Eastland Mall opened on February 16, 1967, anchored by
JCPenney and
Sears, both of which had moved from downtown Bloomington. Kirlin's
Hallmark Gold Crown and a
Walgreens drugstore, which relocated outside the mall in 1991. Besides the two anchors, several of the mall's tenants had moved from downtown, including
Singer Sewing Center Other major tenants included a
grocery store and
movie theater. An
Applebee's opened next to the mall on November 7, 1994. The mall was expanded several times in its history, first with a
Bergner's department store in 1973, the first new department store to open in the city in more than thirty years.
Kohl's was added a decade later. followed by a mall-wide renovation a year later, Sears expanded its store in 1997, and a
Famous-Barr was added in November 1999, which became
Macy's in 2006. After the announcement,
JCPenney stated on March 17, 2017, that they would be closing their store on July 31, 2017 as part of a plan to close 138 stores nationwide. This was later delayed for unknown reasons, and the store would then close at the end of August. In 2018, it was announced that the vacant
JCPenney anchor store would be subdivided, with a
Planet Fitness and
H&M opening in the fall of 2018. It was also announced that
Outback Steakhouse would be built on the northeast corner of the mall property which opened on December 12, 2018. On April 18, 2018,
Bergner's announced that its store would be closing in August 2018 as the parent company,
Bon-Ton Stores, was going out of business. The store closed on August 31, 2018 which left
Kohl's and
Sears as the only anchor stores. On June 8, 2018, it was announced that
Hibbett Sports will open later in 2018. The new store will open next to the
Charlotte Russe store. On August 22, 2018,
Sears announced that its store would be closing in November 2018 as part of a plan to close 46 stores nationwide. After the store closed,
Kohl's was the only traditional anchor store left. On September 11, 2018, it was announced that
H&M would open on October 4. The store later closed in 2021. The closure of Woolworth made way for an
Old Navy store.
Chattanooga, Tennessee-based
CBL & Associates Properties acquired the mall from Copaken, White and Blitt in November 2005 along with two other malls. ==Community impact==