Fox River Mall

Fox River Mall is an enclosed super-regional shopping center located in Grand Chute, Wisconsin, United States, which serves the Appleton, Wisconsin metropolitan area. It is a major driver of the local economy and its construction helped spur the growth of the Grand Chute shopping district, which is today known as the "shopping capital of Wisconsin". At 1.21 million square feet, it is the largest mall in the state.[2]

Fox River Mall
Main food court entrance
LocationGrand Chute, Wisconsin
Coordinates44.26899°N 88.47033°W / 44.26899; -88.47033
Address4301 W. Wisconsin Ave., Appleton, WI 54913
Opening dateJuly 18, 1984 (1984-07-18)
OwnerBrookfield Properties Retail Group
No. of stores and services136 (As of December 2018)
No. of anchor tenants9 (7 open, 2 vacant)
Total retail floor area
  • 1,183,953 sq ft (109,992.8 m2) (main campus)
  • 1,210,000 sq ft (112,000 m2) (total)
No. of floors2 (1 in JCPenney, Target, former Sears, and former Younkers, closed basement in Scheels All Sports)
Public transit accessValley Transit
Stop near Target
Websitewww.foxrivermall.com/en.html
Source: mall website[1]

The anchor stores are Orangetheory Fitness, Talbots, Macy's, Scheels All Sports, Ulta Beauty, JCPenney, and Target. There are 2 vacant anchor stores that were once Sears and Younkers.

History

Before the mall was built, the Appleton Metropolitan area was considered to be the only major metropolitan area in the United States that did not have a major regional mall to strengthen its economy. Local business leaders got together and encouraged a developer to build a mall. At this time the west side of Interstate 41 was largely undeveloped, making it the perfect place to build the mall. Since its opening, this region has been greatly developed and brings many visitors and businesses to the Appleton Metropolitan area. Today it contributes about 1 billion dollars annually to the local economy.[2][3]

The mall opened on July 18, 1984, with one anchor store, Sears, along with 67 other stores, a movie theater, and a Walgreens drugstore. Expanded several times in its history, including in 1991 when Dayton's built a new location, which eventually became Marshall Field's, and is now Macy's.[4] With the last major renovation occurring in 2004, it became the largest mall in Wisconsin in 2014, with 1.2 million square feet.[2]

In May 2018, the mall's Younkers location closed. It had been an anchor tenant for 26 years.[5]

On December 28, 2018, it was announced that Sears would be closing as part of a plan to close 80 stores nationwide. The store closed on March 17, 2019.[6] [7]

The Sears and Younkers stores are expected to be redeveloped by the mall in the future, though nothing has yet been announced.

Facilities

The Fox River Mall is located on approximately 137 acres (0.55 km2) of land. It is the largest shopping mall in Wisconsin, with over 140 stores.[8][2] It has a food court called the Northwoods Café, which includes more than a dozen counter vendors.[8] Fox River Plaza is a strip mall on the premises.

The main campus has a total retail area of 1,183,953 sq ft (109,992.8 m2). Some stores and restaurants are located in separate outbuildings off the main campus, making for a total retail area of 1,210,000 sq ft (112,000 m2).[2]

Traffic on Black Friday
The "Northwoods Cafe" food court

Fox River Mall is owned by Brookfield Properties Retail Group

References
  1. "Shopping Mall in Appleton, WI | Fox River Mall". foxrivermall.com.
  2. "The Buzz: Fox River Mall Turns 30". The Post Crescent. Appleton, WI. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  3. "Appleton timeline". www.apl.org. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  4. https://www.postcrescent.com/story/money/companies/buzz/2020/02/11/buzz-fox-river-mall-macys-staying/4717757002/
  5. Wallenfang, Maureen (January 31, 2018). "Younkers, an anchor store at Fox River Mall since 1992, to close". The Post-Crescent. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
  6. Thomas, Lauren (December 28, 2018). "Sears is closing 80 more stores in March, faces possible liquidation". CNBC. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
  7. "The Buzz: Goodbye Sears". Post-Crescent Media. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
  8. "Fox River Mall Directory & Map". www.foxrivermall.com. Retrieved November 18, 2017.
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