Plano: Willow Bend Mall

[Kelley USA]

You know, from the outside looking in, it seems like Willow Bend should have worked. I went to Stonebriar a few weeks ago and wasn't really that impressed. It's just your basic generic mall. There's nothing really high-end about it, maybe a few stores like Anthropologie and obviously Nordstrom. But other than that, it's no better than The Parks Mall in Arlington. So, you would think a lineup of stores that included Apple, J Crew, Vineyard Vines Anthropologie etc... would have found a customer base here. It's very weird to me. I think the most intriguing thing to now is what type of tenants will we see at the new Fields West development. We're talking about 350K+ of retail space. I'm assuming it'll be very similar in mix to The Domain in Austin or perhaps Southlake Town Square.

[Kelley USA]

You know, from the outside looking in, it seems like Willow Bend should have worked. I went to Stonebriar a few weeks ago and wasn't really that impressed. It's just your basic generic mall. There's nothing really high-end about it, maybe a few stores like Anthropologie and obviously Nordstrom. But other than that, it's no better than The Parks Mall in Arlington. So, you would think a lineup of stores that included Apple, J Crew, Vineyard Vines Anthropologie etc... would have found a customer base here. It's very weird to me. I think the most intriguing thing to me now is what type of tenants will we see at the new Fields West development. We're talking about 350K+ sf of retail space. I'm assuming it'll be very similar in mix to The Domain in Austin or perhaps Southlake Town Square.

[Proquest20]

You know, from the outside looking in, it seems like Willow Bend should have worked. I went to Stonebriar a few weeks ago and wasn't really that impressed. It's just your basic generic mall. There's nothing really high-end about it, maybe a few stores like Anthropologie and obviously Nordstrom. But other than that, it's no better than The Parks Mall in Arlington. So, you would think a lineup of stores that included Apple, J Crew, Vineyard Vines Anthropologie etc... would have found a customer base here. It's very weird to me. I think the most intriguing thing to now is what type of tenants will we see at the new Fields West development. We're talking about 350K+ of retail space. I'm assuming it'll be very similar in mix to The Domain in Austin or perhaps Southlake Town Square.

I almost wonder if Nordstrom would’ve been a better fit at Willow Bend and would’ve actually made this mall more successful. The Stonebriar store is rather empty and barely carries upscale brands other locations sell, and a lot of the floor is dedicated to clearance. Could just be a sign of the times, the upscale demographic doesn’t tend to go to Stonebriar as much as Legacy West or NorthPark and all department stores seem to be struggling at the moment (see Macy’s adding Backstage to their underperforming stores)

Willow Bend’s line-up pre-Apple departure was great, they had an Aritzia before they started majorly expanding throughout the US! It was far superior to Stonebriar but I think what killed the mall more than Stonebriar and the Galleria was actually Legacy West. Sure, Anthropologie may have moved to Stonebriar, but the truly high end stores (Louis Vuitton, for example) relocated to Legacy West and have their customer base there. Johnston and Murphy, Swarovski, Brooks Brothers, and Allen Edmonds still give Willow Bend a strong lineup for the time being but would probably be best at Legacy West.

[The_Overdog]

Willow Bend’s line-up pre-Apple departure was great, they had an Aritzia before they started majorly expanding throughout the US! It was far superior to Stonebriar but I think what killed the mall more than Stonebriar and the Galleria was actually Legacy West.

Nah. The Apple Store was the emptiest one in DFW - you generally didn't even need to make an appointment. IMO they built it at the wrong time, right into a financial crisis, started too upscale, and then everyone basically forgot about it, and Stonebriar was already constructed and actually had a larger employment base around it.

Where do you find the rezoning documents?

Here, but the request is just administrative gibberish, nothing interesting:
https://content.civicplus.com/api/asset ... 83e139cac3

AGENDA ITEM NO. 1
PUBLIC HEARING: Zoning Case 2023-005
PETITIONERS: Centennial Waterfall Willow Bend, LLC, The Neiman Marcus Group, LLC, Macy’s Retail Holdings LLC, and Dillard’s, Inc.
DESCRIPTION: Request to rezone 89.1 acres located on the west side of the Dallas North Tollway,
305 feet north of Park Boulevard from Regional Commercial with Specific Use Permits No. 56, 434,
444, and 448 for Private Club and No. 570 for Automobile Leasing/Renting to Planned Development-
Regional Commercial and to rescind Specific Use Permits No. 56, 434, 444, and 448 for Private Club.
Zoned Regional Commercial with Specific Use Permits No. 56, 434, 444, and 448 for Private Club and
No. 570 for Automobile Leasing/Renting and located within the Dallas North Tollway Overlay District.
Project #ZC2023-005.

[Proquest20]

Willow Bend’s line-up pre-Apple departure was great, they had an Aritzia before they started majorly expanding throughout the US! It was far superior to Stonebriar but I think what killed the mall more than Stonebriar and the Galleria was actually Legacy West.

Nah. The Apple Store was the emptiest one in DFW - you generally didn't even need to make an appointment. IMO they built it at the wrong time, right into a financial crisis, started too upscale, and then everyone basically forgot about it, and Stonebriar was already constructed and actually had a larger employment base around it.

Where do you find the rezoning documents?

Here, but the request is just administrative gibberish, nothing interesting:
https://content.civicplus.com/api/asset ... 83e139cac3

AGENDA ITEM NO. 1
PUBLIC HEARING: Zoning Case 2023-005
PETITIONERS: Centennial Waterfall Willow Bend, LLC, The Neiman Marcus Group, LLC, Macy’s Retail Holdings LLC, and Dillard’s, Inc.
DESCRIPTION: Request to rezone 89.1 acres located on the west side of the Dallas North Tollway,
305 feet north of Park Boulevard from Regional Commercial with Specific Use Permits No. 56, 434,
444, and 448 for Private Club and No. 570 for Automobile Leasing/Renting to Planned Development-
Regional Commercial and to rescind Specific Use Permits No. 56, 434, 444, and 448 for Private Club.
Zoned Regional Commercial with Specific Use Permits No. 56, 434, 444, and 448 for Private Club and
No. 570 for Automobile Leasing/Renting and located within the Dallas North Tollway Overlay District.
Project #ZC2023-005.

I don’t think Stonebriar would have any effect on Willow Bend, as Willow Bend circa-2018 still had a great lineup in comparison. It’s hard to imagine a mall with a Sears and JCPenney taking business from the mall with a Saks and Neimans. Strong tenants from Willow Bend didn’t relocate to Stonebriar, they located to other upscale addresses (PGA District - Vineyard Vines, Legacy West - J. Crew, Aritzia and Louis Vuitton, Preston Park Shopping Center - Sephora and Talbots)…

[The_Overdog]

Strong tenants from Willow Bend didn’t relocate to Stonebriar, they located to other upscale addresses (PGA District - Vineyard Vines, Legacy West - J. Crew, Aritzia and Louis Vuitton, Preston Park Shopping Center - Sephora and Talbots)…

Maybe not, but not all those addresses are upscale (Preston Park had a closed Kroger, recently replaced by PetsSmart), and just because they were in the mall doesn't mean they were doing lots of sales- hence the move.

[Proquest20]

https://www.dallasnews.com/business/ret ... utType=amp

They keep on pushing things forward without making any short term changes…

[Proquest20]

Strong tenants from Willow Bend didn’t relocate to Stonebriar, they located to other upscale addresses (PGA District - Vineyard Vines, Legacy West - J. Crew, Aritzia and Louis Vuitton, Preston Park Shopping Center - Sephora and Talbots)…

Maybe not, but not all those addresses are upscale (Preston Park had a closed Kroger, recently replaced by PetsSmart), and just because they were in the mall doesn't mean they were doing lots of sales- hence the move.

True. Sephora and Talbots aren’t necessarily high end brands, you can find Sephora at basically any mall. Back in the day Talbots closed their Dallas stores at NorthPark and the Galleria and moved to Preston Royal, so they’re looking to move away from malls.

[Proquest20]

Was in the area so I stopped by… virtually nothing here shows that the mall is being cared for or will be redeveloped aside from the “office hours” space that the developers made to showcase the plans for the mall and hear feedback. The insides of some of the closed stores are very interesting. The Anthropologie must have been taken over by the childrens theatre to build sets in and the Vineyard Vines window now displays the history of Plano.

Z Gallerie’s liquidation sale is awesome though.

[Proquest20]

Also, no more Arepa Station or Viva’s Bakery. Both were owned by the same person.

They really should demolish the current food court, turn it into a Bloomingdales, and move the food court to the second floor above the district. That way if MBC and Knife ever open their walk up windows again, they’ll all be connected much better.

[Proquest20]

https://www.dallasnews.com/business/ret ... utType=amp

Journey’s, Johnston and Murphy, Express, and Foot Locker are all closing soon.

[IcedCowboyCoffee]

"Plano commission approves massive Willow Bend mall redevelopment" - DMN

“If we could have [included single-family housing], we would have. Unfortunately, the mall is out of time. I hate to say that,” Levin said. “I’m not sure that the Tollway is the right place for a single-family residence, but even if it was, you’d have to get the approval of the department stores that don’t want the space going to single-family homes.”

Willow Bend’s anchors Neiman Marcus and Macy’s are also at The Domain, and together with Dillard’s are on board with the redevelopment, Levin said. Attempts to buy out the department stores to control the entire project would take three, four, five years the property doesn’t have, he said.

- Dallas Morning News
https://www.dallasnews.com/business/retail/2024/01/17/plano-commission-approves-massive-willow-bend-mall-redevelopment/
Well thankfully a little common sense prevailed there. Putting 40 single-family units somewhere on this lot, which is what was requested by the commission, would have been a minuscule drop in the bucket compared to what Plano needs at this point.
The plan now has to go to the city council next month..

Article also mentions that the Crayola Experience and the movie theater may or may not be torn down, but nothing has been decided on that front.

[Proquest20]

Willow Bend is already surrounded by single family homes. They probably will tear down the movie theatre, they said they were going to find a different operator for it but they never did. A lot of things with this project has been developers saying they'll do stuff and it never happening, so we'll just have to see.

[Proquest20]

https://communityimpact.com/dallas-fort ... velopment/

Mid 2027 is crazy. Hopefully the south side of the mall is able to survive through this… I’m sure the last few retailers will probably leave by then. Is Dillard’s just going to be detached from the mall for a while when they tear down that side? Not liking the renaming of the property - it’s called The Shops at Willow Bend because it’s in the Willow Bend neighborhood of Plano Just drop The Shops.

I’m really wondering what retailers they’ll court that won’t open at Legacy, Preston Park or the Galleria since they’re keeping retail there. The Domain works because it’s the main shopping destination in that part of Austin. Likewise Watter Creek just has the Outlets to compete with but thrives because the shops there generally don’t have outlet stores and are ones people typically have to go south or west for.

[Kelley USA]

^^ And don't forget, they're adding about 500K sf of new retail / restaurant space at The Fields projects in Frisco.

[Proquest20]

^^ And don't forget, they're adding about 500K sf of new retail / restaurant space at The Fields projects in Frisco.

These mixed use developments are going to be the new malls.

[rono3849]

So the new name is The Bend. Rebranding is a good idea. Neiman-Marcus, Macy's, & Dillard's are staying put. A significant part of the indoor mall will be demolished, then replaced by high-rise residential towers and a hotel, giving the development an immediate community of customers. I can see a new, smaller movie theater built, along with new restaurants, services, & unique retail to serve the immediate area. This is the wave of the future in retail.

[Proquest20]

So the new name is The Bend. Rebranding is a good idea. Neiman-Marcus, Macy's, & Dillard's are staying put. A significant part of the indoor mall will be demolished, then replaced by high-rise residential towers and a hotel, giving the development an immediate community of customers. I can see a new, smaller movie theater built, along with new restaurants, services, & unique retail to serve the immediate area. This is the way of future in retail.

I’d like it… but that’s the exact same concept as Grandscape, Legacy West or Watters Creek. 2027 may be too late to keep any of the mall operating.

[tamtagon]

Municipal services should join the updated concept

[The_Overdog]

I’d like it… but that’s the exact same concept as Grandscape, Legacy West or Watters Creek. 2027 may be too late to keep any of the mall operating.

I don't get this comment. Yes, it's the same concept, but Legacy West, Grandscape, and Watters Creek are extremely different in execution, at least compared to malls or strip malls. IMO that's a giant plus. Even "The Hubs" that are literally across the street from each other in Allen and McKinney are different in execution and feel.

Retail in DFW hit new highs of occupied square footage in 2023, so building more is no surprise.

[IcedCowboyCoffee]

Being mixed-use guarantees these areas won't sink or swim on the winds of a single sector. If retail starts struggling that doesn't mean people won't need the adjacent housing. These areas are far more viable long-term than the basket of eggs our old indoor malls have historically been.

We're also already a polycentric metro area full of independent nodes. It's not out of the realm of possibility for this area to eventually become another one of those nodes as the population continues growing.

[rono3849]

The Bend will be interesting to follow as it evolves into it's new vision. There's a lot of empty retail inside the mall that will be demolished, which will give way to the residential & hotel components of the new development. I suspect some of the parking garages will also be demolished since they have obstructed views of the mall & its anchor stores to the detriment of gaining drive-by consumers. Frankly, this mall was poorly designed from the outset. It was very uninviting.

[Addison]

I tend to agree that some are bieing a bit too negative about Willow Bend's future.

1. It's located in one of the wealthiest parts of DFW. So from a demographic standpoint, the project should have no problem appealing to potential retailers.

2. Just 2 miles down the road, at Park & Preston, is arguably the most successful non-mall retail hub in the Metroplex. It has attracted a ton of "new-to-market" stores and restaurants in the past several years, with more in the pipeline.

3. Just the fact that Neiman Marcus alone will hang around should be a draw to potential retailers.

4. I can think of plenty of retailers / restaurants (including former tenants) with a presence in other parts of DFW that would be a good fit for this development, as they're currently lacking a presence in West Plano / NE Carrollton.

The problem with Shops at Willow Bend until now is the fact that it was trying to compete in a specific niche that is already grossly oversaturated along the Tollway corridor, that being a Super-regional Enclosed Shopping Mall. Converting it to more of a Live-Work-Play destination will hopefully give it a new wind.

[Proquest20]

I tend to agree that some are bieing a bit too negative about Willow Bend's future.

1. It's located in one of the wealthiest parts of DFW. So from a demographic standpoint, the project should have no problem appealing to potential retailers.

2. Just 2 miles down the road, at Park & Preston, is arguably the most successful non-mall retail hub in the Metroplex. It has attracted a ton of "new-to-market" stores and restaurants in the past several years, with more in the pipeline.

3. Just the fact that Neiman Marcus alone will hang around should be a draw to potential retailers.

4. I can think of plenty of retailers / restaurants (including former tenants) with a presence in other parts of DFW that would be a good fit for this development, as they're currently lacking a presence in West Plano / NE Carrollton.

The problem with Shops at Willow Bend until now is the fact that it was trying to compete in a specific niche that is already grossly oversaturated along the Tollway corridor, that being a Super-regional Enclosed Shopping Mall. Converting it to more of a Live-Work-Play destination will hopefully give it a new wind.

Nothing about the plans changes what will happen over the next 3 years, inevitably the south side of the mall will empty out by then and we will have wished they tore the whole thing down. The renaming is a bit of a bad idea, the mall is named after the Willow Bend neighborhood so it makes no sense to rename it to The Bend. Not sure which former tenants would come back to Willow Bend, it seems like most of them are doing amazing at Legacy West or Preston Park. Starbucks maybe could come back, maybe Lush could as well, but other than that there’s not many others I think would since they opened replacement locations. Sephora for example is a mall mainstay but they will probably never come back to Willow Bend there’s 4 other locations nearby.

But I’m sure if they can find a niche that none of these other centres fulfil they can be successful. I would like to know what types of retail will be apart of the development aside from the department stores.