Cielo Vista Mall is a shopping mall in El Paso, Texas, United States, owned and operated by Simon Property Group. It is located on El Paso's east side, at Interstate 10 and Hawkins Blvd., and features five anchor stores operating under four brand names, and 117 specialty stores.[1] It is the largest of the three malls in the metro area; its former sister Simon property, Sunland Park Mall, is second.[2]
 | |
| Location | El Paso, Texas, United States |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 31°46′32″N 106°22′47″W / 31.775490°N 106.379663°W |
| Address | 8401 Gateway West Blvd. |
| Opening date | November 13, 1974 |
| Developer | Simon Property Group |
| Management | Simon Property Group |
| Owner | Simon Property Group |
| No. of stores and services | 117 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 5 |
| Total retail floor area | 1,244,987 sq ft (115,663 m2) |
| No. of floors | 2 (3 in Dillard's North) |
| Public transit access |  Sun Metro bus: 25 |
| Website | www |
With a gross leasable area of 1,244,987 square feet (115,663 m2), the mall is classified as a super-regional mall by the International Council of Shopping Centers.[3]
History
editCielo Vista Mall opened in November 13, 1974 with Dillard's, JCPenney, Montgomery Ward (demolished and rebuilt in 2002 as Foley's, now Macy's) and Rhodes.[4] In 1978, Joske's opened on west end of the mall in the former Rhodes and later became Dillard's West in 1987. The mall's north west end expanded and Sears opened in newly added space in 1982. A parking lot structure was built on top of a small reservoir to expand the parking lot was also added about this time. Cielo Vista Mall has undergone some renovations over the years including 1982, 1993 and in 2005 being the most recent. During the 1993 and 2005 renovations most of the mall's large elaborate fountain pools and interior landscaping were removed to make room for kiosk vendors. All of the large wrap around staircases found throughout the mall were also removed in the 2005 renovation.[5] It is approximately 10 miles (16 km) from downtown El Paso, and about five miles (8 km) from the border with Mexico. Simon claims that the mall has 10 million "shopper visits" per year.[6]
A mass shooting occurred at a Walmart next to the mall on August 3, 2019. With 23 killed, it is one of the deadliest shootings in American history.[7][8]
Another shooting occurred on February 15, 2023, with one death and three injuries.[9] Two suspects were taken into custody.[10] The shooting stemmed from a fight between two groups of hispanic youths, and the one who fired the fatal shot(s) was among the wounded after being shot by a concealed carrier.[11]
Anchors
edit- Dillard's North houses Women's departments
- Dillard's West houses Men's departments
- JCPenney
- Macy's
- Sears (last store in Texas; one of last 10 locations on mainland US)[12]
Former anchors
edit- Foley's (became Macy's in 2006)
- Joske's (became Dillard's West in 1987)
- Montgomery Ward (closed in 2001, demolished for Foley's)
- Rhodes (became Joske's in 1978)
References
edit- ^ "Cielo Vista Information". Simon Malls. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-08-04.
- ^ Comparison of leasing sheets from Bassett Place Mall [1] Archived 2007-06-27 at the Wayback Machine, Sunland Park Mall [2] Archived 2006-10-25 at the Wayback Machine and Cielo Vista Mall [3] Archived 2006-10-25 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ International Council of Shopping Centers Archived March 25, 2009, at the Wayback Machine Shopping Center Definitions. Information Accurate as of 2004. Retrieved Feb 20, 2007.
- ^ "1974: Climate Controlled Shopping Center for El Paso". El Paso Times. 1974-11-24. Archived from the original on 2023-03-31. Retrieved 2022-08-06.
- ^ "Cielo Vista Mall gets face lift". El Paso Times. 2005-02-04.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Simon.com: Cielo Park Mall Leasing Information". Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-08-05.
- ^ "El Paso mall shooting: Multiple people dead, suspect in custody, police say". NBC News. Archived from the original on August 4, 2019. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
- ^ "El Paso Shooting Victim Dies Months Later, Death Toll Now 23". The New York Times. April 26, 2020. Archived from the original on April 27, 2020. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
- ^ "El Paso police say fight between 2 groups led to fatal shooting at Cielo Vista Mall". Archived from the original on 2023-02-17. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
- ^ "1 killed, 3 hurt in shooting at El Paso, Texas shopping mall". AP NEWS. 2023-02-16. Archived from the original on 2023-02-26. Retrieved 2023-02-26.
- ^ Esquivel, Erika (2023-02-23). "16-year-old El Paso Cielo Vista Mall accused shooter charged with murder". KFOX. Retrieved 2024-12-19.
- ^ "Sears in Bay Area is one of 12 remaining US locations". 29 December 2023.