Shops at CenterPoint facts for kids
| Location | Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 42°54′55″N 85°34′42″W / 42.91528°N 85.57835°W |
| Opening date | 1967 |
| Management | Stonemar Properties |
| Owner | Stonemar Properties |
| No. of anchor tenants | 3 |
| Total retail floor area | 575,000 sq ft (53,400 m2) |
| No. of floors | 1 |
The Shops at CenterPointe is an outdoor shopping center located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States. It first opened in 1967 as Eastbrook Mall. Back then, it was an enclosed mall, meaning all the stores were inside one big building.
This mall opened one year before the larger Woodland Mall, which is located right across the street. Between 2012 and 2013, Eastbrook Mall went through a big change. Half of the mall was torn down to create an outdoor shopping area. It was then renamed The Shops at CenterPointe.
Mall's Early Days
Eastbrook Mall first opened its doors in 1967. It had about 50 different stores for shoppers to explore. The mall also featured three main "anchor" stores. These are usually large department stores that attract many visitors.
The anchor stores were Woolco, a discount department store, Wurzburg's, and Steketee's. Woolco was at the eastern end of the mall. Wurzburg's was at the western end, and Steketee's was at the northern end. Woolco closed in 1982. Its space later became a Burlington Coat Factory store.
Changes Over Time
During the 1980s and 1990s, many of the smaller stores inside the mall closed. Two of the original anchor stores also closed. Witmark closed in 1997, and Steketee's closed three years later.
In 2000, a company called Lormax Stern bought the mall. They started to fix it up and gave it a new name: Centerpointe Mall. New stores began to open, including Steve & Barry's in 2001. Other stores like Lane Bryant also joined the mall.
Burlington Coat Factory moved to a new building outside the main mall. Its old space was then used by Linens 'n Things. A cool skate park called Modern Skate & Surf opened in the spot where Witmark used to be. The old Steketee's building was taken down. In its place, a Nordstrom Rack store was built, along with two new entrances to the mall.
More stores continued to open in 2004 and 2005. These included Old Navy, DSW Shoe Warehouse, and David's Bridal. These new stores took over spaces that smaller shops once used.
Becoming an Outdoor Center
Even with new stores, many of the smaller spaces inside Centerpointe Mall were still empty. Because of this, plans were made in 2007 to change the mall. The idea was to turn it into a new shopping center with outdoor, friendly areas for people to walk.
Some stores like Nordstrom Rack, Menards, Steve & Barry's, and Dunham's Sports were planned to stay in their current spots. Other stores would move to new locations within the redesigned center. The plan was to finish this big change by 2009, but these plans were later canceled.
In 2008, Klingman's furniture store moved to a nearby city. Linens 'n Things also closed its store in May 2008. This space later became a Jo-Ann Fabrics superstore in 2009. Steve & Barry's closed in late 2008. Its space became a clothing store called Wear District. The skate park, Modern Skate and Surf, closed in November 2011.
The Big Renovation
In late 2011, Lormax Stern announced new plans. They would finally start changing the mall into an outdoor "strip mall." Work on this big project began in March 2012.
Many new stores were built. These included HomeGoods and TJ Maxx, which shared a building where Klingman's used to be. Other new stores were Rue 21, Ulta (in the old skate park spot), and The Vitamin Shoppe. Some existing stores, like David's Bridal, Men's Wearhouse, TJ Maxx, and DSW, moved to new places within the center.
Menards closed its store at the mall in March 2013. A year later, part of its old location became a Planet Fitness gym. This Planet Fitness is one of the largest in the entire chain. In 2014, Centerpointe Mall officially changed its name to The Shops at CenterPointe.
