Capital Mall

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Capital Mall
Capital Mall logo.svg
Capital Mall, Olympia, Washington, August 14, 2023.jpg
Capital Mall and surrounding area in August 2023
Capital Mall
Location Olympia, Washington, United States
Coordinates 47°02′31″N122°56′08″W / 47.04194°N 122.93556°W / 47.04194; -122.93556
Address625 Black Lake Boulevard Olympia, WA 98502 U.S.
Opening dateOctober 5, 1978;46 years ago (October 5, 1978)
DeveloperThe Hahn Company
ManagementPacific Retail Capital Partners
OwnerStarwood Retail Partners (90%)
Westfield Group (10%)
No. of stores and services106 [1]
Total retail floor area 803,500 sq ft (74,650 m2) (main retail area)
257,700 sq ft (23,940 m2) (anchor retail area)
No. of floors1 (2 in REI [2] )
Parking3,515 outdoor spaces
Website capitalmallolympia.com

Capital Mall is a shopping mall located in Olympia, Washington. The anchor stores are REI, Total Wine & More, Macy's, Dick's Sporting Goods, JCPenney, Best Buy, and Century Theatres. The mall was known as Westfield Capital from 1998 to 2013, when it was owned by the Westfield Group. In 2013, Starwood Capital Group purchased the mall [3] and owned it until 2020; it is now managed by Pacific Retail Capital Partners. [4]

Contents

In 2024, the Olympia City Council approved plans to develop the mall and surrounding area, known as the Capital Mall Triangle, into a high-density, walkable urban space; this allows certain buildings to be constructed up to 12 stories (130 feet (40 m)), will improve crosswalks and bike paths, and require additional stormwater mitigation systems. [5] [6]

History

The grounds of Capital Mall were originally owned by the Yauger family which sold the land off in parcels, eventually becoming of use for the shopping complex, Capital High School, and Yauger Park. [7] Capital Mall opened on October 5, 1978 and was developed by The Hahn Company. [8] A 1978 article in The Spokesman-Review stated that Capital Mall was an integral factor in development of the city of Olympia. Concurrently with the mall, a number of retail developments and fast-food restaurants were also built around the mall. [9] Construction of the mall required the city of Olympia to spend $3 million (equivalent to $14,462,755in 2024) on road and traffic improvements, as the mall's development was predicted to more than triple the amount of traffic in the area. [10]

The mall began with four anchor department stores: The Bon Marche, JCPenney, Frederick and Nelson, and Lamonts. [9] J. C. Penney's store cost approx. $2.7 million (equivalent to $13,016,480in 2024) to build and was designed by the Los Angeles, California firm of Burke Nicolais Archuleta. [11] Frederick & Nelson was sold to Mervyns in 1992. [12]

On August 18, 1991, a fire broke out on the mall's roof, causing over $3 million in damage. [13] The mall was acquired in 1998 by Westfield America, Inc., a precursor of the Westfield Group, which renamed it "Westfield Shoppingtown Capital", dropping the "Shoppingtown" from the name in 2005.[ citation needed ] Upon acquisition by Westfield, it underwent a $50 million expansion and renovation. One facet of the expansion opened in 2002, when the vacated Lamonts store was replaced by a Best Buy and a food court. [14]

Mervyns closed its 99,924 sq ft (9,283.2 m2) store on December 31, 2006 and the space has since been divided into smaller sections: Forever 21 opened in August 2010, REI opened in May 2011, and Total Wine & More opened July 2013. Forever 21 closed permanently in September 2018. [15] In October 2013, Westfield sold a controlling interest in several malls in the United States to Starwood Retail Partners, which included Capital Mall, for $1.6 billion. [3] [16] In October 2016, Dick's Sporting Goods opened a new store in the mall. [17]

The Timberland Regional Library system opened a branch library in the mall in June 2021 as a pilot project to gauge demand in the western Olympia area. [18] The library includes computers, book holds and returns, a children's area, and Wi-Fi. [19]

References

  1. ↑ "Permanent Leasing". Capital Mall; Olympia, WA. Pacific Retail Capital Partners. June 6, 2025. Retrieved July 18, 2025.
  2. ↑ "REI to Open New Store in Olympia, Wash. in the Spring of 2011". rei.com. Retrieved September 1, 2025.
  3. 1 2 "Starwood Capital Group Completes $1.6B Acquisition of Seven Dominant Regional Malls From Westfield Group". prnewswire.com. PR Newswire LLC. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  4. ↑ Boone, Rolf (October 2, 2020). "Is Capital Mall getting a new owner? Partnership shows interest, according to report". The Olympian . Retrieved July 18, 2025.
  5. ↑ "Capital Mall Triangle Subarea Plan". City of Olympia . July 16, 2024. Retrieved July 18, 2025.
  6. ↑ Vinson, Ty (July 21, 2024). "Olympia's Capital Mall to become mixed-use urban space". The Columbian . Retrieved July 18, 2025.
  7. ↑ "Ruth Yauger - 9/3/23". Olympia Historical Society. September 3, 2023. Retrieved June 12, 2025.
  8. ↑ "Capital Mall Opens For Business Tomorrow". The Daily Olympian . October 4, 1978.
  9. 1 2 Jill Tokcarzyk (May 14, 1978). "Olympia development booming". The Spokesman-Review. pp. A18. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  10. ↑ Paul Overberg (May 3, 1979). "Bridgewater asks more than others". The Courier News. pp. D11. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  11. ↑ "Two LA concerns design, build store". The Los Angeles Times. May 21, 1978. p. 22. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  12. ↑ "Bottom Of The 9Th -- But Frederick & Nelson Owner David Sabey Vows Game Isn't Over Yet". Seattle Times . January 16, 1992. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  13. ↑ "$3 million damage in mall fire". Spokane Chronicle. August 19, 1991. p. 1. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  14. ↑ "Food court, Best Buy coming to Olympia mall". South Sound Business. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  15. ↑ Boone, Rolf (September 5, 2018). "Forever 21 has closed at Capital Mall, but Stack 571 Burger and Whiskey Bar is set to open". The Olympian. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  16. ↑ "Westfield Group Announces Multiple Center Transaction with Starwood Capital Group | Starwood Retail Partners". Archived from the original on November 15, 2013. Retrieved November 15, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-18
  17. ↑ "Dick's Sporting Goods sets date for Olympia store grand opening". The Olympian . October 10, 2016. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  18. ↑ Bilbao, Martín (June 4, 2021). "Residents can visit new Timberland library at Capitol Mall starting Tuesday". The Olympian. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
  19. ↑ "West Olympia". Timberland Regional Library . Retrieved October 20, 2024.
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