Opening The mall opened in 1978; however, the opening ceremony was held on February 28, 1979. The mall opened with three anchor tenants:
JCPenney occupying the West anchor space,
Goldwater's (later
Robinsons-May and then
Macy's, then vacant) occupying the center space and
Diamond's (later
Dillard's, and later
Sears, now demolished) occupying the Eastern space. The mall was designed by local architect Rafique Islam of the firm Architectonics Inc. A.V. Schwann & Associates was the structural engineer. The Law Company Inc. of Wichita, Kansas was general contractor. The mall was constructed of Slump Block and white stucco, and featured skylights, landscaped courtyards. The floors of the mall were
Parquet and
Terrazzo tile in Indian patterns. When built the mall featured several energy efficient features including a heavily insulated roof deck and a central chiller plant with remote air handlers for the climate control system. Diamond's was the first anchor to open, opening in early February 1979. JCPenney opened with the grand opening ceremony on February 28, 1979. General Cinema Theater opened June 15, 1979. It later became a
Harkins Theatres then was vacant for almost a decade until Picture Show moved in in 2010. The mall is the hub of a master
planned community called Paradise Valley Village. The entire project was developed by
Westcor, the leading shopping center developer in Arizona, which is now a unit of
The Macerich Company.
Dayton Hudson Corporation, now
Target Corporation, was an early investor in the project and owned the Diamond's department store chain, which was one of the original
anchor tenants.
Expansion The mall was expanded in the late 1980s with two additional anchor stores built to the north of the original structure. The expansion consisted of two new wings, with the northeast wing housing a new anchor store for
Dillard's. Also in this wing a restaurant space was built which last housed Chompie's. The northwest wing housed additional stores as well as a new
Broadway store which would later become Macy's. The new wings featured the same parquet flooring and an updated tile pattern. Between the two new wings a three-story parking garage was constructed at the same time, directly north of the original food court. The original part of the mall would undergo a modest renovation at this time that would add more skylights and updated tile in place of the Terrazzo. The construction of the new wings was completed by The Weitz Company Inc., with Kitchell Contractors Inc. building the Broadway store. A carousel was installed off the food court in 1998. In the early 2000s the mall was once again renovated, with many of the indoor planters removed and new flooring installed throughout the mall. The food court was also renovated at this time. The northwest wing would be demolished in 2008 to make way for a new
Costco. Originally owned by Westcor, in 2002 Paradise Valley Mall became part of The Macerich Company's portfolio.
Development and decline Paradise Valley Mall is just west of
Scottsdale. Much of the area's original development was spurred by that community, although the demographics of Paradise Valley Village have changed over the years to be less upscale and more
middle-class. During the 1980s and 1990s, new extensions were constructed, and shopping centers also opened on the ring roads. Paradise Valley Mall has a large park-and-ride stop for
Valley Metro buses. An elevated rail station, as part of the 1989 ValTrans proposal, had been slated for construction here, but the referendum was voted down. The owners also added improvements in 2001 intended to attract teenagers and young families, a move made necessary by it being the oldest mall in the area. Paradise Valley Mall remains several times its original size, with a
gross leasable area of . Since the early 2000s, higher-income shoppers became more inclined to shop at newer facilities such as
Kierland Commons and the Scottsdale Road/Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard corridor, which features power centers that cater to upscale shoppers. This caused Paradise Valley Mall retailers such as Macy's to carry fewer high-end name-brand goods and sell items more in line with a middle-income customer base. In the early 2010s, the retail climate started changing, causing several chain stores to close in the mall. Over time the mall contained more small businesses and fewer chain stores. On November 8, 2018, it was announced that Sears would be closing this location as part of a plan to close 40 stores nationwide. The store closed in February 2019. On November 18, 2020, it was announced that Dillard's would also be closing their store at Paradise Valley Mall on May 10, 2021. In December 2020, the Picture Show Movie Theater permanently closed. On January 6, 2021, it was announced that
Macy's would be closing in April 2021 as part of a plan to close 46 stores nationwide. As of late March 2021, the Macy's anchor store has been permanently closed.
Costco and
JCPenney are now the only anchor stores left. When the mall permanently closed on March 31, 2021; JCPenney, Costco,
Bath & Body Works and Chompie's were the only open businesses left in/near the mall. Bath & Body Works closed at the end of April and Chompie's closed on May 31, while JCPenney and Costco will not close for now. On April 1, 2021 Macerich announced that it sold a majority stake of Paradise Valley Mall to Phoenix based developer RED Development Company for $100 Million. Demolition lasted from July 2021 to February 2022, when plans were announced for the future development. A small section of the mall connected to JCPenney stood until April 2024. == Surrounding area ==