 Anchor Stores | |
 | |
| Location | Des Moines and Urbandale, Iowa, United States |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 41°37′54″N 93°42′02″W / 41.631667°N 93.700556°W |
| Opening date | August 17, 1959 |
| Developer | Joseph Abbell & Bernard Greenbaum |
| Management | Merle Hay Mall Limited Partnership/ Urban Retail Properties (leasing) |
| Owner | Merle Hay Mall Limited Partnership |
| No. of stores and services | 87 (as of August 2015[update]) [1] |
| No. of anchor tenants | 5 (3 open, 2 vacant) |
| Total retail floor area | 1,060,000 square feet (98,000 m2)[2] |
| No. of floors | 1 (2 in center court area and former Younkers) |
| Parking | 6,000 spaces |
| Public transit access | DART |
| Website | merlehaymall |
Merle Hay Mall is an enclosed super-regional shopping mall in Des Moines, Iowa, in the United States. Opened in 1959, it is the second oldest regional shopping center in Iowa, and was the largest mall in Iowa in terms of gross leasable area before the 2004 opening of Jordan Creek Town Center in neighboring West Des Moines. It was also the site of the deadliest fire in Des Moines' history, which killed eleven people in 1978.[3]
The mall's anchor stores are Kohl's, Target and Ross Dress for Less. There are 2 vacant anchor stores that were once Younkers - which is set for remodeling as an ice arena - and Sears - which was demolished in 2021. Applebee's, IHOP, and Starbucks operate on the outparcels of the mall. Other prominent stores in the mall include Old Navy. Most of the mall is in the northwest part of Des Moines, but the wing that contains the former Younkers, Kohl's, and the food court is inside the city limits of neighboring Urbandale.
Merle Hay Mall is independently owned by the Merle Hay Mall Limited Partnership, and the family of one of its original developers continues to manage the mall. A Chicago-based company, Urban Retail Properties, handles the mall's leasing duties.[4]
- ^ "Merle Hay Mall Stores". Merle Hay Mall. Retrieved 2015-08-17.
- ^ "Merle Hay Mall". Urban Retail Properties. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved 2008-06-07.
- ^ Henning, Barbara Beving Long; Patrice K. Beam (2003). Des Moines and Polk County: Flag on the Prairie. Sun Valley, California: American Historical Press. p. 188. ISBN 1-892724-34-0.
- ^ Johnson, Patt (2004-10-04). "Merle Hay Mall stays in the family". The Des Moines Register.