Highland Mall Austin Texas; Closed April 30 2015

I have taken all of the my previous Highland Mall posts and combined them together for this huge post. Highland Mall closed on April 30, 2015 and will be completely gutted and renovated for re-use.

Highland Mall opened in August of 1971 and was considered to be the first major shopping mall in Austin. The mall was originally anchored by JCPenney, Joske's (Dillard's Women's store), Scarbrough's (Dillard's Men's store).The mall expanded in 1978 and added Foley's (Macy's) along with more mall space. The last major renovation occurred in 1987, and the mall only had slight modifications after that. The total mall space was over 1 million square feet on two floors. The mall was also used as a location in the Beavis and Butthead cartoon and video games under the name of Turbo Mall 2000. The mall really started to lose business after 2006 when JCPenney left the mall. When that store closed one wing of the mall died out with only a few stores remaining because there was no exterior entrance to that side of the mall. Dillard's closed their large 4 story location in 2009 and converted the second store into a clearance store which closed in May 2011 (see photos below for the second to last day of that store). Macy's closed in March 2011. Austin Community College purchased the entire mall property in pieces starting in May 2010 and completed the land acquisitions in August of 2012. With the closing of Highland Mall, the Austin metro area now only has 2 enclosed malls.

Here is my first set of photos taken in May 2009.

Here is what I wrote in May of 2009. Happy Memorial day! Pray for our troops! More stores have closed since our last visit and the mall was having an open house event to try to get spaces leased. At the two Dillard's stores the merchandise is starting to get thinner. The former JCPenney and labelscar; look closely on one photo and you will see the old signs from the JCPenney package pickup and optometrist. The photo below is an example of a recently closed store. For some reason the mall has covered up the front of the store but the logo is still visible. There are several stores that have closed and the mall only put up a partial covering instead of fully covering up the store. It looks like the mall has given up on boarding up closed stores since only a handful of closed stores have been covered up. A mall of recent controversy; this is Highland Mall. I do not have any information on this mall's history so maybe my readers can help me out. My family and I have visited this mall a few times since 2003, and this mall has rapidly emptied out recently. In 2003 the mall was nearly full and had several new and renovated stores. In the past year the mall has lost many tenants and Dillard's is closing their larger store. JCPenney closed in 2006 and Macy's and the smaller Dillard's will be the only anchor by the end of 2009. This mall still has a nearly full food court with a great selection. We visited this mall this past Sunday and the mall was very slow. The former JCPenney wing is nearly deserted once you pass the food court on the second story. The first floor of the former JCPenney wing is still surprisingly 50% full and has a train for the kids. The Dillard's south wing is about 50% occupied. The Macy's wing has only a handful of vacancies and had the most people shopping today as well. There are several water stained ceilings in the stores and mall corridors.

 Images from May 2010

Through the windows looking at the former Dillard's.

Here is what I wrote in May 2010. We visited Highland Mall this past weekend to give an update for the blog. The food court has lost five tenants, but there are still 9 tenants that serve food or snacks in the mall. In the recently closed Dillard's south wing; several new stores have opened up on both floors, but none are national chains. It is good to see the mall gaining tenants even with the loss of an anchor store. Macy's is still going strong and the Dillard's clearance center was doing brisk business as well. Unfortunately a few stores have left the mall, but the mall is working to rebound. Here is the outside of the closed Dillard's south. Dillard's has consolidated into the smaller store, but the smaller store is clearance only. Dillard's had two stores at the mall until last year. Dillard's south has closed, but the lights are still on for now.

Images from May 2011

Images through the glass of the former Macy's.

The second floor of the Dillard's clearance store.

Through the windows of the former Dillard's Women's store.

Through the windows of the former Macy's.

Another shot of the inside of the former Macy's.

This was the second to last day of business at the last remaining anchor store Dillard's.

A few shots of the interior of the final anchor at Highland.

A few more shots inside of the Dillard's.

Here is what I wrote in May 2011 Highland Mall is losing the last of the four anchors on May 22nd when the Dillards clearance center shuts down for good. Highland Mall may be nearing the end of its life as a retail center, and many stores have left since our last visit a year ago. The mall still has a few chain stores such as The Finish Line, Hot Topic, Victoria's Secret, Gamestop, and Radio Shack but without a department store anchor the mall is in big trouble. Austin Community College has purchased two former department store sites at the mall, so will the development become retail/ school/ housing under one roof? At this point Highland Mall still soldiers on. Leave your comments on some redevelopment ideas. The truck outside of the Dillard's is waiting to take away the remains of the Dillard's clearance center. This is the closed off second floor in the soon to be closed Dillard's clearance center. Here is a collection of shots taken on May 21 from the Dillard's that will close on May 22. There was a security guard nearby protecting the racks of $4.99 size XL Men's clothes that were left so I was unable to get good quality photos in the store. The mall entrance in between the two former Dillard's stores. This is one of the three mall entrances that will be left when the Dillard's clearance store closes today. The other two entrances are in the former Macy's wing on the second floor. The former Dillard's Women's store has not been covered up and you can see inside just like the Macy's below. The four story former Dillard's Women's store looms over the south part of the mall. The former JCPenney has seen better days. From the outside of the former Macy's/ Foley's, a Foley's labelscar. Macy's closed in March of 2011, the windows have not been covered up and you can see right into the store.

Images from September 2011

Macy's interior shots through the mall entrance glass.

Views of the Dillard's Women's store interior through the mall entrance glass.

The fountains were still running.

The 1st floor of the former Macy's looking through the mall windows.

Here is what the JCPenney looked like through an entrance door just before the renovations began.

Here is what I wrote in Sept 2011. Highland Mall appears to be winding down retail operations in the mall and more stores have closed since my last visit in May of this year. The food court restaurants may be the only outlets that are allowed to stay after the mall is converted into a college over the next five years. Austin community college purchased the mall in pieces and they are moving all of their operations into the former mall. The mall directory is updated, but has several stores listed in different categories that make the list look larger. The food court has one new restaurant; a pizza place that was reopened in the Villa Pizza spot. No cookies and ice cream here! In front of the former JCPenney, Champs is still open but is one of the last stores left in this section of the mall. The Macy's corridor still has the most open stores. Macy's may soon become offices for the college. The fountains are still on for now even though most of the stores have left this part of the mall. Inside of the JCPenney appears to have been gutted and ready for the renovation into offices.

Images from July 2013, forgive the glare on the pictures this when my old camera started messing up.

Here is what I wrote in 2013. Here we are again at Highland Mall in 2013. Highland Mall continues to operate with several businesses still operating and the food court is doing good with some new restaurants. The redevelopment of the property has begun with the Dillard's Woman's store under renovation. The mall seems to be holding on, but not many chain stores are left here. Some of the new tenants will go well with the redevelopment plan such as a boxing/ fitness space near the entrance of the former Dillard's Woman's store. Here is my idea/ opinion on what could be done with the remaining mall stores. The retail options should be consolidated into one wing preferably in the former Macy's corridor. Both sides of that corridor have entrances on the second floor which is where the food court is located. The rest of the mall should be used for the college. The former Macy's could partially be used for a discount department store such as Burlington and that would keep the retail component of the mall with constant customer traffic. A small renovation of the remaining mall should also help to bring more people to the mall. The former JCPenney is slated for renovation and redevelopment in 2014. The JCPenney store closed in 2006. Dillard's Woman's store closed in 2011. The space is under renovation for part of the Austin Community College redevelopment. Here are some views of the former Dillard's Woman's store corridor of the mall. Several stores have left the second level, but some stores have opened on the first level. Here are some views from the former Macy's corridor. Many stores have left this section of the mall since 2011. The fountains in the mall are still operating as normal despite no stores in this section of the mall. Here are some views from the former JCPenney corridor. The Kids Foot Locker on the first level is the only Foot Locker left in the mall. The mall had Foot Locker, Lady Foot Locker, and Kids Foot Locker just a few years ago. Champs Sports is still tucked away in the bottom corner near the former JCPenney. The food court and center court area of the mall. Some new restaurants have opened in the past few years to replace ones that left.

 Now onto the newer stuff from January 2015.

As you can see there is a big difference in mall traffic and store counts from my last visit to the mall. 

The mall directory had not been updated since around the time the final Dillard's closed.

The former Dillard's Women's store had the entrances boarded up. The Dillard's space is going to be occupied by Rackspace once a deal is finalized. 

You have to wonder how old these candies are.

The Hurricane Simulator had an out of order sign.

Both of these stores were gone shortly after this picture was taken.

The fountains in front of the former Macy's were still on.

The food court.

As you can see to the left the former JCPenney entrances had been painted over.

Ceiling damage in front of the old GNC.

The center court still looks very appealing even with most of the stores closed.

Escalators out of service, noooooooo.

As you can see, not many businesses were left.

The fountain on this side of the mall was finally covered up.

As you can see here the former JCPenney on the left has been completely renovated.

The four story former Dillard's Women's store was also under construction.

Shortly after my visit to the mall the news broke about the mall closing on April 30, 2015.

Here is the store list at the end of January 2015. 39 interior stores, 1 outparcel, and the college campus.

Austin Creative Alliance

Austin Moto Academy

Austin Playhouse

AVON

Baby Steps

Ballet Afrique

Blenders

Bold Street Coffee

Browz and Henna Salon

Champs Sports

El Palacio De La Quinceanera

Eufracio Insurance

Excellence Salon and Barbers

Fantastic Magic Camp

Footaction USA

Foundation Communities

Gamefellas/Moviefellas

Great Wraps and Cheesesteaks

Highland Ballroom

House of Torment (Outparcel)

Image

It's All about You Boutique

Jimmy Jazz

Journeys 

Kids Foot Locker

La Chaparrita Peruvian Restaurant

Lids

NYS Collection

Perfume Palace

Sauced

SenSe

Star Electronics

Stich

Sweet Factory

TJ Jewelry and Watch

Treasures

Treasures Kiosk

Wireless Accessories I

Wireless Accessories II

Zales Jewelers

And finally April 2015, the final weeks of the mall.

Very few stores were left at this point, the mall website was still being updated with the remaining stores. I did my best to group the photos together by section of the mall.

Center court area.

Between the North and South mall entrances near the former Macy's.

The former Dillard's Clearance/Men's store.

A look from near the entrance of the JCPenney.

The South mall entrance near the Macy's

Back to the Dillard's Women's store corridor second floor.

And the first floor.

A few close ups of food court outlets.

The second floor JCPenney corridor had no more stores left, even the Children's rides had been removed.

The sign was randomly placed in this hall near the former JCPenney.

Here is a close up of the above sign.

JCPenney corridor first floor.

The first floor of the center court area.

The first floor of the Macy's corridor.

The second floor of the Macy's corridor. 

As you can see the interior demolition was underway behind the closed gates of a few stores near Macy's.

The North entrance to the mall near Macy's

Food court/ Center court

The Dillard's Women's store/ Joske's corridor.

One of the two store interiors pictured here was once an FYE, but I cannot remember which one it was.

Food court and center court area.

Near the food court and Macy's second floor.

The first floor of the Macy's corridor.

Looking towards the former JCPenney on the first floor.

A former video game store.

And a peek inside.

Now for some final exterior photos.

Foley's/Macy's labelscar.

Here were the final stores at the mall which closed on April 30, 2015. 20 interior stores/services, 1 outparcel, and the college campus.

Austin Creative Alliance

Austin Moto Academy

Austin Playhouse

AVON

Baby Steps

Ballet Afrique

Blenders

El Palacio De La Quinceanera

Eufracio Insurance

Excellence Salon and Barbers

Foundation Communities

Gamefellas/Moviefellas

Great Wraps and Cheesesteaks

Highland Ballroom

House of Torment (Outparcel)

It's All about You Boutique

La Chaparrita Peruvian Restaurant

Perfume Palace

SenSe

TJ Jewelry and Watch

Treasures

Here is the sign that was on all of the mall entrances.

So what happened here? I believe it was a failure by management to improve the mall when JCPenney left and nearby retail competition took advantage. The mall is located in a prime location, but had not been updated for many years. Also after JCPenney left, negative publicity was poorly handled by mall management which led to the closing of the remaining anchors, and the loss of many loyal mall shoppers. The news about the mall property changed over the years as Austin Community College became more involved with the property eventually purchasing the entire mall site. Austin Community College will bring this property back to life and improve the community. The interior of the mall is currently being gutted and will reopen to mall walkers in the near future while construction is being completed.