History of Scottsdale Fashion Square in Timeline

Scottsdale Fashion Square is a large, upscale shopping mall located in downtown Scottsdale, Arizona. It's the biggest mall in Arizona and one of the largest in the U.S., boasting roughly 2 million square feet of retail space. Key anchor stores include Macy's, Dick's Sporting Goods, Dillard's, Nordstrom, and Neiman Marcus. The mall also houses a 14-screen Harkins Theatres.

1959: Center Opening

In 1959, the Scottsdale Fashion Square center opened with four stores in addition to the existing Ryan-Evans drug store. The new stores consisted of a grocery store, barber shop, liquor store, and camera store.

1960: Steakhouse Addition

In 1960, Joe Hunt Sr. added a steakhouse to the Scottsdale Fashion Square center.

1961: Original Structure Built

In 1961, Scottsdale Fashion Square was originally built as a three-story open-air structure anchored by Goldwater's and AJ Bayless.

1969: Competition from Los Arcos Mall

In 1969, the fully enclosed Los Arcos Mall was built and became Scottsdale Fashion Square's primary competitor.

1974: West-Side Expansion

In 1974, the west side of Scottsdale Fashion Square was expanded, nearly doubling the square footage of the mall and adding Diamond's department store.

1977: Camelview Plaza Built

In 1977, Camelview Plaza, a fully enclosed competing mall, was built just west of Scottsdale Fashion Square, featuring Bullock's and Sakowitz department stores and a Harkins Camelview Theatre.

1982: Malls Connected

In 1982, Westcor purchased the mall and agreed to connect Scottsdale Fashion Square and Camelview Plaza by building a two-story retail bridge across North 70th Street.

1989: Goldwater's Becomes J. W. Robinson's

In 1989, Goldwater's was rebranded as J. W. Robinson's.

1991: Redevelopment Completion

In 1991, the redevelopment of Scottsdale Fashion Square was completed, including Dillard's taking over the former AJ Bayless and Diamond's spaces, and the addition of a ground-level food court and a 7-screen Harkins Theatres cinema.

1992: Neiman Marcus Addition

In 1992, Neiman Marcus was added to Scottsdale Fashion Square, occupying the former Sakowitz space.

1993: J. W. Robinson's Becomes Robinsons-May

In 1993, J. W. Robinson's was converted into Robinsons-May.

1996: Westcor Purchases Camelview Plaza

In 1996, Westcor purchased Camelview Plaza, renamed the entire shopping plaza Scottsdale Fashion Square, and added a new wing anchored by Nordstrom.

1998: Nordstrom Garage Construction and Lease

In 1998, Scottsdale Fashion Square Partners constructed a parking garage, known as the "Nordstrom Garage," adjacent to the mall, and leased it to the City of Scottsdale for 50 years at a cost of $31,375,000.

1998: Expansion Completed

In 1998, an expansion to Scottsdale Fashion Square was completed which increased the mall's square footage to 2,000,000 sq ft. and made it the 13th largest enclosed shopping mall in the country. Callison Architects Inc. designed this addition.

2002: Macy's Replaces Sears

In 2002, Macy's replaced Sears in the former Dillard's store at Scottsdale Fashion Square.

2002: Ownership by Westcor

In 2002, Scottsdale Fashion Square was acquired by Westcor, a subsidiary of Macerich.

June 2006: Robinsons-May Closure

In June 2006, the closure of Robinsons-May occurred due to the merger between Federated Department Stores and May Department Stores.

2009: New Wing and Microsoft Store Opening

In 2009, a new wing anchored by Barneys New York opened at Scottsdale Fashion Square, along with an H&M store and the first Microsoft Store.

2012: Lease Prepayment Approved

In 2012, Scottsdale Mayor Jim Lane and the city council approved a prepayment of the lease for the Nordstrom Garage, financed by the issuance of municipal bonds.

2015: Expansion with Dick's Sporting Goods and Harkins Theatres

In 2015, Scottsdale Fashion Square added another expansion: a two-level building with Dick's Sporting Goods on the lower level and a new 14-screen Harkins Theatres cinema on the top level.

2015: IRS Challenges Bond Issuance

In 2015, the IRS notified the city that the issuance of municipal bonds related to the Nordstrom Garage lease prepayment was being challenged for non-compliance with the federal tax code, potentially due to failure of the "public purpose test".

2016: Contribution to City Sales Tax Revenue

In 2016, Scottsdale Fashion Square contributed $13.1 million in sales tax revenue to the City of Scottsdale, accounting for approximately 7 percent of the city's total sales tax revenue.

2016: Ranked Among Top Malls

In 2016, Scottsdale Fashion Square was ranked as the second highest sales per square foot mall in the United States and was also ranked in the top 25 most visited malls in the country by Travel + Leisure magazine.

2016: Barneys New York Closure Announcement

In early 2016, Barneys New York announced it would close its Scottsdale Fashion Square store. In late 2016, the mall's owner announced plans for a new renovation, exceeding $100 million, that will include high-end residential units, a hotel, a new luxury entrance, hospitality areas and office space.

2017: New Renovation Construction Begins

In 2017, Construction began on the new renovation plan, in excess of $100 million, which will include high-end residential units, a hotel, a new luxury entrance, hospitality areas and office space.

2017: Zoning Changes Resistance

In 2017, Scottsdale Fashion Square faced resistance from local residents regarding zoning changes requested to build vertically, including hotel, office, and residential spaces. Concerns were addressed by increasing setback requirements, adding open spaces, and limiting building heights to 90 feet in certain areas.

February 19, 2018: Fatal Shooting in Parking Garage

On February 19, 2018, an off-duty police officer working security at Scottsdale Fashion Square shot and killed a man in the Brown Parking Garage after responding to reports of "erratic behavior."

September 29, 2018: Apple Store Relocation

On September 29, 2018, Apple relocated their store from Biltmore Fashion Park to build a new store at the Scottsdale Fashion Square location.

September 30, 2018: High Sales per Square Foot

As of September 30, 2018 Scottsdale Fashion Square reported the sixth-highest sales per square foot among Macerich's 54 properties, achieving $1,032 per square foot.

2018: Luxury Renovations

In October 2022, Macerich reported they were going to be continuing the luxury renovations from 2018 throughout the exterior and interior of the southern Nordstrom wing of Scottsdale Fashion Square.

2019: Co-working Space Addition

In 2019, Scottsdale Fashion Square transformed the former Barneys New York location into a co-working space operated by Industrious, a Manhattan-based company.

August 5, 2020: Charges Dismissed

On August 5, 2020, the charges against Jake Paul and others involved in the looting and vandalism of Scottsdale Fashion Square during the George Floyd protests were dismissed without prejudice.

October 7, 2020: Macerich Malls Reopened

By October 7, 2020, all of Macerich's malls had reopened, and the company reported improvements in rent collections, reaching about 80 percent in the third quarter.

2021: Deferred Rent Payments

By October 7, 2020, Macerich managed to secure agreements with most tenants to defer back rent payments to 2021. Those tenants that weren't able to secure agreements filed lawsuits including The Disney Store, Gap, Banana Republic, and more.

2021: Life Time Fitness Announcement

In 2021, Life Time Fitness announced they would be opening a luxury fitness center outside of the northwest luxury entrance of Scottsdale Fashion Square.

October 2022: Luxury Renovations Continuation

In October 2022, Macerich reported they were going to be continuing the luxury renovations from 2018 throughout the exterior and interior of the southern Nordstrom wing of Scottsdale Fashion Square.

January 2023: Renovation Start Date

In late January 2023 the luxury renovations throughout the exterior and interior of the southern Nordstrom wing started at Scottsdale Fashion Square.

May 2023: Élephante Restaurant Addition

In May 2023, Scottsdale Fashion Square announced the addition of Élephante, an upscale, experiential restaurant from the Wish You Were Here Group.

2023: Shift to Luxury Center

As of 2023, Scottsdale Fashion Square saw the closure of long-time tenants such as Williams Sonoma, Crate & Barrel, and Ann Taylor, as the mall shifted towards becoming a luxury center, leading to criticism for prioritizing luxury retailers and not renewing leases of long-time tenants.

2023: New Store Additions

By 2023, Scottsdale Fashion Square announced several new additions, including Hermès, Gucci Men's Store, Versace, Warby Parker, Fabletics, Levi's, Golden Goose, Casper, Capital One Café, Buck Mason, Psycho Bunny, and Lucid Studio.

January 27, 2024: Lunar New Year Celebration

On January 27, 2024, Scottsdale Fashion Square and partners from Phoenix Chinese Week gathered to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

February 29, 2024: Caesar's Republic Scottsdale Grand Opening

On February 29, 2024, Scottsdale Fashion Square held its grand opening ceremony to celebrate the launch of its new hotel the Caesar's Republic Scottsdale.

March 2024: Caesars Republic Hotel Opens

In March 2024, the new Caesars Republic Hotel opened adjacent to Scottsdale Fashion Square. This marks Caesars Entertainment's first non-gaming property in the United States.