Gateway Mall (Nebraska)

Gateway Mall
LocationLincoln, Nebraska, United States
Coordinates40°48′54″N 96°38′02″W / 40.815°N 96.634°W / 40.815; -96.634
Address5 Gateway Mall
Opening date1960
Renovated
  • 1993–1995
  • 2003–2005
DeveloperBankers Life Insurance Company of Nebraska
ManagementWPG
OwnerSVP
No. of stores and services107
No. of anchor tenants3
Total retail floor area975,000 sq ft (90,600 m2)
No. of floors1 (2 in Dick's Sporting Goods, JCPenney, former Sears, and former Younkers, 3 in Dillard's)
Public transit accessBus interchange StarTran
Websiteshoppinggatewaymall.com

Gateway Mall, formerly known as Gateway Shopping Center and Westfield Shoppingtown Gateway, is an enclosed shopping mall located in Lincoln, Nebraska managed by WPG. It was built in 1960, and is the largest shopping center in Lincoln, with 107 stores. The mall's anchor stores are Dillard's, Dick's Sporting Goods, Round 1 Entertainment, and JCPenney. Gateway Mall was originally announced and began construction in the late 1950s, and was planned to be the largest mall in the State of Nebraska.

The mall officially opened in 1960 and was expanded in the early 1970s. Originally an outdoor mall, renovations in the 1990s enclosed the mall. After the mall was purchased in 2001, the name was officially changed to Westfield Shoppingtown Gateway, and the mall went under further expansion. The mall was then sold in 2012 and was renamed to Gateway Mall.

History

In 1957, plans for Gateway Mall, then known as Gateway Shopping Center, were announced. It was developed by Bankers Life Insurance Company of Nebraska. It would cost an estimated $4.5 million and would be 30 acres (12 hectares) large.[1] Construction began in 1959, and it was planned to be Nebraska's largest suburban shopping area.[2] Gateway Mall officially opened in 1960.[3]

In 1970, an expansion that would double the size of Gateway Mall was announced.[4] In 1971, it was announced that part of the expansion would be adding a new Sears location inside of the building.[5] Most expansions to the building were completed by 1971.[6]

Bankers Life sold the mall in 1985 to Jacobs Visconsi Jacobs (later The Jacobs Group). In the mid-1990s, the building was remodeled and expanded. This included enclosing multiple parts of the then-open air mall. Most of construction was completed in 1994. The expansion would also add a JCPenney, which opened in 1995.[7]

Westfield Group purchased the mall in 2001. In 2003, it was announced that the mall would officially change its name to Westfield Shoppingtown Gateway.[8] The $45 million renovation added a new food court and carousel in the Center Court area.[9]

In June, 2012, Starwood Capital Group acquired the mall from Westfield and the name changed back to Gateway Mall.[10][11] In June 2013, several new stores opened at the mall, including Forever 21, which replaced one level of the former Montgomery Ward/Steve & Barry's.[12] In June 2016, it was announced that Dick's Sporting Goods would build a 70,000-square-foot store at the mall, which opened September 22, 2017. It will be built on the site of Granite City Food & Brewery, which has built a restaurant just west of the previous location.[13]

On April 18, 2018, it was announced that Younkers would be closing as parent company The Bon-Ton Stores was going out of business. The store closed on August 29, 2018.[14] Dillard's took over the empty space. On December 28, 2018, it was announced that Sears would also be closing as part of a plan to close 80 stores nationwide. The store has closed as of March 2019.[15]

On November 19, 2019, it was announced that Forever 21 would be closing as well as part of a plan to close 178 stores nationwide. The store closed on November 23, 2019.[16] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Gateway Mall remained closed until April 2020.[17] In May 2022, Starwood Capital sold the property to Washington Prime Group for $51.5 million.[3]

Anchors

Current

Former

Footnotes

  1. ^ "New Lincoln Shopping Center Plans Firmed". The Lincoln Star. June 12, 1957. p. 6. Retrieved August 7, 2025.
  2. ^ "1959 architect's rendering of Gateway Mall". Lincoln Journal Star. August 2, 1959. p. 9. Retrieved August 7, 2025.
  3. ^ a b "Lincoln's Gateway Mall sold for $51.5 million"; Matt Olberding; Lincoln JournalStar; July 7, 2022. Accessed October 27, 2022.
  4. ^ "Gateway to Nearly Double in Size". Lincoln Journal Star. December 21, 1970. p. 1. Retrieved August 7, 2025.
  5. ^ "Sears to Open New Gateway Store as Part of National Expansion". The Lincoln Star. October 20, 1971. p. 30. Retrieved August 7, 2025.
  6. ^ "The Revenue Story". Lincoln Journal Star. November 12, 1972. p. 55. Retrieved August 7, 2025.
  7. ^ "'New' mall welcomes shoppers". Lincoln Journal Star. November 27, 1994. p. 21. Retrieved August 7, 2025.
  8. ^ "Gateway changed go beyond a new name". Lincoln Journal Star. March 2, 2003. p. 106. Retrieved August 7, 2025.
  9. ^ Star, Lincoln Journal (April 18, 2012). "Gateway history". JournalStar.com. Retrieved August 7, 2025.
  10. ^ Starwood Capital Group Completes Acquisition of Shopping Centers from Westfield Group.
  11. ^ Becker, Robert (photographer) (July 11, 2012). "Gateway new owner". Lincoln Journal Star.
  12. ^ Olberding, Matt (June 10, 2013). "Forever 21 leads parade of new Gateway stores". Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
  13. ^ Olberding, Matt (August 6, 2016). "Lots of changes coming to Gateway". Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
  14. ^ "Department-store chain Bon-Ton is going out of business — here's the list of the 212 stores that will close".
  15. ^ Thomas, Lauren (December 28, 2018). "Sears is closing 80 more stores in March, faces possible liquidation". CNBC. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
  16. ^ "Forever 21 at Gateway Mall set to close by end of month".
  17. ^ "Gateway Mall temporarily suspends hours". 1011now. March 23, 2020. Retrieved August 7, 2025.

References

  • "Center court centerpiece," Lincoln Journal Star, September 26, 2004.
  • "Gateway's goal to keep shoppers headed east," Lincoln Journal Star, March 6, 2005.
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