Ridgedale Center, colloquially known as Ridgedale, is an enclosed shopping mall in Minnetonka, Minnesota, a western suburb of the Twin Cities. It is directly located off I-394/US 12 between Ridgedale Drive and Plymouth Road. Ridgedale Center comprises of leaseable retail space, and contains approximately 140 retail tenants. It is currently jointly owned by Brookfield Properties Retail Group and CBRE Group, and managed by Brookfield. Anchors are JCPenney, Macy's and Nordstrom. Built in 1974, it was originally anchored by Dayton's, Donaldson's, JCPenney, and Sears, before the first two anchors merged with other companies. The mall has undergone several expansions and renovations throughout the years, including the recent addition of a Nordstrom department store in 2015. Considered an "upscale shopping center", Ridgedale includes various luxury brands such as Coach New York, Swarovski, and TUMI.
History
1974–86: Grand opening
Ridgedale Center was constructed on 81.3 acres of land in 1974 by the Dayton–Hudson Corporation, becoming the Twin Cities' fourth 'dale' shopping center, following Southdale, Brookdale, and Rosedale. The original center comprised of retail space, and was anchored by Dayton's, Donaldson's, JCPenney, and Sears, the former of which also developed the center. Dayton's announced plans in the early 1990s to tear down their current location at Ridgedale, and replace it with a much larger location in the same mall; these plans were also made at the other 'dale' centers, like Southdale and Rosedale. However, these plans were eventually scrapped and never occurred. In 1996, Dayton's opened up a second anchor storeat the center; this new store focused on men's clothing and furniture, while the original location changed focus and became centered on women's and children's clothing; the two stores were differentiated by their new titles, "Men's & Home Store" and "Women's and Children's Store".
2007–present: Renovations and Nordstrom opens, Sears closes
In early 2007, Ridgedale underwent a multimillion-dollar renovation to "freshen and brighten" the mall, with the use of "all-new lighting, flooring, and paint."Journal Article #1"> The renovation also included the addition of new restrooms and seating areas. Completion of the renovation process occurred later that same year. The center was also briefly mentioned in the commercially successful 2007 filmJuno. In 2009, Nordstrom announced plans to open a location at Ridgedale in 2011; however, these plans were later cancelled due to General Growth Properties, the mall's owner, filing for bankruptcy. This announcement came with the closure of the Macy's Men's & Home Store. Later in 2013, Nordstrom confirmed plans to open up a department store at Ridgedale by 2015; these plans allowed Macy's current anchor of to grow into a larger, location. The current Macy's Women's & Children's Store was expanded to provide additional space for the combination; during this process, a major fire occurred at the construction site, delaying the construction by several weeks. On June 4, 2014, deconstruction of the Men's & Home Store occurred, to make way for the new Nordstrom store, plus an additional of leaseable space, presumably for upscale retail and dining options.Business Journal Article #2"> This expansion was evaluated at $50 million, according to General Growth Properties. The Nordstrom location officially opened on October 2, 2015, followed by a grand opening ceremony. On October 15, 2018, it was announced that Sears had filed for bankruptcy and plans on closing 142 stores. These closures include the Sears at Ridgedale, which held a liquidation sale until the end of the year.
