Edison Mall
Coordinates: 26°36′07″N 81°52′08″W / 26.601881°N 81.868972°W
| Location | Fort Myers, Florida, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Address | 4125 S Cleveland Ave. |
| Opening date | 1965 |
| Developer | George Sanders |
| Management | WP Glimcher |
| Owner | WP Glimcher |
| No. of stores and services | 160 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 5 |
| Total retail floor area | 1,051,000 square feet[1] |
| No. of floors | 1 |
Edison Mall is an enclosed, super-regional shopping mall in Fort Myers, Florida. The mall opened in 1965, and has been expanded many times since. Owned by WP Glimcher, the mall is anchored by J.C. Penney and Sears, as well as two Macy's stores and a Dillard's. The mall also includes more than 160 stores and a lifestyle center section. The mall itself is situated on just one floor, but all of the anchor stores (with the exception of Sears) have two floors.
History
George Sanders developed the Edison Mall, which opened in 1965 on US-41 at Colonial Boulevard on the south side of Fort Myers. It was the first mall in the United States to feature rival chains J.C. Penney and Sears as its anchor stores.[2] Maas Brothers was a third anchor, which was its first store to be located in a shopping mall.[3] At the time, US-41 was only two lanes wide, and the only other businesses near the mall were a Publix supermarket and a drive-in theater,[4] now the site of a Kmart store. Sanders sold the mall to Aster Realty in 1979.[5]
The mall was expanded with the addition of Burdines in 1979.[6] Another expansion added J. W. Robinson's in 1985, whose Florida locations were acquired by Maison Blanche in 1987. Maison Blanche then sold its store and six others in Florida to Dillard's in 1991.[7] Also in 1991, Maas Brothers was acquired by Burdines. Burdines moved its women's clothing into the former Maas Brothers building which was heavily renovated, while retaining men's clothing and home goods at the original location.[8] A 1998 renovation to Edison Mall added skylights in the center court.
Along with the rest of the Burdines chain, the two locations at Edison Mall were renamed Burdine's-Macy's in 2003, dropping the Burdine's name two years later.[9] In 2005, Simon announced a further renovation of the mall, which would add an outdoor lifestyle center wing and renovate the interior.[10]
Footnotes
- ↑ "Leasing information for Edison Mall". Simon Property Group. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
- ↑ "Influential local: George Sanders". News-Press. 2 October 2009. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
- ↑ "Maas Brothers History". Tampa Pix. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
- ↑ Board, p. 121
- ↑ Board, p. 124
- ↑ "Austin-Westshore Construction Co Inc v. Federated Department Stores Inc". Open Jurist. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
- ↑ "Dillard's to buy 7 Maison Blanche stores in Florida". Daytona Beach Sunday News-Journal. 29 June 1991. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
- ↑ "BURDINES TO BEGIN $105. MILLION RENOVATION, EXPANSION AT EDISON MALL STORES IN FORT MYERS, FLA.". PR Newswire. 18 December 1992. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
- ↑ Mitchell, Anne (27 January 2004). "Burdines stores get renamed Friday". News-Press. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
- ↑ "Simon Announces Lifestyle Component at Edison Mall.". PR Newswire. 14 July 2005. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
References
- Board, Prudy Taylor (2006). Remembering Fort Myers: The City of Palms. The History Press. ISBN 159629101X.