The 480,000-square-foot mall opened August 1, 1990, with Sears, JCPenney, Sage-Allen and Steinbach as its anchors. It was built by Homart Development Company. It also included a food court with a mosaic. Steinbach closed its store by 1999 as part of the company's bankruptcy. Sage-Allen became The Bon-Tonin 1999, with a second Bon-Ton and Circuit City splitting the former Steinbach. Circuit City closed in 2009. In 2011, General Growth Properties, the successor company to Homart, transferred ownership of the mall, along with 29 other underperforming malls, to its Rouse Properties subsidiary. In August 2014, Rouse Properties announced that it had defaulted on its loan for Steeplegate Mall and was in the process of turning over the property to its lenders. By April 2015 the property was owned by a consortium of lenders including Wells Fargo Bank and Midland Loan Servicing. The mall is currently managed by Colliers International. In January 2015, Old Navy, one of four main anchors at the mall, closed its doors. In May 2016, Steeplegate Mall was bought by the New York-based Namdar Realty Group for $10.4 million. As part of an attempt to diversify from traditional retail and food stores, Hatbox Theater, a live theater venue located in the former Coldwater Creek, opened in 2016. Similarly, VIP Bounce Houses and Laser Tag opened in the former Old Navy location that year. In April 2018, Bon-Ton closed both of its stores as part of a plan to close 42 stores nationwide. Later that same year, a charter school called Capital CityCharter School moved into the former Bon-Ton men's clothing and houseware store and opened on September 5, while an Altitude Trampoline Park franchise opened within the former Circuit City space in November. In 2019, a health club called The Zoo opened a franchise in the former Bon-Ton women's and children's store, marking the first time since Circuit City's closure that all five anchors in the mall had an active permanent tenant. In 2019, one of the mall's oldest tenants, a confectionery called True Confections Candies & Gifts, moved out of the mall, citing declining foot traffic and the mall owners' unwillingness to lower rent rates. On February 6, 2020, Sears closed the Steeplegate store as part of closing 96 stores nationwide.
