The Rise of Pasadena Town Square: How Macroplaza Mall Began
The parking lot stretched wide, the Texas sun bouncing off the windshields of freshly parked cars.
In March 1982, Pasadena Town Square opened its doors, standing tall next to Foley’s, the department store that had already been pulling in shoppers since 1962.
This wasn’t some small neighborhood plaza—it was a fully enclosed mall meant to compete with the shopping centers in the Houston area.
Inside, the floors shined under fluorescent lights. Walkways were lined with store windows stacked with mannequins in the latest 1980s styles.
The air smelled like new carpeting, fresh coffee from a café near the entrance, and a mix of perfumes wafting out of Joske’s, Foley’s, and Palais Royal, the mall’s three original anchors.
These were big names in Texas retail, and their presence was meant to cement Pasadena Town Square as a major shopping destination.
But location mattered. Most malls in Houston’s booming retail scene sat near major highways, making them easy to reach.
Pasadena Town Square didn’t. It was tucked inside the city, a little off the beaten path, but that didn’t stop shoppers from coming—at least, not at first.
Federated Department Stores Realty, the developer behind the project, believed Pasadena could support a 335,000-square-foot mall with multiple department store anchors.
Foot traffic was strong, stores filled their shelves, and cash registers hummed.
The success caught the attention of bigger players in the real estate business.
In 1983, just over a year after the grand opening, Federated sold the mall—along with three other shopping centers—to JMB Realty Corporation for $112 million.
The sale was a sign of confidence, a bet that Pasadena Town Square would continue growing.
With three anchor stores and a mix of clothing boutiques, electronics shops, and jewelry retailers, it seemed like a solid investment.
The 1980s were good for Pasadena Town Square. Families came on weekends, kids hung out in the food court after school, and department stores stayed busy.
But the retail world doesn’t stay the same for long. Change was coming, and Pasadena Town Square was about to face it head-on.
Expansion, New Anchors, and a Changing Market
The sign outside still read Pasadena Town Square, but inside, the mall was shifting.
By the late 1980s, not just the name brands were changing—ownership, anchor stores, and shopping habits were also changing.
In 1987, one of the mall’s biggest names, Joske’s, disappeared.
The Texas-based department store had been around for over a century, but when Dillard’s bought the entire chain that year, the rebranding began almost overnight.
Shoppers came back expecting Joske’s and found Dillard’s banners and new store layouts instead.
More change followed. By the 1990s, retail competition in the Houston area had only grown tougher. Bigger malls, closer to highways and packed with newer stores, were pulling in crowds.
Pasadena Town Square needed something to keep up. The answer came in 1997 when Sears was added as a fourth anchor.
With Dillard’s, Foley’s, and Palais Royal already there, adding another national retailer gave the mall a chance to compete with larger shopping centers.
But foot traffic wasn’t what it used to be. Even with four anchors, shoppers had more choices than ever, and Pasadena’s retail market was splitting across different shopping districts.
In 2002, after nearly 20 years under JMB Realty, the mall changed hands again—this time, a local developer bought it from American General.
The sale came with new plans, though none would fully turn the mall’s momentum around.
By the early 2000s, Pasadena Town Square still had well-known department stores, but its position as a go-to shopping hub was fading.
Other Houston-area malls were updating their layouts, adding entertainment spaces, and bringing in new retail concepts.
Pasadena’s mall, with its familiar anchors and aging storefronts, felt stuck in time.
Rebranding and a Struggle to Stay Relevant
By the mid-2000s, department stores across the country were shifting. Longtime chains were merging, closing locations, or rethinking their business strategies. Pasadena Town Square wasn’t immune.
In 2006, Foley’s—the store that had been there since the beginning—changed names.
Macy’s took over, part of a sweeping rebrand that affected stores all over Texas.
But that wasn’t the only major shift that year. Dillard’s, one of the mall’s key anchors, shut down completely.
The mall was at a crossroads. Two of its biggest stores had either left or rebranded and foot traffic had already been slowing.
Then came a new owner—Guardian Equity, which bought the property in 2015 and announced remodeling plans.
That same year, the mall rebranded. The new name: Plaza Paseo Mall.
Plaza Paseo was meant to breathe life into the space. New signs went up, and the mall aimed to reposition itself in the local market.
But even with the name change, it wasn’t enough. Store closures kept piling up. The biggest hit came in 2017 when Macy’s—the former Foley’s—closed for good.
By 2018, another rebrand came. Plaza Paseo became Macroplaza Mall, a name inspired by Monterrey, Mexico’s famous Macroplaza.
The new branding focused on Pasadena’s Mexican-American community, with marketing meant to connect with local shoppers.
But inside, reality looked different. Macy’s was gone, and Dillard’s had been empty for over a decade.
Even with a fresh name and marketing push, anchor stores kept disappearing, leaving the mall with a growing problem it couldn’t ignore.
The 2019 $20 Million Renovation Plan for Macroplaza Mall
In 2019, Macroplaza Mall in Pasadena, Texas, announced a $20 million renovation plan to breathe new life into the struggling shopping center.
Under Guardian Equity’s management, the goal was to transform the mall into a lively shopping and cultural destination that better reflected the area’s Hispanic heritage.
The plan included both interior and exterior upgrades. Inside, the renovation focused on new lighting, fresh paint, and decorative elements designed to create a Mexican Colonial-style atmosphere inspired by traditional mercados.
The goal was to fill the space with warm colors, rustic textures, and cultural motifs, giving shoppers an immersive experience that felt unique compared to traditional malls.
Outside, the redevelopment was set to unfold over two years, with plans to attract over 200 new vendors.
The strategy relied on local businesses rather than national chains, with space allocated for small retailers, up to ten new restaurants, and a potential farmer’s market-style grocer.
There were also discussions about converting the former Macy’s location into a multivendor supermarket, hoping to draw in steady foot traffic with affordable grocery options.
However, by 2025, this redevelopment had failed to materialize, and the mall continued to face vacancies and declining foot traffic.
Anchor Closures and a Mall Without Its Giants
The halls felt emptier. Footsteps echoed where crowds used to shuffle and display windows carried more “For Lease” signs than new inventory.
The rebranding efforts had given the mall a new name, but they had not stopped the closures from piling up.
The biggest blow came in 2020 when Palais Royal closed its doors permanently. Its parent company, Stage Stores, had collapsed into bankruptcy, leaving dozens of locations across Texas vacant.
The department store had been a fixture in the mall since 1982, but now, its entrance was dark.
Then, in 2021, the last major anchor followed. Sears, which had operated in the mall since 1997, closed on January 24 as part of a corporate decision to shut down multiple locations nationwide.
The space didn’t sit empty for long—briefly, it reopened as a Sears Hometown store, a smaller-format version designed to focus on appliances and home goods.
It wasn’t enough. By May 2022, the Hometown store had also closed, leaving another massive retail space vacant.
The mall now had no anchors. Dillard’s had left in 2006, Macy’s in 2017, Palais Royal in 2020, and Sears in 2021.
That meant fewer reasons for shoppers to visit, fewer retailers willing to sign new leases and fewer signs of a revival.
At one time, Pasadena Town Square—now Macroplaza Mall—had four national department stores that pulled in steady foot traffic.
By the start of 2025, those spaces were empty, and the few remaining tenants operated in a space that felt less like a thriving mall and more like a property waiting for its next chapter.
