{"id":46881,"date":"2025-11-12T20:15:15","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T20:15:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/46881\/"},"modified":"2025-11-12T20:15:15","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T20:15:15","slug":"dillards-joins-list-of-closures-as-willow-bend-plans-1-billion-revitalization-local-profile","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/46881\/","title":{"rendered":"Dillard\u2019s Joins List Of Closures As Willow Bend Plans $1 Billion Revitalization – Local Profile"},"content":{"rendered":"

After nearly a quarter century at The Shops at Willow Bend, Dillard\u2019s is saying goodbye. The longtime anchor store is the latest major retailer to depart the Plano mall, signaling another shift as the once-bustling shopping center prepares for a massive overhaul and potential reinvention.<\/p>\n

According to WFAA<\/a>, a sign posted this week at the Dillard\u2019s Clearance Center announced that the store will soon close its doors, thanking shoppers \u201cfor the memories\u201d and directing them to other North Texas locations. The retailer has been part of Willow Bend since the mall\u2019s 2001 debut and joins Neiman Marcus and Macy\u2019s in exiting the property.<\/p>\n

Local Profile reached out to Dillard\u2019s for comment, but did not receive a response prior to publishing. This story will be updated pending response.\u00a0<\/p>\n

From Retail Dream To Reinvention<\/p>\n

The 1.4-million-square-foot Shops at Willow Bend<\/a> opened in 2001 as Texas\u2019 last enclosed mall, envisioned as a luxury shopping destination for Collin County. Anchored by Neiman Marcus, Foley\u2019s, Dillard\u2019s and Lord & Taylor, the $200 million development arrived with high expectations, only to debut weeks before the September 11 attacks and the resulting economic downturn.<\/p>\n

In the decades since, the mall has undergone multiple ownership changes<\/a> and redevelopment attempts. A 2014 acquisition by Starwood Retail Partners promised a $100 million revitalization and brought restaurants like Knife Steakhouse<\/a> and Mexican Bar Co. But by 2020, the company defaulted on loan payments, halting the project.<\/p>\n

\"the-shops-at-willow-bend-1\"
\n. Photo: Visit Plano <\/p>\n

When Centennial Real Estate took over in 2022, occupancy had dipped below 70%. The company soon unveiled The Bend<\/a>, a sweeping plan to reimagine the property as a walkable urban district with apartments, offices, new retail and green space.<\/p>\n

Originally, the redevelopment plan assumed Dillard\u2019s, Macy\u2019s and Neiman Marcus would stay put. But with Macy\u2019s closure earlier this year and Neiman Marcus<\/a> and Dillard\u2019s now following suit, the vision is shifting<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The latest version of The Bend still calls for nearly 1,000 apartments and a reconfigured layout to promote walkability, potentially paving the way for a professional hockey arena.<\/p>\n

A Shiny New Era For Willow Bend<\/p>\n

As Local Profile recently reported, The Shops at Willow Bend may soon get a new lease on life. One high-profile addition may be on the horizon: a potential new home for the Dallas Stars<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The team is exploring several North Texas cities<\/a> as possible sites for a $1 billion arena when its lease at the American Airlines Center expires in 2031. Among the contenders \u2014 Frisco, The Colony, Arlington and Fort Worth \u2014 Plano\u2019s Willow Bend site is reportedly a leading option.<\/p>\n

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\nPhoto: Dallas Stars <\/p>\n

\u201cPlano is known to be attractive to national and international corporations, and we are home to numerous iconic brands,\u201d Plano Director of Media Relations Amanda McNew told Local Profile. \u201cDue to the strong interest in Plano and competition within the region, we do not publicly comment on speculation or economic development projects until they are brought to council for formal adoption.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Dallas Stars spokesperson added, \u201cThe Dallas Stars are continually evaluating all options for the home of our franchise in North Texas.\u201d<\/p>\n

After years of false starts, The Shops at Willow Bend may finally be on the cusp of a dramatic transformation, one that could turn a fading mall into one of Plano\u2019s most dynamic destinations.<\/p>\n

Don’t miss anything Local. Sign up<\/a> for our free newsletter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After nearly a quarter century at The Shops at Willow Bend, Dillard\u2019s is saying goodbye. The longtime anchor…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":46882,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[27150,160,162,161],"class_list":{"0":"post-46881","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-plano","8":"tag-mallshoppinglocal-newsdallas-starsdillardsnorth-texasplanocollin-countythe-shops-at-willow-bendnewsletter_all","9":"tag-plano","10":"tag-plano-headlines","11":"tag-plano-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46881","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46881"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46881\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46882"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}