Ridgedale Center, colloquially known as Ridgedale, is an enclosed

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refe ...

Minnetonka, Minnesota Minnetonka ( ) is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. A western suburb of the Twin Cities, Minnetonka is located about west of downtown Minneapolis. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 53,781. Minnetonka is th ...

, a western suburb of the

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in sta ...

. It is directly located off I-394/

US 12 U.S. Route 12 (US 12) is an east–west United States highway, running from Aberdeen, Washington, to Detroit, Michigan, for almost . The highway has mostly been superseded by Interstate 90 (I-90) and I-94, but unlike most U.S. routes that ...

between Ridgedale Drive and Plymouth Road ( Hennepin CSAH 61). Ridgedale Center comprises of leaseable retail space, and contains approximately 140 retail tenants. It is currently jointly owned by Brookfield Properties and

CBRE Group CBRE Group, Inc. is an American commercial real estate services and investment firm. The abbreviation CBRE stands for Coldwell Banker Richard Ellis. It is the world's largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (based on 2021 reven ...

, and managed by Brookfield. The anchor stores are

JCPenney Penney OpCo LLC, doing business as JCPenney and often abbreviated JCP, is a midscale American department store chain operating 667 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Departments inside JCPenney stores include Mens, Womens, Boys, Gir ...

Nordstrom Nordstrom, Inc. () is an American luxury department store chain headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and founded by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin in 1901. The original Wallin & Nordstrom store operated exclusively as a shoe store, a ...

Macy's Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...

, and Dick's House of Sport. Built in 1974, it was originally anchored by

Dayton's Dayton's was an American department store chain founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1902 by George Draper Dayton. It operated several local high end department stores throughout Minnesota and the Upper Midwest for almost 100 years. Although it ...

, Donaldson's, JCPenney, and

Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began a ...

, before the first two anchors merged with other companies. The mall has undergone several expansions and renovations throughout the years, including the recent addition of a Nordstrom department store in 2015. Considered an "upscale shopping center", Ridgedale includes various luxury brands such as

Coach New York Coach New York, commonly known as Coach, is an American fashion house specializing in leather handbags, luggage, and accessories, as well as ready-to-wear. Coach licenses its name and branding to Luxottica for eyewear and Paris-based Interparfu ...

, Swarovski, and

TUMI Tumi ( ''Quechua'' for 'Knife', ''variants'': 'Tome', 'Tume'), is a generic term encompassing the many kinds of sharp tools utilized in pre- and post-colonial eras of the Central Andes region, Tumis were employed for a diverse set of purposes s ...

History

1974–86: Grand opening

Announced in 1972, Ridgedale Center was constructed on 81.3 acres of land owned by the Dayton-Hudson Corporation dating back to 1964. Opening in 1974, after two preliminary name changes from "Oakdale" to "Twelve Oaks" to, finally, Ridgedale, it became the

' fourth 'Dale' shopping center, following Southdale, Brookdale, and Rosedale. Construction of the shopping center began in 1972, amidst complaints from environmental groups. The original center comprised of retail space, and was anchored by

, Donaldson's,

, and

, the former of which also developed the center.

1987–2006: Dayton's, Marshall Field's, and Macy's

In 1987, Donaldson's announced the merger with

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

-based department store chain

Carson Pirie Scott Carson Pirie Scott & Co. (also known as Carson's) is an American department store that was founded in 1854, which grew to over 50 locations, primarily in the Midwestern United States. Sold to the holding company of Bon-Ton in 2006, but still op ...

. The Donaldson's store was converted to Carson Pirie Scott. Carson Pirie Scott store would also eventually leave Ridgedale Center in 1995. Dayton's announced plans in the early 1990s to tear down their current location at Ridgedale, and replace it with a much larger location in the same mall; these plans were also made at the other 'dale' centers, like Southdale and Rosedale. However, these plans were eventually scrapped and never occurred. In 1996, Dayton's opened up a second anchor store in the former Carson's location. This second store was seen as a direct move from Dayton's to keep

out of Ridgedale. The new store focused on men's clothing and furniture, while the original location changed focus and became centered on women's and children's clothing; the two stores were differentiated by their new titles, "Men's & Home Store" and "Women's and Children's Store". Mervyn's, a California-based department store, announced interest in the former building, but never opened, despite opening locations at former Carson's locations at Brookdale Center, Eden Prairie Center, and Rosedale Center. In 2001, Dayton's merged with Chicago-based

Marshall Field's Marshall Field & Company (commonly known as Marshall Field's) was an upscale department store in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in the 19th century, it grew to become a large chain before Macy's, Inc acquired it in 2005. Its eponymous founder, Mar ...

, which merged with

in 2006.

2007–present: Renovations and Nordstrom opens, Sears closes

In early 2007, Ridgedale underwent a multimillion-dollar renovation to "freshen and brighten" the mall, with the use of "all-new lighting, flooring, and paint." The renovation also included the addition of new restrooms and seating areas. Completion of the renovation process occurred later that same year. The center was also briefly mentioned in the commercially successful 2007 film '' Juno''. In 2009,

announced plans to open a location at Ridgedale in 2011; however, these plans were later cancelled due to

General Growth Properties GGP Inc. (an initialism of General Growth Properties) was an American commercial real estate company and the second-largest shopping mall operator in the United States. It was founded by brothers Martin, Matthew and Maurice Bucksbaum in Ceda ...

, the mall's owner, filing for bankruptcy. This announcement came with the closure of the Macy's Men's & Home Store. Later in 2013, Nordstrom confirmed plans to open up a department store at Ridgedale by 2015; these plans allowed Macy's current anchor of to grow into a larger, location. The current Macy's Women's & Children's Store was expanded to provide additional space for the combination; during this process, a major fire occurred at the construction site, delaying the construction by several weeks. On June 4, 2014, deconstruction of the Men's & Home Store occurred, to make way for the new Nordstrom store, plus an additional of leaseable space, presumably for upscale retail and dining options. This expansion was evaluated at $50 million, according to General Growth Properties. The Nordstrom location officially opened on October 2, 2015, followed by a grand opening ceremony. On October 15, 2018, it was announced that Sears had filed for bankruptcy and plans on closing 142 stores. These closures include the Sears at Ridgedale, which held a liquidation sale until the end of the year.

References

External links

Official website
{{General Growth Properties Shopping malls in Hennepin County, Minnesota Brookfield Properties Shopping malls established in 1974 1974 establishments in Minnesota Minnetonka, Minnesota