Beachwood Place

Location	26300 Cedar Road Beachwood, Ohio  United States
Opening date	1978 (Beachwood Place) 1997 (expansion) 2007 (renovation)
Developer	The Rouse Company
Management	General Growth Properties
Owner	General Growth Properties
No. of stores and services	140
No. of anchor tenants	4
Total retail floor area	950,000 sq ft (88,300 m2)
No. of floors	2
Parking	4,211 spaces Surface parking, covered parking, and valet
Website	Beachwood Place

Beachwood Place is an upscale shopping mall located in Beachwood, Ohio, a Greater Cleveland suburb. It opened in 1978 and is anchored by Dillard's, Nordstrom,Zara, and Saks Fifth Avenue. More than 140 additional specialty shops and restaurants are located there, including Lacoste, Louis Vuitton within Saks, Swarovski, Chanel within Saks, L'Occitane En Provence, and Coach.

Anchors

• Dillard's, 247,000 square feet (22,900 m²)
• Nordstrom, 215,000 square feet (20,000 m²)
• Saks Fifth Avenue, 117,000 square feet (10,900 m²)^[1]

Zara. Opened November 2, 2016

Location

Beachwood Place is located in eastern Greater Cleveland, roughly 10 miles from downtown Cleveland. It is accessible from I-271 and within close proximity to I-480. It is centrally located within Cleveland's affluent eastern suburbs and enjoys strong local access. Its location means it is within 45 minutes of most of Greater Cleveland's nearly three million residents. Nordstrom is the metro area's highest visited department store.^[2]

History

Beachwood Place was developed by Rouse Company, headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. Rouse Company invested over a decade's worth of time in studies and planning to create an upscale fashion center for the carriage trade society of Greater Cleveland. Beachwood Place opened in August, 1978. When it first opened it was anchored by Higbee's and Saks Fifth Avenue and included 110 specialty shops. For Saks, it was the chain's first Ohio store. Beachwood Place was unique in its award-winning design, complete with winding staircases. Beachwood Place found success as area shoppers slowly abandoned nearby malls such as Randall Park Mall and Severance Town Center as well as retail outlets in Downtown Cleveland.

During the 1990s Beachwood Place experienced a number of notable changes. In 1992 Higbee's was converted into Dillard's and Rouse Co. began work on a new addition to the mall. However, nearby residents took Rouse Company to court to halt expansion. Unsuccessful, the expansion was completed, after over two years, with a grand reopening on September 18, 1997. The one exception was that the food court remained intact, despite original renovation plans had intended to remove the food court and spread restaurants throughout the mall.The expansion notably included Nordstrom, which anchored the new, 40 store wing. The renovation and expansion kept the existing style, and maintained its food court. Aside from Nordstrom, an Eddie Bauer flagship store opened at the main entrance, Dillard's added a third floor, and Saks also expanded.

In 2004, the Rouse Co. was acquired by and merged into General Growth Properties. The new owners immediately began a remodeling that was completed in time for the 2007 Christmas season. Landscaping and natural light was used to soften the entry and kinetic art was installed to create a greater visual dynamic. The food court was relocated to the second floor; with the new area being defined by natural light and more seating.^[3] Swedish department store H&M joined Beachwood Place.

The mall is managed and owned by General Growth Properties (GGP) and is listed as one of its platinum properties.^[4]

Shops and restaurants

2013 saw the opening of Michael Kors, a Microsoft Store, Kate Spade New York, and See's Candies.

Other notable retailers include ALDO, Madewell, Tumi, The Art of Shaving, Hanna Andersson, Crabtree & Evelyn, True Religion Brand Jeans, bebe, BCBGMAXAZRIA, Brighton Collectibles, Vera Bradley, Lush, Abercrombie & Fitch, Athleta, Sperry Top-Sider, J. Crew, Papyrus, Lego Store, Chico's, The Buckle, Guess, Pottery Barn, Lucky Brand Jeans, Sephora, and Vollbracht Furs.

Many of these stores have their only location in the Cleveland area, notably two of the three anchor stores: Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom.

Future expansion

In January 2013, General Growth Properties announced plans to expand the mall; citing four lost opportunities due to its current constraints and capacity level of 96%.^[5] Currently there are 11 residential parcels on the western edge of the mall, that General Growth Properties wants to have rezoned to create additional parking, which would be lost if the mall were expanded. Only three houses are still standing, which would be torn down to accommodate an expansion. The land is currently owned by General Growth Properties.^[6]

Although a timetable and tenants have not yet been announced, plans were released in July 2013 showing a 77,000-square-foot (7,200 m²) expansion taking place in the mall area between Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue and three standalone restaurants being built along the perimeter.^[7]

Some resistance was created by nearby residents and local businessmen, who voiced concern about increased traffic and a loss of a barrier between Beachwood Place and the surrounding residences.^[8] During the summer months GGP sought signatures from residents to allow plans of its expansion to be put on a city referendum.

In October 2013, Beachwood City Council voted to amend the City's codified ordinances regarding the shopping center.^[9] These changes have allowed the expansion to proceed.

References

External links

• Beachwood Place

Coordinates: 41°29′55″N 81°29′38″W / 41.498526°N 81.493975°W / 41.498526; -81.493975