The Florida Mall

The Florida Mall

One of the mall's entrances
Location	Orlando, Florida
Opening date	March 12, 1986
Developer	Edward J. DeBartolo Corp. and JMB Realty
Owner	Simon Property Group (50%)
No. of stores and services	250+
No. of anchor tenants	6
Total retail floor area	1,849,000 sq ft (171,800 m2)
No. of floors	1 (2 in Macy's, Dillard's, Old Navy, and Dick's Sporting Goods)
Public transit access	Lynx (Orlando) 07, 37, 42, 107, 108, 111, 418, 441 Sand Lake Road Station
Website	Official website

The Florida Mall is a super regional enclosed shopping mall located in unincorporated Orlando, Florida, on the southeast corner of Orange Blossom Trail and Sand Lake Road; it opened in 1986. The facility was developed by Eddie DeBartolo of DeBartolo Realty; it is currently managed by Simon Property Group, which owns 50%, having fallen to Simon following the 1996 merger of Simon and DeBartolo Realty into Simon DeBartolo Group. With 1,849,000 sq ft (171,800 m²) of gross leasable area and over 250 retailers, it is one of the largest single-story malls in the United States.

Among the major retailers in the buildings surrounding the mall are Toys "R" Us and Rooms To Go, as well as a business plaza and several restaurants. The Florida Mall once controlled but sold in 2013 an outdoor shopping plaza, The Terrace at The Florida Mall, next door to the east on Sand Lake Road. It features a Target, Marshall's and American Signature Furniture.

Location

Aerial view of The Florida Mall

The Florida Mall is located close to Orlando International Airport and many other Orlando attractions including Universal Orlando Resort, Walt Disney World and SeaWorld Orlando. The Florida Hotel contains 510 guest rooms and suites. The hotel was built by E.J. DeBartolo and owned in partnership with Pratt Hotel Corporation of Dallas, TX. Originally branded as a Crowne Plaza, then as a Sheraton Plaza, the hotel was sold to Adam’s Mark in 1996. In 2004 the hotel was purchased by a group headed by the Bank of Scotland.

History

The mall opened in 1986 In the late 1990s Dillard's opened one expanded two-story location on the east end of the east-west oriented mall with JCPenney (opened with the mall in 1986) at the opposite end. The old second location of Dillard's across from Saks Fifth Avenue was demolished and a new extension of the mall was added with two parallel north-south oriented hallways with a burdines at the south end where both hallways merge and end. Another hallway was added later on the one further east with a Nordstrom (closed August 2014, now divided into Crayola Experience and Dick's Sporting Goods) at the end completing this expansion. American Girl opened in fall 2014

On February 24, 2012 Orange County Sheriff's deputies were called in with riot-gear to disperse a crowd of over 3,000 people waiting for the release of the new Nike Galaxy Foams at Foot Locker.

The only Crayola Experience in the world is at The Florida Mall.

Infrastructure

Transportation

The mall is serviced by Lynx buses (links) 7,37,42,107,108,111,418,and 441

Right next to the mall stretches the Florida State Road 528 which has an exit at the Orange Blossom Trail (exit 4). The exit is only few exits away from the Orlando International Airport.

Tenants

Anchor stores

Store	Opened	Notes
Anchor stores
Dillard's	1993	Originally occupied two anchor locations, quickly redeveloped into one two-story location.
JCPenney	1986	Renovated/expanded in 1998.
Forever 21	2009	Opened in 1986 As Robinson's, converted to Maison Blanche in 1988, expanded and converted to Gayfers in 1993, converted to Parisian in 1998, converted to Lord & Taylor in 2001. Closed in 2006, demolished/redeveloped in 2007 as an open air shopping area.
Macy's	2005	Opened in 2000 as Burdines, converted/rebranded to Macy's in 2005.
Dick's Sporting Goods	2015	Opened in 2002 as a Nordstrom. Closed August 16, 2014. Some of the former Nordstrom store was subdivided to create The Crayola Experience while most of the former Nordstrom store became converted into a Dick's Sporting Goods.
Dining Pavilion	2015	Opened as Belk-Lindsay, converted to Saks Fifth Avenue in 1996. Closed March 2014, replaced by new Food Pavilion on June 1, 2015.
Sears	1986

Junior anchor stores

• Old Navy
• H&M
• XXI Forever
• ZARA
• American Girl

Planned development

The old food court will be renovated and divided into stores and more mall space. On June 1, 2015, the new food court opened to the public. With 23 new food options plus Yankee Candle with Ron Jon Surf Shop, GNC and Delores Jewelers will open soon.

External links

• The Florida Mall Official Website