tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8028753244746628643.post3146742601550712757..comments2024-03-27T02:22:35.327-05:00Comments on The Louisiana and Texas Retail Blogspot: Highland Mall Austin Texas; Closed April 30 2015Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8028753244746628643.post-75509237509401532792019-08-31T05:44:12.050-05:002019-08-31T05:44:12.050-05:00Thanks for the comment.Thanks for the comment.jehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08642257521152353045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8028753244746628643.post-643326335816279072019-08-29T07:33:28.325-05:002019-08-29T07:33:28.325-05:00Thanks for finally writing about >"Highlan...Thanks for finally writing about >"Highland Mall Austin Texas; Closed April 30 2015" <Loved it!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8028753244746628643.post-34344033635610752652015-10-16T21:47:46.371-05:002015-10-16T21:47:46.371-05:00Target entered Atlanta in the late 80's by buy...Target entered Atlanta in the late 80's by buying a chain called Richway, but around 1995 started relocating a lot of the Richway/Target stores to Target Greatland stores in more modern shopping centers. Lots of the ex-Richway/Target stores ended up as Value City stores but Value City (except for Value City Furniture) went out of business in 2008. <br /><br />Sort of ironically, the Cheltenham Square Mall in Philadelphia had a Value City store (that itself was a former Clover department store) that closed in 2008 but a Target opened the same year at the other end of the mall, on the site of a demolished AMC theater.<br /><br />Target entered Indianapolis in 1981 by buying a local chain called Ayr-Way. Funnily enough, there was a tornado in the early 90's that damaged an Ayr-Way/Target store to the point that the stain from the old Ayr-Way signage became visible, at least a decade after the name change! Target closed the store anyway because it was small and outdated, replacing it with a Target Greatland. Sadly the neighborhood around the old Ayr-Way/Target has really gone downhill since around 2000.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8028753244746628643.post-82747842186873976712015-10-08T23:08:07.190-05:002015-10-08T23:08:07.190-05:00There have been other Targets that have closed sup...There have been other Targets that have closed supposedly without a direct replacement. Sometimes it’s hard to say if a new store is a replacement store or just a new store in general. As far as I know, the old South Loop Target in Houston closed without a replacement. Granted, that was many years ago. The store <a href="https://flic.kr/p/8wN8Sn" rel="nofollow">became an Auchan briefly</a> and is now a warehouse or something (it still looks like an Auchan though). <br /><br />It’s debatable whether the <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/fanofretail/11489100393/" rel="nofollow">Target across from the former Rolling Acres Mall</a> (a heavily covered dead mall) in Akron, OH, was closed totally or replaced. The <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/fanofretail/8886126045/" rel="nofollow">Target in Bedford, OH</a>, supposedly closed without being replaced. Of course, Target left Canada so there’s a whole country full of unreplaced Targets. I’m sure there are other examples, but those are some examples. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8028753244746628643.post-77678158916658926012015-10-08T14:28:01.096-05:002015-10-08T14:28:01.096-05:00One feature I have noticed about 80's and earl...One feature I have noticed about 80's and early 90's Walmart stores is that the fire sprinklers had a white top but a silver bottom. I wonder if Walmart had that particular sprinkler invented just for them. Sort of ironically, Albertsons in the late 90's started using sprinklers that were all white instead of the white/silver hybrid.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8028753244746628643.post-58756223648484423172015-10-07T22:35:50.282-05:002015-10-07T22:35:50.282-05:00It’s hard for me to remember what Bud’s looked lik...It’s hard for me to remember what Bud’s looked like back in the day since I didn’t shop there frequently and they didn’t last long. I don’t think Wal-Mart did much to those stores once they became Bud’s. I seem to remember Bud’s having departments, but they stores were much more open feeling than regular Wal-Marts and the departments kind of just ran together instead of having a more segmented feel. <br /><br />I can’t remember any Bud’s that weren’t old Wal-Marts. Some may have existed, but I can’t think of any. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8028753244746628643.post-84609920233175878552015-10-07T16:14:35.729-05:002015-10-07T16:14:35.729-05:00The only Target that closed without replacement th...The only Target that closed without replacement that I know of (other than the one on Fondren) is the one on 8 Mile Road in Detroit. That one was in a former Two Guys building. The Target really only closed because the neighborhood went sour.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8028753244746628643.post-22491500421180299872015-10-06T22:54:11.033-05:002015-10-06T22:54:11.033-05:00Thanks for clarifying that for us. I need to find ...Thanks for clarifying that for us. I need to find a list of the old Venture locations in the Houston area. I left the area for a few years around the time those stores opened so I did not get a chance to see where most of the locations were. I visited the FM 1960 near I-45 location twice and that was about all I saw of Venture.jehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08642257521152353045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8028753244746628643.post-16058767320629723462015-10-01T15:34:02.601-05:002015-10-01T15:34:02.601-05:00When Walmart opened a Bud's Discount City stor...When Walmart opened a Bud's Discount City store, did they do anything to change the building (other than signage)? Also, were any Bud's stores NOT former Walmart stores?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8028753244746628643.post-15476639385005203032015-09-29T18:50:23.099-05:002015-09-29T18:50:23.099-05:00Thanks for the update about the West Oaks Mall Mac...Thanks for the update about the West Oaks Mall Macy's. I was at West Oaks recently, but I didn't visit the Macy's. It sounds like the store is doing well to justify the renovations, but I must say that the parking lot in front of the Macy's was surprisingly empty. The entrance facing the Westheimer/SH 6 intersection literally had 2 cars in front of it. 2. The other entrances were busier. I wouldn't have expected to see a ton of cars there during the middle of the day on a weekday, but even Sears had a decent number of cars in front of all the entrances.<br /><br />I'll post more observations from my West Oaks visit in the RadioShack post. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8028753244746628643.post-88939286730580706792015-09-29T18:43:27.293-05:002015-09-29T18:43:27.293-05:00The Meyerland Target has an even more interesting ...The Meyerland Target has an even more interesting history than what was mentioned above. The site's discount store history started when Venture opened up there in the early-to-mid 1990s (not sure when for sure, but I'd guess that it was around 1993 as that's when many other Houston Ventures were built). Venture left the Houston market in 1997 and sold many of their stores to Kmart including the Meyerland store. Kmart left town in 2002-3 and Target took the spot over. Target may have done an extensive renovation of the spot as I was at the store last December and it looks like a normal Target inside. I'm not sure what was on the spot before Venture. It may have been a theater, but I'm not sure. I'm also not sure if the prior tenant's building was totally demolished when Venture went up.<br /><br />As for the <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/walgreen/16905655196/" rel="nofollow">Target turned Kmart</a>, that was on Fondren. Here is a picture. I really don't know much about that location other than what's in the photo. <br /><br />I hope that helps. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8028753244746628643.post-14119440167038754832015-09-29T12:31:33.161-05:002015-09-29T12:31:33.161-05:00My bet is greenspoint, Pasadena townsqaure or san ...My bet is greenspoint, Pasadena townsqaure or san jacinto. My last trip to greenspoint, the store looked really bad, half of the store the speaker wasn't working so no music on half of the store. The cellar area looked really bad. it looked like a flea market. For Pasadena townsqaure, I don't know whats happening there. They closed upstairs maybe they want to make the store smaller. As for San Jacinto , they may close it but they may wait for redevelopment. Although they could close before redevelopment happens. Remember Neiman Marcus at town and country , they waited for redevelopment and then they eventually closed before city Centre came. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8028753244746628643.post-35357331678953026002015-09-29T03:06:47.312-05:002015-09-29T03:06:47.312-05:00Thanks for the update, it looks like Macy's is...Thanks for the update, it looks like Macy's is doing better at West Oaks. I wonder if any of the Houston area locations are going to close in 2016 when the company plans to close about 40 stores.jehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08642257521152353045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8028753244746628643.post-5514156786172915732015-09-29T03:05:06.662-05:002015-09-29T03:05:06.662-05:00Kmart and Target both closed several stores in the...Kmart and Target both closed several stores in the Houston area but at different times. I know Target closed several stores in the late 90's and early 2000's in areas where they were not replaced like the location where Kmart took over. Kmart started closing stores in the late 1990's up until they left the area in 2003. The Target that became a Kmart was discussed in detail in a comment a few months ago, but I am not sure where that comment is located. jehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08642257521152353045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8028753244746628643.post-56096278857749720252015-09-27T01:10:37.916-05:002015-09-27T01:10:37.916-05:00Major update
Macy's westoaks has reopened the ...Major update<br />Macy's westoaks has reopened the top floor <br />They removed the wall blocking the other side of upstairs <br />Now one can walk the entire way upstairs <br />They moved children's down stairs and expands the clearance center furniture upstairs Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8028753244746628643.post-72233923298548928442015-09-26T19:18:58.366-05:002015-09-26T19:18:58.366-05:00How did it happen that in Meyerland, the former Km...How did it happen that in Meyerland, the former Kmart at the mall became a Target, but the 1984 Target in town became a Kmart? I would much appreciate a timeline of this chain of events.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8028753244746628643.post-82285186105652516932015-09-16T02:31:29.968-05:002015-09-16T02:31:29.968-05:00The area near Highland is actually booming, but I ...The area near Highland is actually booming, but I think Highland declined too fast for them to save it once JCPenney left. A renovation around 2000 would have probably helped the mall to survive longer than it did. <br /><br />The Texas Relays and Dillard's lawsuit really hastened the decline at the mall. Both situations were handled very poorly and the retailers at the mall suffered because of the inability to handle the situations properly.<br /><br />In the future I will keep my eyes open for updates. If the mall is once again opened to the public you know I will be there.jehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08642257521152353045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8028753244746628643.post-54290075493040199312015-09-16T02:08:58.006-05:002015-09-16T02:08:58.006-05:00Barton seemed to be the high end mall of the area ...Barton seemed to be the high end mall of the area once opened. They have continued to keep the mall in top condition and attract and retain the top mall tenants. Highland had many great stores until around 2000, when they started losing good stores that were replaced by discount/mom and pop stores. I guess the school kids really began to hurt business over the years. It is a shame mall management did not work to correct the issues that led to the decline of the mall. For a city the size of Austin to only have 2 enclosed malls seems strange to me.<br />jehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08642257521152353045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8028753244746628643.post-49159272589231302342015-09-16T01:49:28.943-05:002015-09-16T01:49:28.943-05:00I can see Greenspoint and Pasadena Town Square as ...I can see Greenspoint and Pasadena Town Square as stores that Macy's may close sooner rather than later. I think San Jacinto Mall will still be there for a while longer. The store still has a full selection of products and has not been downsized like the other stores. The mall is going to be redeveloped over the next 3 years so Macy's may even renovate that store. The store actually has a 80's Foley's logo labelscar visible under the Macy's logo.<br />jehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08642257521152353045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8028753244746628643.post-56234789580812468822015-09-11T13:14:51.097-05:002015-09-11T13:14:51.097-05:00Highland Mall wasn’t my first choice of malls when...Highland Mall wasn’t my first choice of malls when I was a student in the late 80’s/early 90’s; though it was much closer to the UT campus than Barton Creek Square, I would gladly take the longer bus ride to Barton Creek Square, because Barton Creek Square seemed bigger had more of the stores that I liked than Highland Mall did. Nevertheless, I’m actually kind of sad that Highland Mall as I knew it is no more.<br /><br />Though Barton Creek Square had more of the stores that I liked, Highland Mall had the one Units store in the Austin area, and that’s part of what brought me to the mall every now and again. Units was a women’s clothing store that sprang up in the 80’s, that specialized in “modular dressing.” The basic idea was that you could design a whole Units wardrobe around a few basic one-size pieces. I didn’t have a full Units wardrobe, but I did buy a few tops, jackets, and skirts from them during that time. Units was located across from the food court on the… I want to say Foley’s/Macy’s wing; it’s been so long that I don’t really remember exactly which anchor it was. When I visited Austin in ’95, I went to Highland Mall, and Units was gone. Not too surprising, since modular dressing was more or less a short-lived fad and Units had difficulty moving beyond that concept, but still a disappointment.<br /><br />Though I did like going to Highland Mall to peruse the latest pieces from Units, I wasn’t quite as fond as the gangs of rowdy high school kids that started going there on the weekends. There weren’t that many of those groups when I first started going, but as my college career progressed, their numbers grew, and going there on the weekends became much less fun, having to work my way around the throngs of kids that the security guards kept having to tell to move along. I still went to Highland Mall, though, because it was nice to get away from the campus area every now and again.<br /><br />The last time I was at Highland Mall was in ’06. I remember being shocked that JC Penney was gone by then. *sigh*<br /><br />RIP Highland Mall. Deedubnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8028753244746628643.post-57899898903709540492015-09-10T22:54:41.533-05:002015-09-10T22:54:41.533-05:00Thanks for putting this article together. It’s be...Thanks for putting this article together. It’s been almost 20 years since I last visited Highland Mall, but I do remember my visits there. The mall was still doing pretty well 20 years ago, but it was feeling dated even back then. It never got the renovations that it needed. I’m not sure if it would have helped much with the explosion of growth in the Austin suburbs, but perhaps the Highland Mall area had enough potential shoppers between the residents in the area, tourists, and college students if the mall was operated better. <br /><br />It’s kind of interesting to see a mall rot on the watch of GGP and Simon. Usually dead malls are operated by lesser mall operators, not some of the most successful ones. Perhaps GGP and Simon kind of let the mall die purposely to try to redevelop it into something else. It’s hard to say. <br /><br />The mall was also pretty famous for some of it’s controversies. The Texas Relays situation garnered a lot of attention across the state. I’m sure some shoppers were fed up of having to deal with the teens, but then others were probably fed up with the mall due their reaction of the teens. Of course, one of the most famous dying mall stories was <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2009/04/13/story1.html" rel="nofollow">“toilet papergate”</a> when Dillard’s tried to get out of their lease by claiming in part that the mall had stores that sold toilet paper. <br /><br />It’s sad to see another mall go, especially one that I shopped at, but that’s just the way things go I guess. The closing wasn’t too unexpected. At least you have plenty of photos for people to remember the mall by. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8028753244746628643.post-64028068941776001492015-09-10T22:50:44.529-05:002015-09-10T22:50:44.529-05:00Macy's announcement that they plan on closing ...Macy's announcement that they plan on closing 40 store next year is interesting. I bet greenspoint is on that list I was wondering if westoaks would be on that list but they are renovating that store and changing carpeting so I don't think they would be one to consider but greenspoint, Pasadena town square and san Jacinto are big possibilities. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com