Anchorage 5th Avenue Mall

Anchorage 5th Avenue Mall

The roofline of the 5th Avenue Mall as viewed from an adjacent parking garage.
Location	Anchorage, Alaska, United States
Coordinates	61°13′02″N 149°53′19″W / 61.21722°N 149.88861°WCoordinates: 61°13′02″N 149°53′19″W / 61.21722°N 149.88861°W
Address	320 West 5th Avenue
Opening date	August 1, 1987[1]
Owner	Simon Property Group
No. of stores and services	110[2]
No. of anchor tenants	2
Total retail floor area	447,000 square feet (41,500 m^2)[3]
No. of floors	6
Website	5th Avenue Mall

The Anchorage 5th Avenue Mall is an upscale regional shopping mall located in Downtown Anchorage, Alaska, United States. The mall has four levels with the only JCPenney and Nordstrom stores in Alaska as anchors.^[4] The mall also boasts Alaska's only Victoria's Secret, Apple Store, Coach and Michael Kors locations.^[2]

The mall is owned and administered by the Simon Property Group.

History

The mall opened in 1987,^[5] covering a city block previously occupied mostly by small, two-story commercial buildings and parking lots. As the mall opened during an economic slowdown in Alaska, its occupancy rate hovered in the 20 to 30 percent range for most of its early years.

Facilities

Interior

Two-story skyway above Sixth Avenue connects the mall with Nordstrom.

Compared to other malls in Alaska, The 5th Avenue Mall integrates many more aesthetic designs inside its buildings. Some examples are the sky-lit roof above the main "Arcade", and features galleria-style wide, open spaces. The only other mall in Alaska with similar voluminous multi-floor indoor space is the office building at the Dimond Center. The lower level of the Arcade sometimes hosts small conventions and shopping consortia. The top floor of the Arcade is exclusively a food court. Most of the mall's elevators have glass panels, and are decorated with neon lights. The mall uses skybridges to provide indoor access between buildings and parking, contributing to the streetscapes of 5th and 6th Avenues. The ground floor of the galleria functions as an indoor pedestrian extension of "D" Street.^[6]

Parking

The mall offers lots of parking for people visiting or working in Downtown. The 5th Avenue Parking garage is one of the largest parking garages Downtown, offering six levels of parking. The JCPenney parking garage, recently under renovation, offers additional parking Downtown.

References

1. Overbuilding In Alaska Makes Boom Go Bust
2. http://www.simon.com/mall/anchorage-5th-avenue-mall/about
3. Simon Mall Leasing Sheet
4. "Simon Malls: Anchorage 5th Avenue Information". Retrieved May 8, 2011.
5. "Mall loan approved". Anchorage Daily News. October 29, 1986. Retrieved February 23, 2010.
6. "New York Times, Downtown Anchorage Walking Tour". The New York Times. November 20, 2006. Retrieved October 2, 2007.