PLANO, Texas — As the golden era of malls seems to fade further into Texas history, there’s a new way developers are trying to keep them in fashion.
According to the Texas Real Estate Research Center, 10 of Texas’ 36 major shopping malls are considered dead. That means they do not contain any department stores or major retailers.
North Texas has six dead malls. That’s more than anywhere else in the state.
In Plano, The Shops at Willow Bend, also known as the Willow Bend Mall, is one of them.
Jeremy at Collector’s Edition in Willow Bend says business is still good despite the mall turning into more of a ghost town.
“Most of the people that find us are players; they find us online for this stuff, and everyone else that comes in is just foot traffic,” said Jeremy. “Free people coming in? Cool with me.”
That foot traffic does not consist of your typical shoppers anymore.
“We have enough people dog-walking that I buy the good dog treats,” said Jeremy.
Most stores at Willow Bend have shut their doors and left.
Jeremy has until the end of the year to be out before new tenants move in.
“I don’t love it; they were starting to make some good moves with this place,” said Jeremy. “I figured if they just filled it with more lower-rent stuff like this and less jewelry stores and shoe stores you could get people in, stuff that’s not like you can just buy on Amazon.”
The local NHL team, the Dallas Stars, will turn this otherwise quiet mall into a hockey arena.
“That’s a really interesting redevelopment trend,” said Daniel Oney. He just completed a study on malls with the Texas Real Estate Research Center.
“I’m of an age growing up in high school spending a lot of time in malls,” said Oney. “A lot of people have sentimental attachments to malls.”
He says there are two major things that determine if a mall thrives or dies.
“A mall needs steady population growth, steady income growth to remain successful,” said Oney. “The malls that have done well in Texas over the last few years have had that dynamic.”
They also need a department store.
“The malls that end up succeeding will find a way to either replace that anchor tenant with another department store or, what we’re actually seeing now, these alternative uses,” said Oney.
In Willow Bend’s case, it’s a sports team.
“I wasn’t really surprised to see teams like the Stars and the Mavericks looking at places like dead malls,” said Oney. “It makes sense. You have large populations around both of those malls and you have a big piece of dirt.”
Dallas’ NBA team, the Mavericks, is also eyeing the former location of the Valley View Mall in North Dallas.
The City of Plano has put out renderings of what Willow Bend Mall will become: an arena surrounded by mixed-use shopping. They want to call it The Bend, which Jeremy hopes to find a spot in.
“If you move too far, your local game store becomes just a game store,” said Jeremy.
The city plans to begin demolition in 2027, excluding a few stores and restaurants. The arena will open in 2031.