Three Rivers Mall facts for kids
Food court inside the Three Rivers Mall
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| Location | Kelso, Washington |
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| Coordinates | 46°08′24″N 122°54′05″W / 46.1401303°N 122.901423°W |
| Address | 351 Three Rivers Drive |
| Opening date | 1987 |
| Developer | The Hahn Company |
| Management | Three Rivers Village, LLC |
| Owner | Three Rivers Village, LLC |
| No. of stores and services | 32 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 4 (3 open, 1 vacant) |
| Total retail floor area | 561,755 square feet (52,188.7 m2) |
| No. of floors | 1 |
Three Rivers Mall is a shopping center located in Kelso, Washington. It first opened its doors in 1987. The mall was built on what used to be a golf course, right next to Interstate 5. Over the years, the mall's ownership has changed a few times. It is now owned by Three Rivers Village, LLC.
The mall has three main stores, also known as "anchors." These are JCPenney, Sportsman's Warehouse, and Regal Cinemas. Some of its first big stores included The Bon Marche (which later became Macy's), JCPenney, Sears, and Emporium. The Kelso Public Library also moved its main branch into the mall in 2011.
Around the mall, there are also several separate businesses. These include a Safeway grocery store and a Target store, which opened in 1990. You can also find restaurants like Red Lobster, Izzy's Pizza, Panera Bread, and Fiesta Bonita Mexican Restaurant.
Contents
Mall History: How Three Rivers Mall Changed
Early Days and Challenges
When Three Rivers Mall first opened in 1987, it was a very exciting event. It brought many new stores to the area. Big stores like Sears, JCPenney, and The Bon Marche moved from downtown Longview, Washington to the new mall.
However, in the early 2000s, the mall started to face some difficulties. One of the first big stores to close was Emporium in 2001. After that, other smaller stores also began to close. This was because fewer people were visiting the mall. Some national store chains, like Radio Shack, Sam Goody, and KB Toys, also closed their locations as their companies struggled. The food court also became very quiet with only a few local places left.
Major Store Closures and Changes
In 2013, Sears closed its store at the mall. This made the problem of fewer visitors even worse. After Sears left, other businesses like Big 5 Sporting Goods and Chuck E. Cheese's also closed their doors. In 2017, Macy's announced that its Kelso store would close too. By early 2018, the food court had no open businesses at all. It stayed empty for a couple of years.
New Beginnings and Growth
Despite these challenges, new businesses started to move into the mall. In 2014, Sportsman's Warehouse opened in the old Emporium store. The former Sears building was taken down. A brand new Regal Cinemas theater was built there, opening in 2015. This new theater replaced the old freestanding one and another theater in Longview.
The mall also welcomed Planet Fitness, a gym, in 2015. It moved into the space where Chuck E. Cheese's used to be. In 2017, Panera Bread built its own separate restaurant near the mall. In March 2020, a local business called The Coffee Court opened in the mall's food court. This was the first food court tenant in over two years, bringing new life back to that area.
