Manhattan Town Center


Manhattan Town Center is a single-level enclosed shopping mall located in downtown Manhattan, Kansas. Manhattan Town Center opened in 1987. The mall has three anchors: Dillard's, JCPenney, and the AMC Dine-In Manhattan 13 IMAX movie theater.

History

Early proposals for an enclosed shopping center in Manhattan date back to 1971, when Topeka developer John Haley revealed plans to construct a mall on the southwest edge of Manhattan at the intersection of K-113 and K-18 that would come to be known as the Landmark Mall. Haley encountered pushback from city officials, and the project ultimately failed to materialize. The proposed site of the Landmark Mall was eventually developed as the Seth Child Commons open-air strip center, anchored by Target, in the early 2000s. Meanwhile, the Manhattan City Commission at least acknowledged the possibility of a major shopping mall located downtown when it decided to condemn and demolish a half-block of buildings and replace them with off-street parking.
Manhattan Town Center opened on October 26, 1987. The mall opened with two anchor stores, Dillard's and JCPenney. The third anchor, Sears, opened in 1990 and closed in 2014 amidst the company's widespread financial struggles. The vacant Sears store was demolished and replaced by the Carmike Cinemas Town Center 13 movie theater, which opened in December 2016. It was subsequently renamed following AMC Theatres' acquisition of Carmike.
As of March 2019, Manhattan Town Center's retail tenants include original anchors Dillard's and JCPenney as well as other national retailers including American Eagle Outfitters, Books-A-Million, Buckle, Famous Footwear, Foot Locker, Hot Topic, Kay Jewelers, Maurices, Victoria's Secret, and Ulta Beauty. In February 2019, mall officials announced that H&M planned to open an 18,000 sq. ft. store in the mall, the chain's first Kansas location outside of the Kansas City or Wichita areas. The mall property also includes five full-service restaurants: HuHot Mongolian Grill, Applebee's, Blue Moose Bar & Grill, Chili's, and Texas Roadhouse. In addition to retail, the mall also hosts various community functions including Manhattan High School's prom.