J.C. Penney is about to find out how to operate a store while the rest of the mall is being torn down.
The retailer is staying put during construction while Plano's Collin Creek Mall is transformed into a $1 billion mixed-use development. And Penney is getting a new store out of the deal.
Big red banners on the outside, above Penney's two entrances, say "Come on in! We are open."
That message is also on yard signs up around the perimeter of the now vacant mall in Plano just west of U.S. Highway 75 and north of the Bush Turnpike.
"This store has been a pillar for us. It's our hometown store as the only one in Plano," said Jennifer Hipskind, senior vice president of store environment and design. "We have a super loyal customer here."
This Penney store has been Collin Creek's lone destination since mid-July, when the few remaining tenants closed, said Adam Staeben, manager of the store.
Redevelopment plans will erase the 37-year-old mall, one of dozens that have been repurposed across the U.S. in recent years as department stores closed and mall developers sold off weaker properties. Many more malls are forecast to close or be redeveloped in the future as stronger malls emerge as the survivors in most major markets.
More than 4,000 people attended a nostalgic farewell bash at Collin Creek Mall on July 26.
"We had tables set up letting people know we're still going to be here," Staeben said.
Dallas-based Centurion American Development Group bought the 100-acre property late last year. The mall is coming down to make way for new restaurants, shops and a hotel. There will be almost 9 acres of parks and 1.6 miles of hiking trails.
More than 2,000 apartments and 1 million square feet of office space are also planned. Plano's City Council unanimously approved a development agreement in July to help finance the project with bond sales, grants and infrastructure improvements.
"It's very important to us to stay here and not close to reopen later," Hipskind said, because that option could have led to losing customers. The store has a strong InStyle salon business and is used by Penney merchants to set each season ahead of the rest of its 840 locations.
The plan is to move out of the 165,000-square-foot, two-level traditional 1980s mall store next fall and straight into a new 95,000-square-foot, one-level building, Hipskind said. Penney owns its Collin Creek store and will own the new one.
The new Penney store will be on the east side of the property and will face U.S. 75.
Employees were getting the store ready Monday for back-to-school shopping for the tax-free weekend, which in Texas is this Friday through Sunday
It's one store in Dallas-Fort Worth that will have plenty of parking spaces.
Twitter: @MariaHalkias
