Plano Mall Redevelopment To Move Forward With Or Without Dallas Stars
The planned demolition and redevelopment of Plano’s last indoor mall will progress within the next year, whether or not the Dallas Stars come to town.
The owners of The Shops at Willow Bend said they’re moving forward with plans to tear down a significant portion of the 1.4M SF mall along the Dallas North Tollway to make way for a mixed-use development that will include residential units, a hotel, an office building, and retail and restaurant space.
Dallas’ NHL team has reportedly been eyeing the site for a new arena, and Cawley Partners CEO Bill Cawley and Centennial CEO Steven Levin told The Dallas Morning News a 20,000-seat arena would fit with their existing plans for the 90-acre property.
“We have nothing that is preventing us from starting the execution on the vision that we set out to create at the beginning,” Levin told the DMN.
Cawley Partners, a Centennial-based firm, and New York-based Waterfall Asset Management bought the mall in 2022 and announced plans to reimagine the site. Plano officials approved plans for the redevelopment project, to be named The Bend, more than a year ago, but two anchor tenants have since announced plans to leave the mall.
Dillard’s shut down in December and Neiman Marcus will shutter its location early next year.
The mall owners said they expect demolition to start within the next 12 months but noted that their redevelopment plans are malleable as the site already has the necessary zoning for everything on the table. Initial plans for The Bend included nearly 1,000 residential units and 800K SF of retail, restaurant and entertainment space.
Residential and retail are likely to be the first things constructed at the site, according to Levin.
“The only thing that does not work well on the site is the mall that’s sitting on it,” Levin said.
Depending on market demand, Cawley said the site could also support up to 2M SF of office space.
Demolition is expected to take six to eight months. The mall’s restaurant district, parking garages and some retailers will be spared.
In addition to the anchor tenants that have vacated the mall, the 60K SF Crayola Experience shuttered earlier this month and North Texas Performing Arts announced plans to relocate.
The Stars have shared the American Airlines Center with the Dallas Mavericks for the past 25 seasons. But each team’s lease at the arena expires in 2031 and both franchises have been on the hunt for a new home in the region.
Mavs CEO Rick Welts announced in January that the NBA team would build a new arena either in Downtown Dallas or at the 110-acre site of the former Valley View Center mall along Interstate 635.
The Shops at Willow Bend will be the second Plano mall to be reimagined as a mixed-use project.
Centurion American bought the former Collin Creek Mall in 2018 and has been working on its redevelopment for several years. Centurion American President and CEO Mehrdad Moayedi said last year that he expects the project’s first retailers will open sometime in 2026.
