Westdale Mall: Cedar Rapids, Iowa on DeadMalls.com

WESTDALE MALL: CEDAR RAPIDS, IA

Jason Hancock's Commentary

Posted March 24, 2007 (user submitted)

I lived in Cedar Rapids for two years (2000-2002) and frequently visited Westdale Mall during the time I lived there. While Westdale has slowly declined in recent years, recent events regarding an anchor closing and its ownership situation have finally prompted me to call it a "dead mall".

A little background: Westdale Mall is an 850,000-square foot, two-level mall on the southwest side of Cedar Rapids that opened October 4, 1979. Montgomery Ward and JCPenney were the first two anchors to open, with Younkers and Petersen Harned Von Maur coming in 1980. (The fourth anchor was supposed to have been Brandeis, a chain out of Omaha that Younkers eventually bought out, but Brandeis backed out before they were scheduled to open and Von Maur replaced it.) The outparcel buildings included an Econofoods supermarket and a 4-screen movie theater. This was the first enclosed mall in Cedar Rapids but not the first shopping center with department stores -- Lindale Plaza on the northeast side predated Westdale by 19 years. But Lindale Plaza became the enclosed Lindale Mall shortly after Westdale opened. I remember little about my first trip to Westdale as an 11-year-old on Valentine's Day 1987, except that this may have been the first time I was in a two-level mall. I wouldn't go back there until I was in college at the University of Iowa in the late 1990s. By then Coral Ridge Mall had opened 20 miles away in Coralville, luring many shoppers from areas to the west and south of Cedar Rapids, but Westdale still didn't have as many vacancies as it does now. Wal-Mart SuperCenter, SuperTarget, and Menards also opened big-box stores in the area around Westdale at the time.

In 2000, the year I moved to Cedar Rapids, Econofoods left for a new store in a new strip mall north of Westdale (that store is empty now as Econofoods left the area altogether in late 2006), and the theaters closed after Carmike Cinemas built a bigger multiplex across the street. Then, after Christmas, Montgomery Ward announced that they were going out of business. The store closed in March 2001, and Wards owned its store, making it harder for Westdale's management to find a new anchor. On top of that, Wards' sign remained up for at least three years after that. I started noticing more store vacancies with each visit to Westdale after Wards closed.

The Rouse Company sold Westdale to the Festival Companies, a company out of Los Angeles, in late 2004. Festival then announced plans for a $20 million renovation that included expansion of the mall and construction of a new food court that the mall still lacks to this day. But the only noticeable change, aside from adding new signs in the parking lot to aid customers, was finally filling the Montgomery Ward anchor space with a Steve & Barry's in November 2005. Despite that, the exodus of tenants continued. The old Econofoods was replaced by a Big Lots shortly after Econofoods moved, but Big Lots closed in early 2006 and that building remains vacant. Another blow came in early July when Osco Drug announced that it was closing at Westdale. Osco was bought out by CVS in mid-2006 and converted most of its eastern Iowa stores, including the one at Old Capitol Mall in Iowa City, to CVS/pharmacy stores, but Westdale wasn't one of them. Some of the other stores that have closed at Westdale in the last few years include Baskin-Robbins, the Gap, Helzberg Diamonds, KB Toys, Suncoast Motion Picture Company, Sam Goody, and Spencer Gifts. I counted about 40 empty storefronts during a walkthrough in June 2006, with many of them being in the upper level between JCPenney and the center court -- kind of like what Old Capitol Mall was like a few years ago before the University of Iowa began renting most of the upper level. By contrast, Lindale Mall was in a lot better shape.

In November 2006, a part-owner of Westdale Mall fell behind in mortgage payments to a Chicago-based bank. Westdale was then placed in receivership, with the local Heritage Property Management becoming manager of Westdale. Heritage then contracted with General Growth Properties, owner of Coral Ridge Mall, to handle the leasing duties. GGP has a mountain to climb, though. In January 2007, shortly after Waldenbooks opted not to renew its lease at Westdale, Von Maur announced that it was closing its Westdale store at the end of the month and transferring its employees to its other Cedar Rapids store at Lindale Mall or its Iowa City store at Sycamore Mall. So now Westdale is going to be without an anchor for the second time in its history.

The tenant list on Westdale's website (shopwestdale.com) appears to be about a year out of date but General Growth's leasing profile ( http://www.ggp.com/properties/MallTenantList.asp?smuid=855&hidecat=1) lists only about 50 stores as of January 2007. Several national chains are still around, including Bath & Body Works, Eddie Bauer, Foot Locker, LensCrafters, and RadioShack. Two of its original anchors, JCPenney and Younkers, are still open, while Steve & Barry's occupies Montgomery Ward's old space. The handful of restaurants at Westdale -- Bishop's Buffet, Maid-Rite, Chick-Fil-A, and a few others -- are scattered throughout the mall; in recent years, a "restaurant row" has emerged along Edgewood Road east of Westdale with Applebee's, Carlos O'Kelly's, Culver's, IHOP, Texas Roadhouse, Wendy's, and a few others. One tenant that may be considered unusual is a branch of the Cedar Rapids Public Library, but from my understanding the library was there before the mall began its decline. Given all that's happened in the last several years, it's going to take a lot of work for Westdale to bounce back.

Matthew’s Commentary:

User submitted Dec 2011

In June of 2008, a prolonged period of rain caused the Cedar River to flood the surrounding area for nearly a month. The shopping complex around Westdale Mall is seated in a particularly deep valley in the Cedar Hills area of Cedar Rapids. The end result was the area being filled with water up to nearly the second floor of the mall, but due to the parking area on that side being on the upper floor, it remained accessible. Once the flood subsided, the mall was cleaned up. The Linn County board attempted to purchase the mall outright, but ultimately settled on occupying the renovated lower floor. The local library also leases space there currently, due to their main branch being damaged in the flood as well.

Aaron’s Commentary:

User submitted Dec 2008

Following the flooding in June 2008, many of Linn County's offices have moved to Westdale Mall since their own buildings were flooded. With these office being located in the mall, traffic in the mall has picked up.

Also the main location of the Cedar Rapids Public Library, which was also heavily damaged in the floods, will be located in the former Osco Drug location for two to three years beginning some time after January 1, 2009.

Shannon Williams’s Commentary:

User submitted Oct 2008

I work inside the mall and thought I could help update you on the situation here. Since Cedar Rapids was severely flooded in June, quite a few offices from our downtown area have set up shop in our mall. We now have several city and county offices occupying empty spaces. Linn County treasurer, City Bus department, etc.. Steve and Barry's (occupying the Montgomery Wards store)will be closing at the end of October 2008. Now Westdale will have 2 out of 4 anchors empty.

Chad Cooper’s Commentary:

User submitted May 2008

I have been a lifelong resident of Cedar Rapids. Though 'lifelong' is only about 21 years I've still come to intimately know the city and its nuances. It is strange what some people come to sentimentalize in their hometowns but for me it has been the two shopping malls in the city, Lindale Mall on the northest side of the city and Wedstdale Mall on the southwest side. Lindale has been consistent and very stable over the years but Westdale started to decline at the tail end of the 1990's and into the 2000's. The blow to the mall was certainly without a doubt the departure of Montgomery Ward as an anchor store and the subsequent prolonged vacancy of that space before Steve & Barry's finally occupied it toward the end of 2005. The mall does hold several annual events such as cheerleading/dance competitions and conventions that bring people in but doesn't necessarily produce revenue. Yet what is so perplexing about the decline of the mall is that
it doesn't have any of the telltale destructive factors that other dead malls have. Cedar Rapids as a whole is an economically thriving city and the southwest side in particular is thriving. Within the last 5 to 10 years there has been a commercial and residential boom on the southwest side that has resulted in restaurants, homes and apartments/condos. In addition to that an overwhelming majority of citizens want the mall to be remodeled and remain as a mall. At a city council meeting in December of 2007 residents spoke out and vehemently voiced that they wanted Westdale to remain intact as a mall. So what is the ultimate problem that plagues the mall? I've made it a point to go to Westdale about once a week to shop and observe and simply put it comes down to a few things. First off the mall is missing a centralized food court. I don't happen to think that the mall needs a major renovation but it does need a food court. Secondly the mall needs to stimulate l
easing by offering lower rent for prospective renters. Cutting the rent in half for the first year or two would certainly attract businesses and help fill those vacant spaces. Last but not least the mall needs to minimize the parking lot. The mall has one of the largest parking lots that I've seen and even if business was good, close to half of the lot still wouldn't be utilized. Selling portions of the lot is an option that should be taken into consideration. Westdale Mall is far from dead. Steve & Barry's has really rejuvenized the mall and other anchors such as Younkers and JC Penny have also helped to keep the mall stabilized. The vital signs of Westdale are still strong and with a few improvements and the backing of the city it can be revitalized. It's essential that it is, not only for the mall itself but for Cedar Rapids as a whole.

Jason Hancock's Commentary

Bryce Landon’s Commentary:

Matthew’s Commentary:

Aaron’s Commentary:

Shannon Williams’s Commentary:

Chad Cooper’s Commentary: