Dimond Center

Last updated
Dimond Center
Dimond Center ice rink and tower, looking east.jpg
View looking east of the ice rink and office tower
Dimond Center
Location Anchorage, Alaska, United States
Coordinates 61°08′35″N149°52′05″W / 61.143116°N 149.86815°W / 61.143116; -149.86815 Coordinates: 61°08′35″N149°52′05″W / 61.143116°N 149.86815°W / 61.143116; -149.86815
Address800 E Dimond Blvd
No. of stores and services200+
No. of anchor tenants 3
Total retail floor area 728,000 square feet (67,600 m2)
No. of floors2 main
ParkingFree, uncovered
Website dimondcenter.com

The Dimond Center is a regional shopping mall in Anchorage, Alaska, United States, located on the southwest corner of East Dimond Boulevard and the Old Seward Highway in south Anchorage. This is the largest enclosed mall in the state of Alaska, [1] though the open-air Tikahtnu Commons in NE Anchorage has a greater GLA.

Contents

The 728,000 square feet (67,600 m2) mall is anchored by Best Buy, Dave & Buster's and a 9-screen Regal Cinemas theater. In total the Dimond Center contains over 200 stores, restaurants and services, including a six-story office tower at the mall's southeast corner. The lower level in the office tower also contains a small food court, a bowling alley, and a health club, all arrayed around an ice skating rink. The office tower is home to the Anchorage branch of iHeartMedia (formerly Clear Channel Radio), including the studios of radio stations KASH, KBFX, KENI, KGOT, KTZN and KYMG.

History

The section line road leading south from Anchorage to the rural settlements of Rabbit Creek and Potter became the Seward Highway in the early 1950s and the Old Seward Highway about 20 years later with the construction of a 4-lane freeway slightly to the east. The Old Seward Highway formed the backbone of what became south Anchorage, both in terms of access to residential subdivisions and homesteads, as well as businesses which catered to both nearby residents and highway travelers.

As south Anchorage began to grow, the intersections of the Old Seward Highway with Dowling Road and with O'Malley Road originally began to develop as commercial hubs for the area. This changed after Larry Carr and Barney Gottstein acquired and subsequently developed large amounts of acreage throughout Anchorage, mostly with intent to expand the Carrs grocery chain. Their initial foray into south Anchorage occurred at the corner of Dimond and Old Seward, across Dimond Boulevard from the east end of what became the Dimond Center. This turned what was originally intended as industrial land into retail land, no doubt helped by the development boom associated with the trans-Alaska pipeline during the 1970s.

Dimond Center opened in 1977 with Safeway and Pay 'n Save as its anchor stores. [2] It underwent a major expansion in 1981, adding a replacement Pay 'n Save drug store and other stores. [3] In 1982, a competing development, the Great Northern Mall, was announced for the tract of land across the Old Seward Highway from the mall. Owing to a real estate-related economic crash which befell Anchorage during the most of the middle and late 1980s, only a small portion of that proposed development was ever constructed, mostly near the Dimond Boulevard and New Seward Highway intersection. This tract was fully developed during the 1990s centered on big-box stores, which supplement the Dimond Center as a destination for shoppers from a vast geographical area.

A refrigerant leak on May 20, 1991 resulted in the death of the skating rink's assistant manager and injured 33 others, including six whose injuries required hospitalization. [4] A movie theater was added in 1996. [5] The Dimond Center Hotel was later built on the mall's southwest corner, which was largely financed by Seldovia's Native corporation, Seldovia Native Association, Inc. The Samson-Dimond Library, a branch of the Anchorage Public Library and an original tenant of the mall, closed at the end of 2010 due to budget cuts. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Galleria</span> Shopping mall in Texas, United States

The Galleria, stylized theGalleria and also known as the Houston Galleria, is an upscale mixed-use urban development and shopping mall located in the Uptown District of Houston, Texas, United States. The development consists of a retail complex, as well as the Galleria Office Towers complex, two Westin hotels, and a private health club. The office towers and hotels are separately owned and managed from the shopping center. The anchor stores are Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Macy's.

Carrs–Safeway is a supermarket chain that is based in Anchorage, Alaska, and is a subsidiary of Albertsons. It was acquired in April 1999 by former parent Safeway from an employee ownership group, who itself had purchased the company from founder Larry Carr and his partner Barney Gottstein in 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pentagon City</span> Area of Arlington County, Virginia, US

Pentagon City is an unincorporated neighborhood located in the southeast portion of Arlington County, Virginia, near The Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irvine Spectrum Center</span> Shopping mall in California, U.S.

The Irvine Spectrum Center is an outdoor shopping center developed by the Irvine Company, located in the Irvine Spectrum district on the southeast edge of Irvine, California. The mall features Nordstrom and Target department stores, a ferris wheel, and a Regal Cinemas 21-screen movie theater. Built over a 10-year period, the first phase of the center opened in 1995 and the second phase followed in 1998. The third phase was completed in 2002. The fourth and fifth phases were built and completed between 2005 and 2006. The mall was used for establishing shots of the fictional "Mall of Miami" in the Disney Channel television series Austin and Ally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monroeville Mall</span> Shopping mall in Monroeville, Pennsylvania

Monroeville Mall is a shopping mall located in the municipality of Monroeville, Pennsylvania, east of Pittsburgh. It is located along heavily traveled U.S. Route 22 Business near the junction of Interstate 376 (I-376) and the Monroeville interchange of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. It was completed in 1969, extensively renovated and expanded in 2003–2004, and includes Barnes & Noble, Cinemark Theatres, Dick's Sporting Goods, JCPenney, and Macy's as anchor tenants. It contains 1,418,700 square feet (131,800 m2) of leaseable retail space on 170 acres (0.7 km2), making it the largest shopping complex in Western Pennsylvania in terms of square footage. It is one of two CBL-owned malls in the Pittsburgh area, the other being Westmoreland Mall in Greensburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eagle River, Anchorage</span> Community in Alaska, USA

Eagle River is a community within the Municipality of Anchorage situated on the Eagle River, for which it is named, between Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson and Chugach State Park in the Chugach Mountains. Its ZIP code is 99577. Settled by homesteaders, Eagle River has been annexed to the Municipality of Anchorage since the 1970s—a relationship that is, at times, complicated. On the one hand, Eagle River functions as an Anchorage suburb, with a number of Eagle River residents working in, shopping or participating in community life in the Anchorage bowl. Much of the community is also made up of residents from nearby Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. On the other hand, the community is itself a significant business hub between Wasilla and Anchorage, offering shopping, restaurants, recreation and employment. Secession efforts have from time to time gained traction by residents who would like Eagle River legally regarded as a separate community. Eagle River also has a close relationship with its neighboring community to the north, Chugiak, with which it shares some history. If Eagle River were not part of the Municipality of Anchorage, it would be classified as one of the five largest cities in Alaska.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SM Megamall</span> Shopping center in the Philippines

SM Megamall, simply known as Megamall, is the third largest shopping mall in the Philippines and the thirteenth largest in the world that is developed and operated by SM Prime Holdings. It is located in Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong, Philippines. The mall occupies a land area of approximately 10 hectares and has a total floor area of 474,000 square meters (5,100,000 sq ft). The mall has a maximum capacity of 4 million people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chugach State Park</span> State park in Alaska, United States

Chugach State Park covers 495,204 acres immediately east of the Anchorage Bowl in south-central Alaska. Though primarily in the Municipality of Anchorage, a small portion of the park north of the Eklutna Lake area in the vicinity of Pioneer Peak lies within the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. Established by legislation signed into law on August 6, 1970, by Alaska Governor Keith Miller, this state park was created to provide recreational opportunities, protect the scenic value of the Chugach Mountains and other geographic features, and ensure the safety of the water supply for Anchorage. The park, managed by Alaska State Parks, is the third-largest state park in the United States, and consists of geographically disparate areas each with different attractions and facilities. Only Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in California and Wood-Tikchik State Park in western Alaska are larger. Hunting and fishing are permitted in the Chugach under regulations established by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game for game management unit 14c. Target practice is not allowed within the park boundaries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SM Mall of Asia</span> Mall in the Philippines

SM Mall of Asia, also abbreviated as SM MoA, or simply Mall of Asia or MoA, is a large shopping mall in the Philippines, located at Bay City, Pasay, Philippines, within the SM Central Business Park, a reclaimed area within Manila Bay, and the southern end of Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dimond High School</span> Public magnet secondary school in Anchorage, Alaska, United States

A. J. Dimond High School (DHS) is a public four-year high school in Anchorage, Alaska, and is a part of the Anchorage School District. It has been accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. Dimond serves students in the Sand Lake, Kincaid, and Bayshore areas of suburban Anchorage, and had an enrollment of 1,709 as of November 25, 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anchorage, Alaska</span> Consolidated city-borough in Alaska, United States

Anchorage is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Matanuska-Susitna Borough, had a population of 398,328 in 2020, accounting for more than half the state's population. At 1,706 sq mi (4,420 km2) of land area, the city is the fourth-largest by area in the United States and larger than the smallest state, Rhode Island, which has 1,212 sq mi (3,140 km2).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alaska Route 1</span> Highway in Alaska

Alaska Route 1 (AK-1) is a state highway in the southern part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It runs from Homer northeast and east to Tok by way of Anchorage. It is one of two routes in Alaska to contain significant portions of freeway: the Seward Highway in south Anchorage and the Glenn Highway between Anchorage and Palmer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SM Southmall</span> Shopping mall in Las Piñas, Philippines

SM Southmall or SM Southmall Las Piñas is a large shopping mall in the Philippines, owned and operated by SM Prime Holdings. The mall is located along the busy Alabang-Zapote Road in Las Piñas. The mall has 200,000 m2 (2,200,000 sq ft) of land area, a total floor area of 205,120 m2 (2,207,900 sq ft) and a gross built-up area of 189,676 m2 (2,041,660 sq ft). It is currently the 7th largest SM Supermall in the Philippines after SM Mall of Asia, SM City North EDSA, SM Megamall, SM Seaside City Cebu, SM City Fairview and SM City Cebu.

The People Mover is the public transportation agency that serves metropolitan Anchorage, Alaska. It is owned and operated by the Municipality of Anchorage, with service primarily within city limits as well as Eagle River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Downtown Rochester</span> Neighborhood in Rochester, New York, United States

Downtown Rochester is the economic center of Rochester, New York, and the largest in Upstate New York, employing more than 50,000 people, and housing more than 6,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J. C. Penney Store (Anchorage, Alaska)</span>

The J. C. Penney Store in Anchorage, Alaska is a department store and part of the United States retail chain J. C. Penney. The store was established in 1962 on Fifth Avenue in downtown Anchorage, making J. C. Penney one of the first national retailers to establish a presence in the state following Alaska's admission to the union as the 49th state in 1959. The store has been housed in two buildings on the same Fifth Avenue site since it opened.

The Minnesota Drive Expressway is a 7.560-mile-long (12.167 km) south–north expressway located in the city of Anchorage, Alaska, United States. The expressway includes a small portion of O'Malley Road, which is also built to expressway standards. The highway travels from the southern region of Anchorage northward to North Star neighborhood area, and bisects the community of Spenard. The first section of the highway was constructed around 1950, and the entire highway was upgraded to expressway standards by the year of 1985. The entire length of the expressway is listed on the National Highway System, a network of roads important to the country's economy, defense, and mobility.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tikahtnu Commons</span> Shopping mall in Alaska, United States

Tikahtnu Commons is a 900,000 square foot power center located on a 95-acre parcel in Anchorage, Alaska, United States. It is owned by Cook Inlet Region, Inc. (CIRI), an Alaska Native corporation and Browman Development Company, a California corporation. The shopping center consists of several large anchor stores, dozens of smaller restaurants, shops and services, and a 16-screen Regal Cinemas theater. Tikahtnu is the word for Cook Inlet in the Dena'ina language. Tikahtnu Commons is home to many firsts for Alaska, including the state's first Kohl's, PetSmart and IMAX theater. Tikahtnu Commons is the largest single-owner shopping center in the state and is even large by national comparison. The International Council of Shopping Centers states that power centers in the United States typically range from 250,000 to 600,000 square feet with an average of 420,160 square feet (39,034 m2). Construction of the center began in 2007 and by the summer of 2015, it had been developed to roughly 98% capacity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Promenade on the Peninsula</span> Shopping mall in Palos Verdes, California, United States

Promenade on the Peninsula is the current name of originally enclosed, now open-air regional shopping mall in Rolling Hills Estates on the affluent Palos Verdes Peninsula in the South Bay area of Greater Los Angeles. Former names include The Courtyard, Shops at Palos Verdes and Avenue of the Peninsula.

Bridgepointe Shopping Center is a shopping mall in San Mateo, California, United States. Opened in 1982 as San Mateo Fashion Island, it was originally an enclosed shopping mall featuring JCPenney, Bullock's, Liberty House, and Montgomery Ward as its anchor stores. Following the closures of Bullock's and Liberty House, the mall went into decline throughout the 1990s, leading to its closure and demolition in favor of a power center. Bridgepointe Shopping Center is owned and managed by CBRE Group. Major tenants of Bridgepointe Shopping Center include The Home Depot and Target.

References

  1. "Dimond Center store directory". Archived from the original on 2007-10-13. Retrieved 2007-05-18.
  2. Anchorage Daily News, Alaska, Business Question and Answer Column (Brief article)
  3. "This Week in Alaska Business History July 08, 2001". Archived from the original on July 3, 2003. Retrieved May 18, 2007.
  4. Enge, Marilee (May 21, 1991). "Gas leak kills mall worker — 33 others hurt near pool, rink". Anchorage Daily News . p. A1. Refrigeration gas spewing from a ruptured pipe killed an ice-skating rink worker, left two others in critical condition and forced the evacuation of the Dimond Center mall just as businesses were getting ready to open Monday morning. William Temple, 24, the assistant rink manager, was found unconscious shortly before 9 a.m. near the large compressors that power the ice rink's cooling system. Freon-like gas was erupting from a broken pipe near his body, according to firefighters
  5. Dimond Center to add Theater ACT III Plans Nine-Screen Complext is South Anchorage Mall (brief article)
  6. Musgrave, Jackie; Stockert, Clare (December 2011). Our History 1917—2011 (PDF) (Second ed.). Anchorage: Anchorage Public Library. p. 15. Retrieved September 16, 2014.