Cottonwood Mall: From Land Grant to Airport to Mall
The land that holds Cottonwood Mall traces back to 1710 when Spain's King Philip IV granted Francisco Montes Vigil 89,000 acres known as the Alameda Land Grant.
In 1929, Albert F. Black bought 20,500 acres from that grant and created the Seven Bar Ranch. The family built an adobe home and later added a small airport.
The Seven Bar Airport opened in 1947 and soon became known as Alameda Airport. It stayed active until 1986, when nearby neighborhoods pushed development further onto the land.
Cottonwood Mall rose on this former airfield in 1996, built by Simon Property Group.
The land that had once carried grazing herds and airstrips was overlaid with asphalt, lined with anchor stores, and arranged into concourses.
Neighborhoods that had slowly expanded for generations now linked into the mall's footprint, binding contemporary retail to a place marked by centuries of changing purpose.
First laid out as farmland in the Alameda Land Grant, the river valley area took its name from the cottonwood groves along the Rio Grande.
The land changed hands many times and spent years as ranch property before being converted into an airport.
By the 1980s, new residential subdivisions covered former ranch tracts, creating demand for large-scale retail.
The closure of Alameda Airport in 1986 left its open ground and pavement available for redevelopment.
Planning for a regional shopping center began soon after, as Albuquerque had not seen a new enclosed mall in 30 years.
Developers marked the land's transformation as part of the city's westside expansion.
Cottonwood Mall opened in July 1996, linking centuries of layered land use into a modern commercial hub.
Building the Newest Enclosed Mall in New Mexico
The design stretched across two levels, with concourses laid out for department store anchors at each end and open areas that carried heavy daily traffic.
The project measured 1,041,000 square feet of gross leasable space, making it the second largest mall in New Mexico.
At the center, a food court drew visitors with a ceiling diorama that recreated the city's landscape.
The display showed the Rio Grande, the Sandia Mountains, and the West Mesa, creating a sense of place inside the retail hub.
Five anchor tenants signed on at the start. Dillard's, Foley's, JCPenney, Mervyn's, and Montgomery Ward each opened with full department store layouts.
Surrounding them were more than one hundred smaller stores, filling the first leases with apparel, shoes, and services.
Sega City amusement arcade brought video games and rides, while United Artists installed a multiplex theater that later operated as Regal Cinemas.
The mall's launch week underscored its role as the newest enclosed shopping center in the state.
Crowds filled the walkways, and the mix of retail, dining, and entertainment set the foundation for future decades of tenancy.
Shifting Anchors and Retail Changes in the 2000s
In 1999, Cottonwood Mall became one of three New Mexico malls drawn into a federal lawsuit over free speech rights.
Protesters handing out leaflets inside the center challenged mall restrictions, but the case was dismissed under the earlier U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Lloyd Corp. v. Tanner.
By the early 2000s, anchor turnover began reshaping the property. Montgomery Ward, one of the original five, closed after the company's bankruptcy and was replaced by Sears.
That change kept the space active while preserving the mall's full lineup of department stores.
The next wave came in 2006, when Foley's transitioned into Macy's during Federated Department Stores' consolidation of May Company brands.
Macy's carried the same large footprint but introduced new branding, fitting Cottonwood Mall into a national reorganization of retail names.
Mervyn's lasted until 2008, when liquidation forced its closure.
The store's lower level later became home to Conn's in 2013, marking a shift from fashion retail toward furniture and appliances.
Meanwhile, Sega City arcade closed, and its space was absorbed into an expanded Regal Cinemas, creating a larger two-story movie complex.
These changes altered the anchor mix and entertainment options, setting a new rhythm for the property as the decade closed with both long-standing tenants and new categories in place.
The Era of Consolidations, Closures, and New Tenants
In May 2014, ownership of Cottonwood Mall shifted from Simon Property Group to Washington Prime Group, part of a corporate spinoff that moved several regional malls into a separate portfolio.
Simon continued to manage daily operations until early 2016, when Washington Prime took full control under its short-lived WP Glimcher name.
The anchor lineup began to change quickly. Macy's, which had replaced Foley's in 2006, closed in 2017 as part of a national downsizing.
That loss left one of the largest spaces in the center vacant for the first time since opening.
In 2018, Sears was announced among 72 nationwide closures and shut its Cottonwood location in September of that year.
The closing left another large box empty, creating two dark anchors within a short span.
The former Macy's footprint did not stay empty for long. Hobby Lobby opened in part of the space later in 2018, while Mor Furniture and HomeLife Furniture moved in during 2019.
Together, they filled much of the floor area once held by a single department store, breaking the space into multiple tenants.
By the end of the decade, Cottonwood Mall carried a mix of traditional department stores and specialty anchors, a clear departure from the uniform lineup that had marked its early years.
Bankruptcy, Receivership, and Management Turnover
In June 2021, Washington Prime Group, which held Cottonwood Mall along with about one hundred other properties, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Loan records described the mall as a non-core asset, and the company indicated later that year it would not keep ownership of the site.
By August 2021, filings confirmed that Washington Prime was stepping away from the property.
The shift left the mall's future tied to the court process, with creditors and managers preparing to assign new oversight.
The uncertainty added to the long list of department store closures that had already changed the mall's anchor mix.
A receiver was appointed in March 2022 to oversee day-to-day management.
Spinoso Real Estate Group took on leasing and management, responsible for tenant negotiations, upkeep, and strategies to occupy the former anchors.
Even as the ownership side moved through bankruptcy court, the mall continued hosting community features.
The New Mexico Book Co-Op returned for its annual holiday run, setting up between Thanksgiving and New Year's.
The event filled a seasonal niche, offering local books and goods not typically found in chain stores.
Cottonwood Mall in the Mid-2020s: A Hub of Change
In May 2025, Cottonwood Mall drew attention with news that In-N-Out Burger would add a restaurant on its grounds.
A planned building near Dillard's included a two-lane drive-thru built to handle traffic.
It was to be the chain's second Albuquerque site, surrounded by restaurants already bordering the mall's parking lots.
By late June, problems inside drew more notice. A tenant reported losing close to two thousand dollars in merchandise after cooling systems failed.
Temperatures inside rose high enough for the health department to intervene, forcing a temporary shutdown of part of the tenant's operation until conditions were safe again.
In early July, the issue spread to the entire property. Cottonwood Mall closed its doors for several days while crews worked on the air conditioning system.
Reports described indoor heat near 100 degrees, leaving anchors, restaurants, and smaller shops waiting for repairs before they could reopen.
Cottonwood Mall Today and Tomorrow
As of 2025, Cottonwood Mall holds more than 110 stores and restaurants across its two levels, supported by anchor tenants that include Hobby Lobby, Mor Furniture, JCPenney, Dillard's, Regal Cinemas, Kids Empire Albuquerque, and HomeLife Furniture.
One anchor box remains empty where Sears once operated, a reminder of the department store shifts that marked the past decade.
Surrounding the mall, full-service restaurants fill the parking lots, from BJ's Restaurant & Brewery and Buffalo Wild Wings to Red Robin, Texas Roadhouse, Garduño's of Mexico, Tokyo Hana Hibachi & Sushi Bar, Los Cuates, and Range Cafe Coors.
Together, they extend the property's draw beyond the indoor concourses.
Film crews have also kept Cottonwood Mall in public view.
Productions like Better Call Saul and Daybreak have used its concourses and storefronts as settings, adding another layer to the mall's identity.