Plano South | March 2025

A new Bend From the cover

What you need to know

moving the pieces around.” The new plan includes the demolition of the mall’s southern half, including Macy’s, instead of its southern half as originally planned. Centennial also added 50 single-family townhomes in addition to the three planned apartments.

Just over a year later, a new plan for the project titled “The Bend” was approved. Michael Platt, Centennial executive vice president of mixed- use development, said the revision was “more reective of the market.” “It’s the same chessboard,” Platt said. “We’re just

A plan to redevelop The Shops at Willow Bend from a 1.4 million-square-foot indoor mall into a mixed-use district was sent back to the drawing board shortly after receiving City Council approval in February 2024, when Macy’s informed property owners Centennial that its location in the mall would be closing.

Existing site plan

Proposed concept plan Key:

Key:

1 Dillard’s 2 Macy's

1 Dillard’s 2 Neiman Marcus P Parking garages Enclosed retail

3 Neiman Marcus P Parking garages

DNT TOLL

Enclosed retail Parking lots

Open spaces Single family townhomes Multi family apartments Parking lots

DALLAS PKWY.

SOURCE: CENTENNIALCOMMUNITY IMPACT

The inspiration

Levin said that the mall had 50 tenants when it was acquired by Centennial in 2022, and it currently has closer to 30. “We can’t have a mall that is empty,” Levin said. “The tenancy is waning and struggling, so we’re trying to get started as fast as we can.”

Brian Dunne, who owns The Mexican Bar in Willow Bend, said last year that several of the businesses were “hanging on by a string,” adding that the redevelopment was necessary. “[Mall tenants] feel strongly that we need this to happen for us to survive,” he said.

The loss of Macy’s is the latest blow for Willow Bend, which opened in 2001. A planned $125 million redevelopment in 2015 never materialized and several big tenants have left the mall since, including the Apple store in 2019.

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