Glenbrook Square facts for kids
| Location | Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA |
|---|---|
| Opening date | 1966 |
| Developer | Landau & Heyman |
| Management | Brookfield Properties Retail Group |
| Owner | Brookfield Properties Retail Group |
| No. of stores and services | 130 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 7 (by 2021) |
| Total retail floor area | 1,210,000 sq ft (112,000 m2) |
| No. of floors | 2 |
Glenbrook Square is a large shopping mall located in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It's a popular place where you can find many different stores. The mall also has big "anchor" stores like JCPenney, Macy's, and Barnes & Noble. A new entertainment spot called Round 1 Entertainment is planned to open there in 2021.
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History of Glenbrook Square
Glenbrook Square first opened its doors in 1966. Since then, it has grown and changed many times. The mall was made bigger or updated five times in total. Major changes happened in 1976, 1981, and 1998.
Each year, more than 15 million people visit Glenbrook Square. It is the only very large enclosed mall in northeast Indiana. It's also one of the biggest malls in the entire state.
Original Stores and Expansions
When Glenbrook Square first opened, its main stores included L.S. Ayres (which is now Macy's) and Sears. An A&P grocery store was also there, but it closed in the 1970s. Today, Barnes & Noble is in that spot.
In 1976, the mall added a building for JCPenney. Another large building was added in 1981. The Barnes & Noble store, which opened in 2007, was made from several smaller shops.
Besides the main anchor stores, Glenbrook Square has about 152 other stores and kiosks. You can also find a food court and several restaurants. Some of these restaurants include P.F. Chang's, Red Robin, Granite City Food & Brewery, TGI Fridays, and BJ's Brewhouse.
Changes to Anchor Stores
Over the years, some of the big anchor stores have changed. The space added in 1981 used to be home to Hudson's and later Marshall Field's. In 2005, the Marshall Field's store closed. For a while, this empty space was used for fun things like temporary shops or fashion shows.
In 2012, it was announced that Carson's would open in that large empty space. Carson's opened in September 2013 after some big renovations.
Recent Closures and New Plans
In 2018, the Carson's store closed down. Later that same year, the Sears store also announced it would close. Sears had been at the mall for 52 years.
After these stores closed, plans were made to update those empty spaces. In 2019, it was announced that the old Sears building would be torn down. In its place, a new retail building and a separate Portillo's restaurant would be built. New stores like Dave & Buster's and HomeGoods were planned for this new area.
Also in 2019, a Japanese company called Round One Entertainment announced they would open in the former Carson's space in 2021. Round1 will have bowling, karaoke, and arcade games. It's meant to be a fun place for families.
Unfortunately, construction on some of these new areas was paused in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. People in the area are hoping these new places will open in 2021.
Mall Incident
On October 31, 2013, a water pipe broke at Glenbrook Square during the night. About 50 stores were damaged, but the main anchor stores were not affected. Most of the damaged stores were fixed and reopened within a few weeks. Almost all of them were ready for Black Friday shopping in 2013.
