Retrieved 2018-11-30.
  8. "Grand Island Dillard's to close".
  9. "$250 million redo of tired regional mall signals further change in Nebraska's fourth largest city". Nebraska Examiner. 2023-03-21. Retrieved 2023-10-18.


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