In Peoria, Illinois, there is a covered retail center called Northwoods Mall. 1973 saw the mall's opening. It is located where Scenic Drive and US 150 (West War Memorial Drive) intersect. JCPenney, Round 1 Entertainment, and The RoomPlace are the anchor retailers. One of the anchor stores, which was once Sears, is empty.
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| Northwoods Mall Peoria Illinois |
Sidney H. Morris & Associates of Chicago designed Northwoods Mall, which was managed by Harold Carson Associates. It debuted in 1973. The first anchor stores were JCPenney, Carson Pirie Scott (eventually shortened to Carson's), and Montgomery Ward. Helzberg Diamonds, B. Dalton, Claire's, GNC, a Fannie May candy store, a bank, Brown's Sporting Goods, and a number of eateries were among the building's original tenants.
In 1983, Simon Property Group purchased the mall. That same year, Carson's closed, and Famous Barr took its place two years later. 28 diners were impacted by a botulism outbreak at the mall's Skewer Inn restaurant in 1983.
In 1997 Montgomery Ward shuttered its location at the mall, and a year later Sears moved there. In 2005, a food court was added. In 2006, the Famous Barr retailer adopted the Macy's name. The announcement that Macy's would close in March 2016 as part of a statewide plan to eliminate 40 shops was made on January 7, 2016. A portion of the empty Macy's store on the first floor, which opened on November 18, 2017, was occupied by Round 1 Entertainment in 2017. The remainder of the partially unoccupied Macy's shop on the second level, which officially opened on May 11, 2018, was to be occupied by The RoomPlace, it was revealed in early 2018.
The announcement that Sears would close in February 2020 as part of a statewide plan to eliminate 96 shops came on November 7, 2019. JCPenney is now the only conventional anchor shop left after Sears shut down. The last day for Sears was February 16, 2020. In the former Sears building in 2020, Spirit Halloween served as a temporary anchor store. It was stated on March 22nd, 2023, that Round 1 will end in May 2023.