Mall developer Russell "Rusty" Lyon Jr. has died at age 86. He had Alzheimer's disease, the Arizona Republic reports. Rusty founded Westcor in 1964, and developed a good many malls, including Biltmore Fashion Park, Scottsdale Fashion Square and Metrocenter in the greater Phoenix market. His first shopping center was Los Arcis Mall in Scottsdale, which later became ASU's innovation center, Skysong.
Macerich acquired Westcor in 2002 for about $1.5B. Rusty was predeceased by his wife, Rosie, and son Roy. He was survived by his sons, Mark, a winemaker for Sebastani Vineyards & Winery, and Scott, founder of Westroc Hospitality, a developer of resorts. [AZR]
