Valley West Mall

Valley West Mall is an enclosed super-regional shopping mall in West Des Moines, Iowa. The mall's anchor stores are Von Maur, Mattress Firm, JCPenney, and Boot Barn. There is 1 vacant anchor store that was once Younkers.

Frederick Watson, a developer from Minneapolis, Minnesota, first unveiled plans for Valley West Mall in 1971. The Meredith Corporation initially objected to the mall since it was right next to a site where Meredith planned to build its new corporate headquarters, but Meredith withdrew its plan to relocate there in June 1971. A dispute with Dayton Hudson Corporation over plans to put a Dayton's department store at Valley West Mall also delayed construction. After Davenport-based Petersen Harned Von Maur signed a lease agreement to anchor the mall in mid-1974, Dayton Hudson unsuccessfully sued Watson, claiming it was promised a spot in the mall. The legal battle against Dayton Hudson also led to a delay in signing a third anchor store after Von Maur and Omaha-based Brandeis, as JCPenney refused to sign a lease agreement until the suit was settled.
Valley West Mall opened August 4, 1975, with about 20 stores and its first anchor, Brandeis. The mall's grand opening ceremony was held on July 28, 1976, with the opening of the second anchor, Petersen Harned Von Maur, and an additional 40 specialty stores. JCPenney, the third anchor, opened in March 1977 to complete the mall. Brandeis was acquired by Younkers in 1987. Petersen Harned Von Maur changed its name to Von Maur in 1989. By 2000, Valley West was the Des Moines area's most-visited mall with an average of 40,000 shoppers per day.

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