Town Center at Boca Raton, one of Palm Beach County’s most upscale shopping centers, is now officially middle-aged (45!), yet still showing off like a hip, haute-couture youngster.
At 1,778,660 square feet, it’s the third-largest mall in South Florida — behind only Sawgrass Mills and Aventura. It offers numerous restaurants within the mall and at a food court, large parking lots, three parking decks and a valet station.
The shopping behemoth boasts 200 stores, including anchors Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s. Specialty and luxury retailers include Chanel, Tiffany and Co., Gucci, Ann Taylor, Apple, Boll & Branch, Torey Burch, MAC Cosmetics, Tommy Bahama, Oakley, Pottery Barn and Wentworth Gallery.
Town Center has managed to survive tough times and adverse economic forces — such as recessions and online shopping, not to mention a pandemic — that have felled many other enclosed-mall giants.
It also has thrived despite attracting negative headlines for onsite incidents, including thefts, murders, and swatting attempts. On any given weekend day, the parking lots are full and the mall is teeming with diners, walkers and shoppers. And don’t even try to get near the place at the height of holiday shopping.
Town Center opened in August 1980
The mall opened on Aug. 13, 1980, on Glades Road west of Interstate 95. It was developed by Federated Stores on land owned by Arvida Corp., and had three original anchors — the now-defunct Burdines and Jordan Marsh, as well as a Sears that closed at the site in 2018.
The one-story mall originally featured a Mediterranean Revival theme with a central clock, leafy atriums and several fountains, and housed 100 stores.
In 1988, Simon Property Group purchased the mall and has expanded and renovated the space several times.
Town Center continues to attract high-end retailers such as Neiman-Marcus, which in fall 2005 opened its seventh Florida location in a space that had been vacated by Lord & Taylor.
“This is a giant coup,” Erik Gordon, a marketing professor at the University of Florida, told the Palm Beach Post in 2004. “There probably is no finer, high-end apparel retailer in the country today than Neiman Marcus. This cements Boca Town Center’sstatus.”
Even the months-long closure forced by the pandemic in early 2020 did not dampen shoppers’ — or shopkeepers’ —spirits.
In May 2020, just days after the mall began allowing stores to reopen, customers were finding their way back to the few stores that were operating.
“We have been here since it opened in 1980 so we have quite a following,” Vincent Teodosio, who was general manager of Cohen’s Fashion Optical at the time, told the Post for a story. “Many of our customers were asking when we were going to reopen. It should only get better as more and more businesses at the mall open up.”
Previous reports by staff writer Mike Diamond and former staff writer Paul Owers contributed to this story.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Town Center mall has been an upscale shopping destination from Day 1 – 45 years ago
Reporting by Tracy Allerton, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
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