1960–62: Construction, grand opening, and additions Southtown Center opened on November 3, 1960 in
Bloomington, Minnesota and became Bloomington's "first regional shopping center". The center was developed by Kraus-Anderson, Inc., a Bloomington-based construction firm, with founder Lloyd Engelsma taking over as the site's project manager. According to Engelsma, Southtown was built atop "a strip of cow pasture" near a busy intersection in Bloomington, taking up nearly 37 acres of land; Engelsma had "high expectations for the new center." During construction of the mall, three labor strikes occurred which heavily delayed construction; unideal and inclement weather created further setbacks during the construction. After the center's opening, several additions took place at the mall. During 1963, a
AMF Bowling Center was constructed on the north side of the property; the bowling alley is still currently in use today. However, the cinema was completely remodeled in 1980, removing some of its original decor, before being torn down in 1995 to make way for additional retail. Southtown was also home to Minnesota's first ShowBiz Pizza Place that opened in late 1981.
1998–present: Store closings and rezoning Montgomery Ward prospered as Southtown's largest tenant until 1998, when Ward announced that they would be closing nine underperforming locations as part of their "ongoing operations and strategic initiatives to return to profitability." Filling Ward's vacancy was
Herberger's, a Minnesota department store, who had agreed to purchase several other closed Montgomery Ward stores in the Twin Cities area.
Toys "R" Us agreed to lease the other side of the Ward store that Herberger's hadn't leased. However, Southtown's owner, Kraus-Anderson, stated that the rezoning would "threaten Southtown's existence and that customers like things how they are." Several Bloomington locals and customers of Southtown created a website to persuade the city of Bloomington not to continue with any redeveloping plans. Despite the creation of the website and Kraus-Anderson's frustration and concern during the proposed redevelopment, the city council approved the project in July 2015. The rezoning will encourage more pedestrian and transit supportive development patterns. New developments could include multi-story mixed-use developments and a new street grid. As part of the agreement, a 3-acre portion in the southeast of the mall would be preserved to be a higher-intensity density development. In April of the same year, Southtown's Toys "R" Us closed after their 26-year lease expired. Despite this closing, Southtown Center has maintained a 99 percent occupancy rate for many years. ==Post rezoning in 2015==