Development Metrocenter was a joint venture of
Westcor, a regional shopping center development firm headed by a group of real estate investors and developers led by Russ "Rusty" Lyon Jr., and
Homart Development Company, the real estate division of
Sears, Roebuck and Company. The project was announced in November 1970, the first site plans and artist renderings announced in the spring of 1972, and construction beginning in June 1972. The mall would be anchored by five department stores,
Sears,
Rhodes Brothers,
Diamond's,
Goldwater's, and
The Broadway. The mall was designed by
Flatow, Moore Bryan & Fairburn, Robert Fairburn who headed the Phoenix offices of the firm was project architect.
Ernest W. Hahn was general contractor selected to build the mall. The Goldwater's building was designed by Chaix & Johnson Associates of Los Angeles. Goldwater's featured unique ceramic tiles on its exterior that were manufactured by
Franciscan Interpace Ceramics. Kitchell Contractors, Inc. of Phoenix handled construction of Goldwater's as well as Diamond's. Rhodes Brothers was designed by the Los Angeles firm of
Victor Gruen Associates. It featured desert sand colored walls and a glass enclosed elevator. The Broadway building was designed by Los Angeles architect
Charles Luckman, and was constructed by the
Del E. Webb Corporation. The mall was built on in an area of Phoenix that was a sparsely populated residential district at what was then considered the northern edge of town (the area was actually an unincorporated part of
Maricopa County which was annexed by the city of Phoenix because of the project). Lyon's firm correctly noted that population growth would favor northwest Phoenix. After the site was chosen, "...from then on, it was a matter of appealing to the marketing acumen of the major department stores. They didn't take much convincing." There was some initial opposition to the project from neighborhood residents who feared heavy traffic generated from major retailers as well as buildings which exceeded height limits. As a result, there were some delays in the rezoning of the land by the city of Phoenix, but residents' fears were eventually addressed to their satisfaction. A lawsuit filed by the "Deer Valley Residents Association" was dropped by late September 1972. In June 1972, the First National Bank of Arizona (now the Arizona operations of
Wells Fargo Bank) made a $21 million loan to the developers, which was the largest commercial real estate loan ever made in Arizona up to that time. The total cost of Metrocenter was estimated at $100 million. The mall was opened for business on October 1, 1973, and when it opened as the first two-level, five-anchor mall in the U.S., it was the largest shopping center in Arizona and was considered one of the largest shopping centers in the United States. Shoppers initially came from as far away as
Flagstaff and
Tucson to see and to shop at the large mall. Metrocenter became the model for later Westcor master-planned developments around Phoenix, such as
Paradise Valley Mall.
Decline and renovations The mall started to decline economically after the 1980s; as the Phoenix area expanded, many of the immediate residential neighborhoods bordering Metrocenter became less middle-class/upscale and more working-class in demographics. Newer malls, such as
Paradise Valley Mall and
Fiesta Mall seized market share from Metrocenter in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. In addition to increased competition, crime in the mall's neighborhood and parking lot increased. Local car enthusiasts started cruising the mall in the early ‘80s, driving their cars around the property and socializing. Later Phoenix Police began blocking traffic for the "cruisers", which also inconvenienced mall goers and led to a decline in weekend patronage. In 1992–93 Metrocenter underwent a renovation designed by San Diego–based
Callison Architecture. The work was completed by The Weitz Company General Contractors. In January 2004, Metrocenter was sold by DVM Co., a joint venture of
Simon Property Group and Rusty Lyon Jr., to a joint venture of
The Macerich Company and
AEW Capital Management. The new ownership brought back the founding developer,
Westcor, by now an Arizona retail giant and subsidiary of The Macerich Co., to manage the property. In 2005, several of the mall's retail stores that appeared in ''
Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure'', such as
Oshman's Sporting Goods and
Casual Corner, closed in accordance with the chains' foldings, and were replaced by newer stores. Facing large vacancies, in 2005–2006, the exterior of the mall was improved. The parking lot was repaved and 35 percent more lighting was added. New "Metrocenter" signs were placed above the mall's entrances. More than 300 trees were removed (most of them eucalyptus) and desert-friendly landscaping was planted. Metrocenter's interior was revamped in 2007. Diaper-changing stations and attendants were added to the restrooms. A nursing room, Wi-Fi access, and a community room with seating for up to 100 were added to the mall. The food court and play center were remodeled. In November 2007, a closed-circuit camera television system was installed that is sophisticated enough to read the license plate number of any car in the mall's parking lot. Public view monitors were installed at the entrances to the mall showing that entrance to people as they entered the mall. On April 6, 2010
Jones Lang LaSalle took over management and 15% ownership of Metrocenter Mall from
Westcor.
Redevelopment and closure Later in 2010, the mall was put up for sale and in January 2012, the sale to the Carlyle Development Group for $12.2 million was finalized. The company had publicly stated that over a period of five to six years, it hoped to turn the property into a mixed-use development site, with retail, residential, medical and possibly college campus tenants. In June 2016, a massive redevelopment of Metrocenter was approved by the Phoenix City Council. Metrocenter will undergo a massive revitalization that will bring more retail and restaurants as well as office buildings, apartments, senior housing, and health-care facilities to the mall. The City of Phoenix rezoned the mall to allow office, medical and residential space; it had been zoned for solely retail use. The
Metro Parkway station of the
B Line of
Valley Metro Rail opened on the former mall property on January 27, 2024. In a letter from general manager Kim Ramirez on June 19, 2020, Metrocenter Mall announced that they would be closing at the end of that month citing "the drop in our occupancy levels due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. After 47 years of service, Metrocenter Mall was closed on June 30, 2020, due to low store occupancy levels following the COVID-19 pandemic, and failed rejuvenation projects to boost foot traffic. Remains of the mall were auctioned off on December 3, 2020. A farewell celebration for Metrocenter—featuring a screening of ''Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure''—was held on May 21, 2023. Demolition began on November 18, 2024, and was completed by September 2025 (excluding the former Sears, which remains separately owned by the Sears company and will be demolished at a later date). An $850 million redevelopment project, known as The Metropolitan, will replace the mall with other retail space, office space, apartments, townhouses, restaurants, an amphitheater, a park plaza, a splash pad, and a weekly farmers market on the site. Construction of The Metropolitan is set to begin in April 2026. ==Anchors==