Springfield Town Center is an enclosed shopping center located in the Springfield

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, su ...

(CDP) of unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia. It opened in 1973 as Springfield Mall, 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 ...

, which closed on June 30, 2012 as part of a multimillion-dollar redevelopment plan to turn it into a multifaceted "Town Center"-style shopping center with a main indoor area similar to the nearby

Tysons Corner Center Tysons Corner Center is a shopping mall in the unincorporated area of Tysons in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States (between McLean and Vienna, Virginia). It opened to the public in 1968, becoming one of the first fully enclosed, climate-contr ...

and Dulles Town Center, while transforming the exterior into a pedestrian friendly environment with restaurants with cafe style outdoor seating and entrances. It is located at the intersection of

Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the Canadi ...

and Franconia Road (Route 644), which is part of the

Springfield Interchange The Springfield Interchange, also known as the Mixing Bowl, is the interchange of Interstate 95, Interstate 395, and Interstate 495 in Springfield, Virginia, outside of Washington, D.C. The interchange is located at exit 57 on the Capital Bel ...

, 1/4 mile north of Franconia-Springfield Parkway (State Route 289) and the Franconia-Springfield Metro station. The mall reopened on October 17, 2014 following its two-year renovation. Springfield Town Center and environs, October 24, 2014 - 10

Springfield Town Center and environs, October 24, 2014 - 10

Original anchors were

Lansburgh's Lansburgh's was a chain of department stores located in the Washington, D.C. area. The clientele were middle-income consumers. History The first store, at 7th and E Streets, NW, in Washington, D.C.'s downtown shopping district, opened on Octobe ...

(later E.J. Korvette), Garfinckel's (later

Sports Authority Sports Authority, Inc. (formerly The Sports Authority) was an American sports retailer. At its peak, Sports Authority operated 463 stores in 45 States and Puerto Rico. The company's website was on the GSI Commerce platform and supported the ret ...

), J.C. Penney, and

Montgomery Ward Montgomery Ward is the name of two successive U.S. retail corporations. The original Montgomery Ward & Co. was a world-pioneering mail-order business and later also a leading department store chain that operated between 1872 and 2001. The curren ...

(later

Target Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...

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 ...

was added in 1991. The mall was notable for having one of the top two performing locations of the Time Out chain of

amusement arcade An amusement arcade (often referred to as a video arcade, amusements or simply arcade) is a venue where people play arcade games, including arcade video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, merchandisers (such ...

s, which featured in its mall rat culture during the 1980s golden age of arcades.

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

and

Princess Diana Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her a ...

visited the

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, Girl ...

store at the mall on November 11, 1985, during their famous American tour. However, the mall's fortunes declined in the 1990s and 2000s. Its DMV office was where

Hani Hanjour ) , birth_place = Taif, Saudi Arabia , death_date = , death_place = Arlington County, Virginia, U.S. , death_cause = Plane crash, suicide , known_for = Hijacker-pilot of American Airlines Flight 77 (as ...

and

Khalid al-Mihdhar Khalid al-Mihdar ( ar, خالد المحضار, translit=Khālid al-Miḥḍār was a Saudi terrorist hijacker. He was one of the five hijackers of American Airlines Flight 77, which was flown into the Pentagon as part of the September 11 attac ...

, two of the hijackers in the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerc ...

, illegally obtained state identification. The mall also experienced two gang-related stabbings in 2005, two fatal shootings, one in December 2007 and one in June 2022 and a fatal

carjacking Carjacking is a robbery in which the item taken over is a motor vehicle.Michael Cherbonneau, "Carjacking," in ''Encyclopedia of Social Problems'', Vol. 1 (SAGE, 2008: ed. Vincent N. Parrillo), pp. 110-11. In contrast to car theft, carjacking is ...

in September 2008. One of the largest malls in Northern Virginia, it was owned and operated by

Vornado Realty Trust Vornado Realty Trust is a real estate investment trust formed in Maryland in 1982, with its primary office in New York City. The company invests in office buildings and street retail in Manhattan. Investments Notable properties owned by the ...

. In 2005, Vornado purchased an option valued at $36 million to buy the mall from the previous owners Franconia Two LP. In early 2006, Vornado purchased the mall for an additional $80 million along with plans to redevelop. In March 2012, Vornado announced plans to close all but the three anchor stores starting on July 1, ahead of the two-year renovation and redevelopment, which is part of a decade-long plan intended to turn the Mall and its surrounding area into the new Springfield Town Center. Springfield Town Center re-opened on October 17, 2014. In March 2014, Vornado announced plans to sell Springfield Town Center to Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT) for $465 million, with the deal slated to close in March 2015. In late 2015, Dave and Buster's, a popular family owned entertainment and sports bar opened. In February 2022, PREIT announced that the property would open a LEGO Discovery Center in 2023. The 32,000 square foot indoor attraction will be co-created by Merlin & the LEGO Group and will be located at the main entrance to the property.

References

External links

* {{PREIT 1973 establishments in Virginia 2012 disestablishments in Virginia 2014 establishments in Virginia Buildings and structures in Fairfax County, Virginia Economy of Fairfax County, Virginia Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust Shopping malls established in 1973 Shopping malls established in 2014 Shopping malls in the Washington metropolitan area Shopping malls in Virginia Springfield, Virginia