Plano: Willow Bend Mall

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Proquest20
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Re: Plano: Willow Bend Mall

Postby Proquest20 » 18 Jun 2021 22:13

As expected, Louis Vuitton is now closed with their new Legacy West store being open. If losing Apple was a huge hit to the mall, this is definitely what’s going to kill it off for good.

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Re: Plano: Willow Bend Mall

Postby R1070 » 19 Jun 2021 11:17

I didn’t even know they still had a Louis store.

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Re: Plano: Willow Bend Mall

Postby Tucy » 19 Jun 2021 15:24

It was just a shop within the Neiman Marcus store, not a full LV store.

https://us.louisvuitton.com/eng-us/poin ... man-marcus

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Re: Plano: Willow Bend Mall

Postby Proquest20 » 27 Jun 2021 00:13

Also, the Chick-Fil-A in the food court seems to be gone. The Chick-Fil-A website describes it as a seasonal temporary closure.

Visited the mall a couple days ago around 7:30 PM-ish, and the majority of the stores were already closed, despite the mall expanding their hours to 9:00 PM. There was a light amount of people in the mall at that time, yet still more than I was expecting to see.

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Re: Plano: Willow Bend Mall

Postby Proquest20 » 12 Jul 2021 00:31

Just wanted to say that I visited once again on a Friday afternoon, and from my observation, certain areas of the mall, especially the Neiman's court, were actually quite busy. In comparison, Dillard's court was very much dead, but could probably be revived if the mall could manage to get a new tenant (Zara) into the former Forever 21 space. With the closing of Chick-Fil-A which was previously mentioned, there was barely anyone in the food court, aside from a long line for the boba tea place. I had the idea that maybe a Primark could take the space that was meant to be the movie theatre, as it would be first-to-market, and I imagine it would be very popular. Some of the busiest stores I saw were the Crayola store, Neiman-Marcus, Vineyard Vines, and American Eagle. I don't think the mall is quite dead yet--just mismanaged, but maybe to a point to where it'll be difficult to restore, especially if customers choose to no longer return due to the mismanagement of the mall. It needs to be bought up fast. I'm not sure if I remember the former A'gaci being covered up last time I was at the mall, but it was when I went there this time, so maybe there's hope that a tenant will take it up. I'm hoping for a Uniqlo. If maybe B8TA could take up the old Apple store, the mall would be in good shape again.

Perhaps the most interesting thing I saw was at the Ascension Annex store. It's been listed as temporarily closed on the mall website, yet the website for Ascension does not show the store at all. When I looked at it, I saw bottles of tea in one of the refrigerators, though, but there was nothing else in there. Hopefully they can bring back Starbucks to replace Ascension, since the only places in the entire mall to get a cup of coffee are the Neiman Marcus cafe, which has been temporarily closed for the longest time, and the boba tea shop in the food court. Meanwhile, NorthPark has almost too many coffee shops, from Nespresso to two locations of Starbucks, to the new coffee shop opened at Eataly, to the Nordstrom cafe...and I'm probably forgetting some, lol. At least they've all been busy every time I've gone.

Additionally, throughout the mall there were signs with a QR code on them telling people that stores within the mall were hiring. On Facebook, the mall said that some stores were struggling to hire enough people to work all their hours, which is why many stores close earlier than the mall does. I looked on that website out of curiosity, though, and while I did not see any listings for temporarily-closed stores such as Bootyqueen, I did see that a good 15 stores listed their jobs on there. I wonder if they could potentially hold some sort of job fair rather than putting out the QR code, especially since most of the jobs I saw on there required one to go into the store in-person to pick up an application.

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Re: Plano: Willow Bend Mall

Postby Addison » 12 Jul 2021 07:47

Proquest20 wrote:Just wanted to say that I visited once again on a Friday afternoon, and from my observation, certain areas of the mall, especially the Neiman's court, were actually quite busy. In comparison, Dillard's court was very much dead, but could probably be revived if the mall could manage to get a new tenant (Zara) into the former Forever 21 space. With the closing of Chick-Fil-A which was previously mentioned, there was barely anyone in the food court, aside from a long line for the boba tea place. I had the idea that maybe a Primark could take the space that was meant to be the movie theatre, as it would be first-to-market, and I imagine it would be very popular. Some of the busiest stores I saw were the Crayola store, Neiman-Marcus, Vineyard Vines, and American Eagle. I don't think the mall is quite dead yet--just mismanaged, but maybe to a point to where it'll be difficult to restore, especially if customers choose to no longer return due to the mismanagement of the mall. It needs to be bought up fast. I'm not sure if I remember the former A'gaci being covered up last time I was at the mall, but it was when I went there this time, so maybe there's hope that a tenant will take it up. I'm hoping for a Uniqlo. If maybe B8TA could take up the old Apple store, the mall would be in good shape again.

Perhaps the most interesting thing I saw was at the Ascension Annex store. It's been listed as temporarily closed on the mall website, yet the website for Ascension does not show the store at all. When I looked at it, I saw bottles of tea in one of the refrigerators, though, but there was nothing else in there. Hopefully they can bring back Starbucks to replace Ascension, since the only places in the entire mall to get a cup of coffee are the Neiman Marcus cafe, which has been temporarily closed for the longest time, and the boba tea shop in the food court. Meanwhile, NorthPark has almost too many coffee shops, from Nespresso to two locations of Starbucks, to the new coffee shop opened at Eataly, to the Nordstrom cafe...and I'm probably forgetting some, lol. At least they've all been busy every time I've gone.

Additionally, throughout the mall there were signs with a QR code on them telling people that stores within the mall were hiring. On Facebook, the mall said that some stores were struggling to hire enough people to work all their hours, which is why many stores close earlier than the mall does. I looked on that website out of curiosity, though, and while I did not see any listings for temporarily-closed stores such as Bootyqueen, I did see that a good 15 stores listed their jobs on there. I wonder if they could potentially hold some sort of job fair rather than putting out the QR code, especially since most of the jobs I saw on there required one to go into the store in-person to pick up an application.


The problem with Willow Bend is redundancy with nearby malls. Mamagement can't do anything to fix that.

For example, there's already a Zara store just a few mile south in the Galleria. Also, there's a Dillard's just a few miles north at Stonebriar.

I just don't think the population density is there along the DNT corridor to support 3 malls (never mind Legacy West). In fact, I'm a little concerned about Galleria now that all of its luxury boutiques have opened redundant stores at Legacy West, catering to the West Plano / Frisco customer base.

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Re: Plano: Willow Bend Mall

Postby undefinedprocess » 12 Jul 2021 09:30

All of this is stuff management/owners have to be aware of... So are they maybe waiting until things crash and burn here to declare bankruptcy or something..? That's the only reason I can think of for them letting it "hold on" for this long.
If it were me, I'd have figured out how to get funding and start on a mixed-use redo for this thing. Go mixed-use with some residential towers (obviously it's more complicated than that) and target a different niche than Legacy West. Throw some luxury in there, sure, do what you need to do for the "flashiness," but think about it. Crayola Experience Center in there and that's possibly one of the largest draws to Willow Bend now. Kids & families love it, so cool, keep that. Add a few more spots like that, and develop with a strategy to, above anything else, maintain a steady population in the development so it's not just a weekend destination.

If that was unintelligible, sorry, haven't had coffee yet.

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Re: Plano: Willow Bend Mall

Postby Proquest20 » 12 Jul 2021 12:03

So I mentioned Zara since two locations in the whole metro area is pretty few in comparison to similarly-sized metro areas, and every single one I’ve been to is jammed-packed. During the pandemic, the Galleria store would regularly have lines that reached from the one entrance that was open all the way down to Johnston and Murphy. For perspective, there’s more locations of Tiffany & Co. (4) in the metro area than Zara (2). The restaurants and the Crayola thing are good draws, but once someone enters the mall, it’s definitely disappointing. I mentioned that the crowds when I were there were decent, especially if we could get rid of “dead areas” that have no real draw there anymore. Maybe it would be redundant, but with the type of crowds they bring, along with there not being many locations in the metro area, I think it would be a good fit. Aside from Zara, I would hope that most of the stores are new to market, and ones that may not fit at Legacy West or elsewhere in Plano, which is why I mention Uniqlo and Primark. Maybe even Miniso would be a great fit, especially if they could put it by the Crayola store in the space in front of CPK, since that area CANNOT be dead due to the fact many people go to the mall specifically for Crayola, and therefore, that area needs to impress people enough to go into the rest of the mall. I also think Miniso’s offerings compliment those of the Crayola store.

I see your concern with the Galleria, though. It does very well as a mid-range mall, however, back when NorthPark initially expanded, most of the higher-end boutiques relocated there. When Gucci opened at NorthPark, the Galleria one was supposed to close, but that never ended up happening. That being said, the luxury stores that are left have been busy when I’ve visited, but with Legacy West and even the Shops at Clearfork adding luxury boutiques, and NorthPark expanding some of theirs (turning the LV into a Global Store), it’s pretty uncertain what the future may hold. I doubt it’ll go anywhere, but it may not ever become the upscale mall it once was, especially after Coach left a few years ago, and Unode50 relocating to NorthPark soon.

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Re: Plano: Willow Bend Mall

Postby acclar11 » 13 Jul 2021 19:33

Proquest20 wrote:So I mentioned Zara since two locations in the whole metro area is pretty few in comparison to similarly-sized metro areas, and every single one I’ve been to is jammed-packed. During the pandemic, the Galleria store would regularly have lines that reached from the one entrance that was open all the way down to Johnston and Murphy. For perspective, there’s more locations of Tiffany & Co. (4) in the metro area than Zara (2). The restaurants and the Crayola thing are good draws, but once someone enters the mall, it’s definitely disappointing. I mentioned that the crowds when I were there were decent, especially if we could get rid of “dead areas” that have no real draw there anymore. Maybe it would be redundant, but with the type of crowds they bring, along with there not being many locations in the metro area, I think it would be a good fit. Aside from Zara, I would hope that most of the stores are new to market, and ones that may not fit at Legacy West or elsewhere in Plano, which is why I mention Uniqlo and Primark. Maybe even Miniso would be a great fit, especially if they could put it by the Crayola store in the space in front of CPK, since that area CANNOT be dead due to the fact many people go to the mall specifically for Crayola, and therefore, that area needs to impress people enough to go into the rest of the mall. I also think Miniso’s offerings compliment those of the Crayola store.

I see your concern with the Galleria, though. It does very well as a mid-range mall, however, back when NorthPark initially expanded, most of the higher-end boutiques relocated there. When Gucci opened at NorthPark, the Galleria one was supposed to close, but that never ended up happening. That being said, the luxury stores that are left have been busy when I’ve visited, but with Legacy West and even the Shops at Clearfork adding luxury boutiques, and NorthPark expanding some of theirs (turning the LV into a Global Store), it’s pretty uncertain what the future may hold. I doubt it’ll go anywhere, but it may not ever become the upscale mall it once was, especially after Coach left a few years ago, and Unode50 relocating to NorthPark soon.


I really wish the Galleria remained a premier luxury mall. The mall itself now looks horrible. Not only are all the former luxury stores are covered by wallboard, the mall's exterior is extremely tacky with the vacant Pottery Barn, Belk, and Grill on The Alley spaces all still sitting there.

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Re: Plano: Willow Bend Mall

Postby Proquest20 » 14 Jul 2021 00:20

It’s unfortunate that it’ll never be what it once was, although I doubt it’ll ever go anywhere, considering that NorthPark’s been going very upscale recently by replacing most of their remaining mid-range stores, leaving the Galleria to cater to a mid-range clientele within proper Dallas, except for maybe Park Lane. A few years ago, Williams-Sonoma left the Galleria due to high rent prices, so I wasn’t surprised about what happened to Pottery Barn. I’m sure that the Belk will be used in the redevelopment because the surrounding section is almost entirely vacated. Still, it remains a much more pleasant mall to shop at in comparison to other mid-range malls in the area, and I think the interior looks quite nice. There have been times in the past where I’ve gone to the Galleria and saw it to be very uncrowded, similar to Willow Bend at times, but it’s a madhouse during the holiday season, which I’m sure is when most business there happens, and since Apple opened it’s seemed to be given even more crowds than what I mentioned. The hotel and office towers probably give it enough reason to still remain successful, as well. I think the whole concept of having a “luxury level” has been over ever since NorthPark’s expansion in the past, and now with the renovations at HPV, the new luxury stores at Legacy West and Clearfork, the “luxury level” now has stores like POP! by Snowday (which looks fun), GO! Games and Toys, Toni & Guy, Victoria’s Secret, and others that many would not necessarily call “luxury” stores. When COACH closed that location, that was when I realised something was up, especially since they still have a location at Stonebriar, which I thought they would’ve closed when they opened at Legacy West. The Stonebriar location has always been empty every time I have gone by it, and with Coach being carried in some of the department stores there and having a nearby location, it seems almost useless to have one there.

I know this will NEVER happen, but I would love if, maybe, the NorthPark Macy’s could be converted into a Bloomingdales.

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Re: Plano: Willow Bend Mall

Postby Tucy » 14 Jul 2021 08:54

acclar11 wrote:
Proquest20 wrote:So I mentioned Zara since two locations in the whole metro area is pretty few in comparison to similarly-sized metro areas, and every single one I’ve been to is jammed-packed. During the pandemic, the Galleria store would regularly have lines that reached from the one entrance that was open all the way down to Johnston and Murphy. For perspective, there’s more locations of Tiffany & Co. (4) in the metro area than Zara (2). The restaurants and the Crayola thing are good draws, but once someone enters the mall, it’s definitely disappointing. I mentioned that the crowds when I were there were decent, especially if we could get rid of “dead areas” that have no real draw there anymore. Maybe it would be redundant, but with the type of crowds they bring, along with there not being many locations in the metro area, I think it would be a good fit. Aside from Zara, I would hope that most of the stores are new to market, and ones that may not fit at Legacy West or elsewhere in Plano, which is why I mention Uniqlo and Primark. Maybe even Miniso would be a great fit, especially if they could put it by the Crayola store in the space in front of CPK, since that area CANNOT be dead due to the fact many people go to the mall specifically for Crayola, and therefore, that area needs to impress people enough to go into the rest of the mall. I also think Miniso’s offerings compliment those of the Crayola store.

I see your concern with the Galleria, though. It does very well as a mid-range mall, however, back when NorthPark initially expanded, most of the higher-end boutiques relocated there. When Gucci opened at NorthPark, the Galleria one was supposed to close, but that never ended up happening. That being said, the luxury stores that are left have been busy when I’ve visited, but with Legacy West and even the Shops at Clearfork adding luxury boutiques, and NorthPark expanding some of theirs (turning the LV into a Global Store), it’s pretty uncertain what the future may hold. I doubt it’ll go anywhere, but it may not ever become the upscale mall it once was, especially after Coach left a few years ago, and Unode50 relocating to NorthPark soon.


I really wish the Galleria remained a premier luxury mall. The mall itself now looks horrible. Not only are all the former luxury stores are covered by wallboard, the mall's exterior is extremely tacky with the vacant Pottery Barn, Belk, and Grill on The Alley spaces all still sitting there.


Yeah, I'd be surprised if Tiffany, Louis Vuitton or Gucci are still in the Galleria in five years. I suspect each of them is staying until their current lease expires.

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Re: Plano: Willow Bend Mall

Postby Proquest20 » 14 Jul 2021 19:31

According to press releases, all of those brands said that they had no plans to close any of their locations with the openings of their Legacy West locations, aside from Louis Vuitton’s location in Willow Bend. Maybe that just meant that they wouldn’t close immediately, in which they’re waiting for their leases to expire. Makes sense considering Gucci was originally supposed to close at the Galleria years ago.

Here’s the article from 2010, in which it states that Gucci’s NorthPark store was intended to be their only store in the Dallas market: https://www.dallasnews.com/business/201 ... utType=amp

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Re: Plano: Willow Bend Mall

Postby acclar11 » 14 Jul 2021 20:26

Proquest20 wrote:According to press releases, all of those brands said that they had no plans to close any of their locations with the openings of their Legacy West locations, aside from Louis Vuitton’s location in Willow Bend. Maybe that just meant that they wouldn’t close immediately, in which they’re waiting for their leases to expire. Makes sense considering Gucci was originally supposed to close at the Galleria years ago.

Here’s the article from 2010, in which it states that Gucci’s NorthPark store was intended to be their only store in the Dallas market: https://www.dallasnews.com/business/201 ... utType=amp

Galleria lost Hugo Boss (To Willow Bend in 2001), Cartier (To Northpark in 2007), and Versace (Also to Northpark, but in 2009). They also had a Céline store for 3 or 4 years, and ALMOST had a Fendi store. Since 2016 the high-end stores lost have been:
Coach
Marmi
Bebe
Bachrach
Dooney & Bourke
BCBGeneration
BCBGMaxazria
Tous
Uno De 50
Le Creuset
Tourneau
Karen Millen
The Art Of Shaving
Ann Taylor
St. Croix
J. Crew
Talbots
Mistura Timepieces

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Re: Plano: Willow Bend Mall

Postby Proquest20 » 15 Jul 2021 00:41

I remember some of these stores, and I do not believe that most of their spaces have been filled, aside from Marmi and Coach, which were combined to make room for Apple. Talbots is an interesting story. They closed the NorthPark location as well as the Galleria one at the same time, and yet, Willow Bend still has a Talbots. It was empty when I was last at Willow Bend, so I wonder how they hold on. With that many stores vacating the Galleria, though, it's only a matter of time until Louis Vuitton, Tiffany, and Gucci do. I'm actually kind of glad most of the luxury stores in the Galleria decided to move to NorthPark and HPV, because for a while there, all of the luxury stores in the metro area were split among the three shopping centers, but now they're typically concentrated between NorthPark and HPV, which are rather close to each other in distance.

If they leave the Galleria, part of me really wants them to maybe find space downtown, near Neiman Marcus and Forty Five Ten. I know, it's highly unlikely, but it would start to turn Downtown Dallas into a neat, upscale shopping district, appealing to the guests at the nearby luxury hotels, such as the Joule and the Statler.

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Re: Plano: Willow Bend Mall

Postby acclar11 » 03 Aug 2021 09:24

20 years ago, today, The Shops At Willow Bend opened. I hope management knows it won't be around for 20 more.

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Re: Plano: Willow Bend Mall

Postby Proquest20 » 08 Aug 2021 15:09

Will be surprised if it’s still standing in 5 more, Crayola should move to Grapevine Mills.

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Re: Plano: Willow Bend Mall

Postby Addison » 08 Aug 2021 18:19

Proquest20 wrote:Will be surprised if it’s still standing in 5 more, Crayola should move to Grapevine Mills.


I see no reason why Crayola can't thrive in that location post-Willow Bend.

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Re: Plano: Willow Bend Mall

Postby exelone31 » 09 Aug 2021 09:26

Yeah I feel like Crayola would easily get lost in the shuffle at Grapevine Mills. At least at Willow Bend, it's pretty much the only thing of its kind for some distance.

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Re: Plano: Willow Bend Mall

Postby Proquest20 » 09 Aug 2021 17:50

I wonder how the Willow Bend location performs in comparison to their other locations. Last time I was at the mall, the gift shop section was completely empty, but I didn't go into the actual attraction itself. That whole section of the mall is completely dead, however, so it didn't surprise me, especially considering it was the most crowded store in the whole mall a couple of weeks prior. It is very strange to me that the only entrance to the Crayola Experience is inside the mall, and that makes me question what will happen if the indoor mall section were to be torn down. At least Crate and Barrel and Equinox can stand on their own, along with the district, but I'm sure with a little bit of extra construction they could make Crayola work.
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Re: Plano: Willow Bend Mall

Postby Urbancowboy » 09 Aug 2021 17:52

Willow Bend mall is a great mall but will probably be closing in the next few years

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Re: Plano: Willow Bend Mall

Postby Proquest20 » 09 Aug 2021 17:59

Urbancowboy wrote:Willow Bend mall is a great mall but will probably be closing in the next few years

It's upsetting to think about. Stonebriar feels like a giant Walmart, especially with its dated architecture and teenage clientele. Willow Bend's architecture and clientele is far superior, so it's sad to watch it fail in comparison to Stonebriar.

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Re: Plano: Willow Bend Mall

Postby cowboyeagle05 » 09 Aug 2021 18:00

It came at the wrong time at the end of the mall period in American consumerism. Sell it to Amazon as a distribution center ;)
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Re: Plano: Willow Bend Mall

Postby Addison » 10 Aug 2021 02:48

Proquest20 wrote:I wonder how the Willow Bend location performs in comparison to their other locations. Last time I was at the mall, the gift shop section was completely empty, but I didn't go into the actual attraction itself. That whole section of the mall is completely dead, however, so it didn't surprise me, especially considering it was the most crowded store in the whole mall a couple of weeks prior. It is very strange to me that the only entrance to the Crayola Experience is inside the mall, and that makes me question what will happen if the indoor mall section were to be torn down. At least Crate and Barrel and Equinox can stand on their own, along with the district, but I'm sure with a little bit of extra construction they could make Crayola work.


Part of Crayola's issue is poor visibility.

Aside from the tiniest sign ever they expect you to see driving by at 80 MPH on the DNT, there's no way anyone would know it's there if they didn't actively visit the mall, especially since it's hidden away from the main thoroughfares.

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Re: Plano: Willow Bend Mall

Postby Proquest20 » 10 Aug 2021 17:54

Another reason as to why I’d expect it to not thrive in the location it’s in. I’ve seen advertisements for it online and along the highways of other cities, but it’s very hidden, and with there being little foot traffic within the mall, it’s very expected that not many people would see it from going there. At least many people who have been to the Grapevine Mills can say they’ve walked by attractions like Legoland or Round 1, even if they’re not positioned towards the highway. I even expect a place like Uptown Dallas to be a better location, like even though the suburbs have the stereotype of being more family-friendly, the Victory Park area is super family friendly as well with its proximity to the Aquarium, the Perot Museum, and the DMA, among other attractions.

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Re: Plano: Willow Bend Mall

Postby The_Overdog » 11 Aug 2021 09:12

I have kids just out of age for Crayola, and they don't offer much in the way of single day discount tickets yet, so I assume they are doing fine. I don't think they rely on foot traffic too much, since the 'max enjoyment age range' is pretty young - they probably do more targeted advertising of moms and parents.

Also if they did have to move out of the mall, it's really not anything that couldn't be moved into literally any empty big box store in about a few weeks. It's mostly some tech and some tables.

Kidzania is right up the road in Stonebriar, so it does have nearby competition.

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Re: Plano: Willow Bend Mall

Postby Proquest20 » 11 Aug 2021 15:37

I've probably mentioned this earlier, but it's too bad that the whole corner where Crayola and Macy's are is completely dead. If those places bring people to the mall, but they see that the mall itself is dead, they probably don't feel inclined at all to go anywhere else in the mall. At least Neiman's court looks appealing.

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Re: Plano: Willow Bend Mall

Postby acclar11 » 01 Sep 2021 20:18

Ann Taylor is now gone.

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Re: Plano: Willow Bend Mall

Postby Proquest20 » 06 Sep 2021 14:55

Ann Taylor has been gone for several months now. The Dallas Galleria location also closed around the same time as the Willow Bend one.

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Re: Plano: Willow Bend Mall

Postby Addison » 06 Sep 2021 17:37

Proquest20 wrote:Ann Taylor has been gone for several months now. The Dallas Galleria location also closed around the same time as the Willow Bend one.


Ann Taylor, Talbots and Pottery Barn all relocated to Park & Preston.

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Re: Plano: Willow Bend Mall

Postby Proquest20 » 07 Sep 2021 22:21

Apparently the property was just recently bought by some company out of New York.

https://www.dallasnews.com/business/ret ... new-owner/

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Re: Plano: Willow Bend Mall

Postby R1070 » 07 Sep 2021 22:26

Interesting…hopefully we see some positive changes.

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Re: Plano: Willow Bend Mall

Postby acclar11 » 08 Sep 2021 11:25

Addison wrote:
Proquest20 wrote:Ann Taylor has been gone for several months now. The Dallas Galleria location also closed around the same time as the Willow Bend one.


Ann Taylor, Talbots and Pottery Barn all relocated to Park & Preston.

Pottery Barn is new. I think Ann Taylor and Talbots have been there for several years.

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Re: Plano: Willow Bend Mall

Postby Proquest20 » 14 Sep 2021 16:36

Willow Bend’s website has been updated, with a new color scheme and to represent that the mall is now managed and leased by Spinoso.

It’s even more of an eyesore than the old website, but who knows… maybe they can fix what I thought was too broken to be fixed.

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Re: Plano: Willow Bend Mall

Postby Addison » 14 Sep 2021 20:09

Proquest20 wrote:Willow Bend’s website has been updated, with a new color scheme and to represent that the mall is now managed and leased by Spinoso.

It’s even more of an eyesore than the old website, but who knows… maybe they can fix what I thought was too broken to be fixed.


This company doesn't have the greatest history with malls. I wouldn't hold my breath.

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Re: Plano: Willow Bend Mall

Postby Proquest20 » 14 Sep 2021 23:04

Addison wrote:
Proquest20 wrote:Willow Bend’s website has been updated, with a new color scheme and to represent that the mall is now managed and leased by Spinoso.

It’s even more of an eyesore than the old website, but who knows… maybe they can fix what I thought was too broken to be fixed.


This company doesn't have the greatest history with malls. I wouldn't hold my breath.


Exactly. They changed the website and that was already a step in the wrong direction.

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Proquest20
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Re: Plano: Willow Bend Mall

Postby Proquest20 » 15 Sep 2021 12:40

https://www.dmagazine.com/arts-entertai ... ef=feat-hp

I can see this being kind of a big deal, even if it’s just a temporary exhibit, in the way that it sounds like something that could be pretty popular and draw people in, even just for a few months

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THRILLHO
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Re: Plano: Willow Bend Mall

Postby THRILLHO » 15 Sep 2021 12:48

Come on, when will I get my Seinfeld Experience :P

I'll say this though, that Jurassic World exhibition is what got me to check out Grandscape for the first time, so there's something to be said about temporary stuff like this.

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Proquest20
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Re: Plano: Willow Bend Mall

Postby Proquest20 » 18 Sep 2021 14:25

THRILLHO wrote:Come on, when will I get my Seinfeld Experience :P

I'll say this though, that Jurassic World exhibition is what got me to check out Grandscape for the first time, so there's something to be said about temporary stuff like this.


The question at that point is… will people come back afterwards? People who check out Grandscape may return to check out the arcades and bars that have been built there, but Willow Bend? Maybe the District will be the only thing that impresses them enough to return.

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Proquest20
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Re: Plano: Willow Bend Mall

Postby Proquest20 » 18 Sep 2021 18:37

Talbots is now closed. Today, the mall didn’t seem to dead, with good crowds in certain areas.

An idea I had: combine Ann Taylor, Talbots, and the empty space next to them that I can’t remember, along with the old Hollister and the space next to it, and build a Zara.

I say Zara as an example, and I personally would love a Zara closer to me, but there’s plenty of other possibilities, like Primark.

I also think Starbucks needs to come back to the Ascension place. They finally removed the signage.

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Proquest20
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Re: Plano: Willow Bend Mall

Postby Proquest20 » 18 Sep 2021 23:41

District restaurants were very busy tonight too! Makes me wonder what’s stopping the rest of the spaces in the District from getting leased. No word on Ohashi and I think that at one point Grimaldi’s was supposed to open there too?

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acclar11
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Re: Plano: Willow Bend Mall

Postby acclar11 » 14 Oct 2021 17:09

https://communityimpact.com/dallas-fort ... ar-centre/

Looks like Anthropologie is planning to open at Stonebriar. Don't expect for the WB store to be open much longer.

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Proquest20
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Re: Plano: Willow Bend Mall

Postby Proquest20 » 16 Oct 2021 01:11

Originally, Anthropologie was supposed to open at the Wade Park development, which obviously ended up not happening, so I wouldn't be surprised if the Stonebriar store is meant to fill in for that one. Still wouldn't be surprised if they close the Willow Bend store though. Back in the Starwood days of Willow Bend, that space above the District was actually proposed to be a flagship Anthropologie store, according to this lease plan, but obviously that didn't, and won't, happen. Most of the proposed changes didn't come to life, the district still sits mostly vacant, the office tower and hotel were never built, the cinema didn't open, and nothing ever happened to fill in for them.
https://starwoodretail.com/files/willow ... 518_01.pdf
I do find Stonebriar to be a very odd fit for Anthropologie though, they would definitely fit in better at the Shops at Legacy, where their sister store is located. It's too "mature" for the Stonebriar crowd.

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Proquest20
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Re: Plano: Willow Bend Mall

Postby Proquest20 » 16 Oct 2021 01:22

A huge red flag about new management is that their website for Willow Bend was finally updated, and it still displays Louis Vuitton and Cinepolis as notable stores. Even the site plan as of September 29, 2021 still displays Cinepolis. If they don't even know what stores their mall has, I can only expect the worst from them.

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Re: Plano: Willow Bend Mall

Postby Proquest20 » 23 Mar 2022 18:02

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

Getting huge Music City vibes from this, none of these stores that they’re adding are notable at all and with Victoria’s Secret, American Eagle, and all of the other closures, Willow Bend’s essentially becoming a flea market.

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IcedCowboyCoffee
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Re: Plano: Willow Bend Mall

Postby IcedCowboyCoffee » 24 Mar 2022 12:26

I got huge Music City Mall vibes on the inside. Visited just last weekend for the first time in years and it, uhh, wasn't great. Soo few stores and soo few people. Only about 3 or 4 places left in that food court.

The huge cinepolis building has only become more absurd looking.

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R1070
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Re: Plano: Willow Bend Mall

Postby R1070 » 24 Mar 2022 21:21

Tear the mall down and make it an outdoor mixed use development. Such a waste of a great location.

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undefinedprocess
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Re: Plano: Willow Bend Mall

Postby undefinedprocess » 26 Mar 2022 08:00

R1070 wrote:Tear the mall down and make it an outdoor mixed use development. Such a waste of a great location.

Lol been saying the same thing for years. Stonebriar and the Galleria are too big of a force to compete with. Pretty sure they’re part of the reason that Lesso mall up in Frisco near DNT & 380 never moved forward. Turning it into an outdoor mixed-use project seemed viable a couple years ago, but now that Plano has new leadership (even more NIMBY throughout than before) and Plano Tomorrow was ripped into pieces, I’m not sure how plausible it is. Any developer looking to do such a thing would have a little war on their hands, especially considering Willow Bend-adjacent neighborhoods have moooneeey.

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Addison
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Re: Plano: Willow Bend Mall

Postby Addison » 26 Mar 2022 08:58

undefinedprocess wrote:
R1070 wrote:Tear the mall down and make it an outdoor mixed use development. Such a waste of a great location.

Lol been saying the same thing for years. Stonebriar and the Galleria are too big of a force to compete with. Pretty sure they’re part of the reason that Lesso mall up in Frisco near DNT & 380 never moved forward. Turning it into an outdoor mixed-use project seemed viable a couple years ago, but now that Plano has new leadership (even more NIMBY throughout than before) and Plano Tomorrow was ripped into pieces, I’m not sure how plausible it is. Any developer looking to do such a thing would have a little war on their hands, especially considering Willow Bend-adjacent neighborhoods have moooneeey.


If given the option between having a rotting husk of a mall adjacent to their McMansions that will bring down their property values (no one wants to live/drive by
a huge abandoned building every day, such as what the NIMBYs adjacent to Valley View are dealing with) or a Mixed-Use development, I think they'll settle for the Mixed-Use development.

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potatocoins
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Re: Plano: Willow Bend Mall

Postby potatocoins » 26 Mar 2022 21:02

Addison wrote:
undefinedprocess wrote:
R1070 wrote:Tear the mall down and make it an outdoor mixed use development. Such a waste of a great location.

Lol been saying the same thing for years. Stonebriar and the Galleria are too big of a force to compete with. Pretty sure they’re part of the reason that Lesso mall up in Frisco near DNT & 380 never moved forward. Turning it into an outdoor mixed-use project seemed viable a couple years ago, but now that Plano has new leadership (even more NIMBY throughout than before) and Plano Tomorrow was ripped into pieces, I’m not sure how plausible it is. Any developer looking to do such a thing would have a little war on their hands, especially considering Willow Bend-adjacent neighborhoods have moooneeey.


If given the option between having a rotting husk of a mall adjacent to their McMansions that will bring down their property values (no one wants to live/drive by
a huge abandoned building every day, such as what the NIMBYs adjacent to Valley View are dealing with) or a Mixed-Use development, I think they'll settle for the Mixed-Use development.


You would think so, but I feel like people who fight against development always come up with a reason to scare people into stopping a development from happening. This would also seem like a no-brainer for me, but who knows how people in the surrounding area see it.

I would hope that Plano has enough pockets of density and walkability that they would not fight against something like that any more. Especially if the Collin Creek mall ends up being a success (which I imagine it will be).

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tamtagon
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Re: Plano: Willow Bend Mall

Postby tamtagon » 26 Mar 2022 21:15

Maybe willow bend will hang in long enough to experience the return to favor of air conditioned shopping malls.