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The Shops at Willow Bend are seen on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Plano.<\/p>\n
Smiley N. Pool\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
PLANO \u2014 Long before the Dallas Stars emerged as a potential tenant<\/a>, The Shops at Willow Bend was already searching for a new future.<\/p>\n The 1.4-million-square-foot mall<\/a>, the last enclosed mall built in Texas, opened in 2001. But despite hundreds of millions of dollars spent by previous owners, the property struggled to attract enough shoppers and stores.<\/p>\n The most recent redevelopment plans called for transforming the site into a mixed-use project with less retail space, but the mall’s challenges only intensified in recent years.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The\u00a0Neiman Marcus department store at the property is scheduled to close by the beginning of 2027. Another anchor, Macy’s, backed out of the mall last year, and Dillard’s closed earlier this year.<\/p>\n By the time Dallas-based Centennial Real Estate became involved in the property through its\u00a02022 acquisition<\/a>, the question was no longer how to revive the mall, but what would replace it.<\/p>\n Steven Levin, founder and outgoing CEO of Centennial, said he and business partner Bill\u00a0Cawley were discussing the site’s future when a meeting with Dallas Stars team president and CEO Brad Alberts changed their thinking.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter this conversation, in my mind, I went back and thought there really isn’t anything more dynamic and better as an anchor than a sports anchor of the caliber of the Dallas Stars and the\u00a0NHL,\u201d Levin said.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cThat became really one of one to us.\u201d<\/p>\n Levin said the idea offered an opportunity to do something unique in North Texas.<\/p>\n \u201cWe weren’t going to do something that was just like other projects that were out there,\u201d he said. \u201cThere is no sports-anchored mixed-use development in Dallas-Fort Worth. This is an opportunity to do something that is absolutely unparalleled.\u201d<\/p>\n A rendering for the proposed new development for the planned Dallas Stars arena and entertainment complex.\u00a0<\/p>\n Courtesy of Centennial<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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