Southern Hills Mall facts for kids
| Location | Sioux City, Iowa |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 42°26′46″N 96°21′11″W / 42.446°N 96.353°W |
| Opening date | March 5, 1980 |
| Developer | General Growth Properties |
| Management | Washington Prime Group |
| Owner | Washington Prime Group |
| No. of stores and services | 205 (as of November 2010) |
| No. of anchor tenants | 8 (6 open, 2 vacant) |
| Total retail floor area | 1,235,260 square feet (114,759 m2) |
| No. of floors | 1 (2 in former Younkers, staff mezzanine in Scheels All Sports) |
Southern Hills Mall is a large indoor shopping center in Sioux City, Iowa. It is a popular place for people to shop and have fun. About 6 million visitors come to the mall each year. They mostly come from the Siouxland area, which includes parts of Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota.
The mall has several main stores, called anchor stores. These include JCPenney, AMC Theatres, Scheels All Sports, Pearle Vision, Barnes & Noble, and 5 Dollar Fashion. Two other large spaces used to be home to Sears and Younkers, but they are now empty.
Contents
History of Southern Hills Mall
Early Plans and Opening
People started talking about building an indoor mall in Sioux City way back in 1969. But some people, like city leaders, wanted to improve the downtown area instead. They thought a new mall would take away from downtown businesses.
The company that wanted to build the mall had to change its plans. They moved the mall's location to the south side of the Morningside neighborhood. Other groups also planned to build malls downtown. However, these downtown mall plans were later canceled.
Southern Hills Mall officially opened its doors on March 5, 1980. It cost $21 million to build. When it first opened, the main stores were Target and Sears. The department store Younkers opened there later.
Changes Over the Years
In 1990, a fun carousel was added to the mall. This made it an even more exciting place for families.
Over time, some of the main stores changed. In 2003, Target moved to a new, bigger store nearby. Then, in 2004, J.C. Penney moved into the space Target used to have. Also in 2003 and 2004, new stores like Scheels All Sports and Barnes & Noble opened.
In 2003, the National Park Service recognized Southern Hills Mall as a special national trail site. This happened because the mall had 38 paintings made. These paintings celebrated the 200th anniversary of the famous Lewis and Clark Expedition.
Recent Store Closures
In 2018, the Younkers store at the mall closed down. Then, in December 2018, it was announced that Sears would also be closing. The Sears store closed its doors in March 2019.
Main Stores at the Mall
Southern Hills Mall has several large and popular stores. These are often called "anchor stores" because they are big attractions that draw many shoppers to the mall.
- Barnes & Noble (25,000 square feet (2,300 m2))
- AMC Southern Hills 12 (40,386 square feet (3,752.0 m2))
- JCPenney (100,000 square feet (9,300 m2))
- Scheels All Sports (59,360 square feet (5,515 m2))
