Shoppers converge on new Springfield Town Center

Several hundred people gathered for the grand opening of the new Springfield Town Center Oct. 17.  It replaces the old Springfield Mall, which opened in 1973 and had declined in recent years as an increasing number of stores became vacant.

The new 1.3 million square foot shopping structure is still a mall, although it boasts trendy new stores, like the D.C. area’s first Topshop store in the British-based fashion chain. The exterior of the shopping center is lined with restaurants with outdoor dining.

New restaurants include Maggiano’s Little Italy, which also had a grand opening celebration with a pasta-cutting ceremony Oct. 17. Others scheduled to open soon include Chuy’s, an Austin-based Tex-Mex restaurant; Dave & Buster’s, an entertainment/dining venue, Yard House, &Pizza, Nando’s Peri-Peri, Zinburger, and Woodranch BBQ & Grill.

Among the stores already open are H&M, Forever 21, Bath & Body Works, Sephora, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Michael Kors, J. Crew, Justice, LOFT, Teavana, Victoria’s Secret, Pink, Rack Room Shoes, Olive Vine Gourmet, and White House/Black House.

Other stores coming to the mall include Nordstrom Rack, Uniqlo, Suiteblanco Sleep Number, New York & Co., francesca’s, and Finish Line.

Supervisor Jeff McKay (on the right) with executives from Vornado and PREIT.

The anchor stores from the old mall, Macy’s, Target, and J.C. Penney, remained open during the reconstruction and are a key part of the new shopping center.

The new mall also boasts a 12-screen Regal Cinemas movie theater and LA Fitness.

So far only two dining options are open in the food court: Panda Express and Sarku Japan. Among those coming are Hard Times Café, Chipotle, and Pholicious.

Springfield Town Center is part of a long-term revitalization plan for the area calling for about 2,000 housing units, a hotel, and office buildings.

At the opening ceremony, Mitchell Shear, president of Vornado Realty Trust, said “we made a big bet on a bold vision” when the company acquired the property in 2005 and began plans to gut the old mall. He called it the “best retail opportunity in America,” citing the area’s high-income population and extensive transportation access.

Vornado is in the process of selling the property to the Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT) for $465 million.

Fairfax County Supervisor Jeff McKay (Lee District) called the project the “number one-revitalization priority in Fairfax County” and said it would attract additional reinvestment to Springfield.