Eastview Mall moves site and starts
In March 1968, Wilmorite proposed a shopping plaza called Fishers 96 for Perinton. The idea quickly met resistance from nearby residents.
The hearings brought wave after wave of protest about traffic, water runoff, and vanishing open ground. Petitions started going around, and the whole thing stopped before it ever got approved.
Toward the close of 1968, Wilmorite left Perinton behind and turned attention to Victor, finding easier ground on Route 96 with fewer restrictions.
Early in 1969, the company began assembling land in Victor.
Town records from that year show zoning and utility filings tied to the proposal.
Local reports described the development as the first of its kind for Ontario County, linking Victor to the Rochester retail corridor that was beginning to spread outward.
Wilmorite completed site control and finalized anchor agreements with Sears and Sibley's by the fall.
The project was officially titled Eastview Mall, referencing the open terrain and its position near the Thruway.
Victor signed off on building permits in October 1969 and registered the beginning of construction.
For the town, the decision marked a shift from farm economy to commercial use, setting the stage for the mall's public opening two years later.
Crews raise corridors and open the doors
Groundbreaking for Eastview Mall took place in October 1969.
Wilmorite, already experienced in regional mall construction, announced a six-million-dollar project for the Victor site along Route 96.
The plan called for an enclosed shopping center with three anchors and smaller tenants arranged along a central corridor under one roof.
Construction lasted through 1970 and 1971.
Local coverage noted steady progress as the concrete frame was enclosed and utilities were tied in.
Leasing advanced at the same pace.
By summer 1971, contracts had been signed for sixty-seven stores, with another fifteen planned for early the following year.
Eastview Mall opened to the public on Thursday, October 7, 1971, at 9:45 a.m.
Crowds filled the new parking lots off Route 96 as shoppers entered the region's first fully enclosed mall.
Within weeks, occupancy reached the upper 60s in store count, and additional fit-outs continued into December.
Eastview Theatres opened on December 22, 1971, completing the initial build-out.
By year's end, Victor's once-rural intersection had become a new commercial center drawing traffic from Monroe and Ontario Counties.
The third anchor arrives, and formats settle
McCurdy's opened at Eastview Mall a year after the mall itself.
The Rochester department store built a full branch that connected right into the main hallway.
With McCurdy's in place beside Sears and Sibley's, the mall finally had all three anchors that Wilmorite planned from the start.
During the 1970s, more stores kept moving in.
National clothing chains, bookstores, jewelers, and local shops filled the empty fronts one by one.
Each week, people from nearby towns came to Eastview as part of their normal routine.
Inside, the lighting stayed bright even in winter, and the same polished floors carried people past displays that changed with the seasons.
Throughout the 1980s, business stayed consistent, and updates stayed simple.
The parking lots were repaved, new signs went up, and lights were added in the concourse.
Stores continued to turn over as tenants left and new ones came in.
In 1990, Sibley's became Kaufmann's when May Department Stores switched banners across the region.
Only the name changed. The counters, staff, and regulars stayed.
After twenty years, the mall still looked much the same as it did on opening day.
The building was full, the anchors were strong, and Eastview Mall had settled into its long middle years.
New wing, new anchors, and a cinema
After the McCurdy's chain was wound down in 1994, its Eastview Mall location transitioned to Bon-Ton.
In 1994, construction started again at Eastview Mall.
The expansion was big, more than 400,000 square feet, and brought in two new anchors, JCPenney and Lord & Taylor.
Work went on through 1995, and shoppers could see the new walls rising each time they came to shop.
Inside, the old and new sections were tied together with new flooring, skylights, and wider walkways.
Stores stayed open during the build. By early 1996, the expansion was ready.
JCPenney opened first, followed by Lord & Taylor and dozens of new specialty stores that filled the added space.
That same spring, Regal Cinemas opened a new 13-screen movie theater on the property.
It replaced the smaller Eastview Theatres that had operated since the 1970s.
The addition brought steady crowds after dark and changed how people used the mall.
The dining court built out, and brands rotate
In 2003, Wilmorite began another round of construction focused on the main entrance.
Crews built a new concourse and restaurant wing that added about 66,000 square feet to the property.
The $25 million project brought in sit-down dining for the first time, with leases to P.F. Chang's, Champps, and Biaggi's.
The design included new skylights and a wide atrium that opened onto the parking fields.
The work was finished in phases so stores could stay open.
The change marked a shift toward lifestyle and dining use that malls across the region were following.
By 2006, May Department Stores merged into Federated, and Kaufmann's was rebranded as Macy's.
The conversion brought new signage, fixtures, and departments, but kept the store in full operation.
After the remodel, Eastview's anchor lineup stood at five: Macy's, JCPenney, Sears, Bon-Ton, and Lord & Taylor.
By the mid-2000s, the mall's structure and brand mix reflected thirty-five years of steady reinvestment.
Bon-Ton exits, Von Maur rebuilds the box
In November 2011, The Bon-Ton announced that its Eastview Mall location would close the following spring.
Wilmorite immediately began planning a full rebuild of the space.
Construction started in 2012 to remove the interior and shell of the old Bon-Ton store.
The site was refitted for Von Maur, an Iowa-based department store entering New York for the first time.
Plans called for a two-level, 140,000-square-foot store with escalators, a piano atrium, and expanded cosmetics and shoe departments.
The $55 million project modernized the wing and created new storefronts along its edge for smaller tenants.
Von Maur opened on October 26, 2013.
The launch drew regional press and signaled a change in Eastview Mall's positioning toward higher-end retail.
The new wing included interior finishes in marble and glass that contrasted with the 1970s construction on the opposite side of the mall.
By year's end, all anchor spaces were filled again, and Eastview's occupancy had returned to pre-closure levels.
Closures hit, then sport and outdoors refill
Sears confirmed in 2018 that it would close its Eastview Mall store, ending a presence that dated back to opening day.
Liquidation sales ran through November 25, when the doors shut for good.
The empty box gave Wilmorite an opportunity to experiment with a new format.
In 2021, Dick's Sporting Goods opened its first House of Sport in the former Sears space.
The 100,000-square-foot concept combined retail with training areas, climbing walls, and an outdoor turf field used year-round for community events.
The store's mix of recreation and sales reflected a broader move toward experiential anchors across the country.
While Dick's opened, another longtime tenant was disappearing.
Lord & Taylor closed in 2020 during its parent company's bankruptcy, leaving another major vacancy.
In October 2025, Eastview Mall announced that Bass Pro Shops would take over the space.
The plan calls for a 90,000-square-foot Outpost store set to open in late 2026.
By the middle of the decade, Eastview's anchor lineup had shifted again to Macy's, JCPenney, Von Maur, and Dick's.
Lord & Taylor's space is being prepared for Bass Pro Shops, keeping the mall active more than fifty years after its first opening.
