Chesterfield Mall: An Iconic Shopping Center Nears Its Demise
In its heyday, Chesterfield Mall was a bustling shopping center that drew in crowds from around Missouri. Located at the intersection of Interstate 64/U.S. Routes 40-61 and Clarkson Road (Route 340), this retail giant was a popular destination for fashion enthusiasts and movie-goers alike.
Built by Richard Jacobs in 1976, the mall quickly became a symbol of economic growth and prosperity in Chesterfield, Missouri.
However, the mall’s fortunes began to decline as the years passed. By 2023, the once-vibrant shopping center was reduced to a mere shadow of its former self.
With approximately 30 shops, three restaurants, and an AMC Megaplex theater, the mall had seen better days. Furthermore, the mall’s three anchor stores are vacant; the last closed in November 2022.
Chesterfield Mall’s decline mirrors a more significant trend in the retail industry, where online shopping and changing consumer preferences have made traditional malls less popular.
In 2010, the closing of Northwest Plaza in St. Ann made Chesterfield Mall the largest shopping mall in the St. Louis metropolitan area.
Nevertheless, the mall’s decline continued, and by 2020, plans were announced to demolish the property for a mixed-use development.
Former anchors in Chesterfield Mall
| Sears | 1976 – 2018 |
| Stix Baer and Fuller | 1976 – 1984 |
| Dillard’s | 1984 – 2016 |
| Famous-Barr | 1981 – 2006 |
| Macy’s | 2006 – 2022 |
| JCPenney | 1995 – 2005 |
Chesterfield Mall: A Historical Look Back at Its Iconic Anchor Stores and Transformations
In September 1976, Chesterfield Mall opened its doors as the sister mall to Jamestown Mall in Florissant, Missouri. The mall quickly became a hot spot for shoppers with its impressive anchor stores – Sears, Stix Baer, and Fuller.
Two years later, in 1978, the mall expanded with the addition of the Chesterfield Mall 4 Cinema, a four-screen cinema located in a separate building near the Stix/Dillard’s building.
In 1981, Famous-Barr joined the mall’s anchor lineup, followed by Dillard’s three years later in 1984, after acquiring Stix Baer and Fuller. The mall’s anchor stores continued to evolve, with a new Famous-Barr store adjacent to the former space in 1995, which JCPenney later took over.
The mall was renovated in 1996, adding a fresh and modern look to its interior. However, by 2000, the Chesterfield Mall 4 Cinema closed, leaving a void in the mall’s entertainment offerings.
The mall faced further changes in 2005 when JCPenney closed its doors, and the space was demolished to make way for many smaller shops and restaurants.
These additions included Borders, now V-Stock, The Cheesecake Factory, an American Girl store (which closed in 2018), a food court, and a 14-screen AMC Megaplex, which took up a new third floor.
The addition of these smaller stores and restaurants transformed the mall, giving it a new lease on life and expanding its offerings for shoppers and visitors.
The Changing Landscape of Chesterfield Mall: A Look at Its Recent Anchor Store Closures
Chesterfield Mall has undergone several changes in recent years, including losing its major anchor stores. In 2011, Borders closed its doors, leaving a void in the mall’s book and entertainment offerings. However, the space was soon filled with two new stores, Books-A-Million and V∙Stock.
In 2016, the mall faced another setback when Dillard’s was forced to close due to flooding caused by a water main break. Despite initial plans to reopen the store in 2017, the company announced in early 2018 that the location would remain permanently closed.
The mall experienced another blow later that same year when the St. Louis area’s only American Girl store inside it closed its doors in March 2018.
The situation worsened in May 2018 when Sears announced that it would be closing its Chesterfield Mall location as part of a larger plan to close 72 stores nationwide. This closure left Macy’s as the mall’s last remaining anchor store.
To compound matters, the mall’s AMC Cinema was downgraded to an AMC Classic in late 2018, leaving the mall with limited entertainment options.
Chesterfield Mall to be Demolished for Mixed-Use Development
In 2020, the Staenberg Group announced plans to invest nearly $1 billion to transform the mall into a modern mixed-use development with condos, apartments, offices, and retail space. By 2021, vacant parts of the mall were already being repurposed for indoor community sports and other tenants.
However, in 2022, the last remaining anchor store, Macy’s, announced its closure. The building of the store’s on-mall 200,000 square feet (19,000 m2) was vacated. Liquidation sales began in early September, and with no anchors left, the mall became a ghost town.
As the year drew to a close, it was announced that the mall would be closed and demolished in 2023 to make way for Downtown Chesterfield, which is set to start construction in 2024. So the once-thriving shopping center will soon be a thing of the past, but its legacy will live on as a part of Chesterfield’s history.
