Back in 2011, I remember limping from Parkcenter Pond across the street to Moxie Java, where I hoped they’d serve a grown adult a big glass of chocolate milk. I’d just completed my first half marathon and before I crossed the street, I remember looking at a sad-looking building that had a sign that said “Parkcenter Mall” standing out front. All I could think was “I bet this building has a story.”
If you moved to Boise in 2013 or later, you don’t remember that sign. Today that building houses SAGE International school, but for a few shiny years it was Parkcenter Mall.
The Boise Mall That Almost Was (1985)
The original concept for Parkcenter Mall was approved in 1985. At the time, the vision was to build a 100,000-square-foot shopping mall on Parkcenter. The project, also known as “The Courtyard,” was supposed to hold 40 retailers, a four screen movie theater, a bank, restaurants and an athletic complex. Unfortunately, the developer couldn’t secure enough leases to keep his lenders happy and they pulled the plug.
Parkcenter Mall Finally Opens (1988)
Three years later, a reimagined “Parkcenter Mall” was under construction. The developer and his partners decided that their mall needed to be enclosed and focus more on “soft goods.” That is industry speak for clothing, shoes and other non-durable items. Their main anchor was Boise’s locally-owned department store, The Bazaar. The main mall would measure 90,000 square feet and cost approximately $6.5 million to build. That would be the equivalent of more than $17.8 million in 2025.
And things started off promising for the mall. In a 1988 holiday ad in the Idaho Statesman, the mall had already secured 26 tenants with two more slated to open soon. However, many couldn’t help but address the elephant in the room. Boise Towne Square Mall opened just a few months after the “grand opening” at Parkcenter Mall. When asked about the competition, Parkcenter Mall’s developer told the Idaho Statesman that they didn’t expect Boise Towne Square Mall to hurt them. In fact he went as far as saying “We haven’t even considered it.”
Full Occupancy, Then Bankruptcy Hits Parkcenter Mall
The two malls were rather different and things, at least from an occupancy standpoint, seemed to be going well. In March 1991 the mall hit 100% occupancy when Talbots opened. But something bad must’ve been going on behind the scenes because the mall filed for bankruptcy a few months later.
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What followed was a mass exodus of retailers and possible foreclosure. By January of 1992, there were only 16 left. Six would leave between January and October of that year, with Bazaar planning to leave at the conclusion of the year. The mall was spared from foreclosure thanks to a trustee auction, but the new owners were desperately trying to sell it for nearly two years after taking on nearly $7 million of the mall’s debt…