Southridge Mall is an open-air shopping center on the south side of Des Moines, Iowa, United States. It attracts roughly 3.3 million visitors per year, with a primary trade area consisting of most of the city of Des Moines and areas to its south and east. The mall's anchor stores are Target, Marshalls, Shoe Carnival, and Ross Dress for Less. There are 3 vacant anchor stores that were once Younkers, Sears, and Party City. Tenants on the outparcels include Hy-Vee, PETCO, and a 12-screen theater owned by AMC Theatres. History On March 6, 1972, General Growth Properties announced plans to build a new mall at the intersection of Southeast 14th Street and Army Post Road. The mall was known as Army Post Plaza during the planning and construction stages, but it was renamed Southridge Mall shortly before construction was completed. Southridge Mall opened on October 15, 1975, two months after Valley West Mall opened in West Des Moines. Younkers was the first anchor to open, with Sears following in 1977. An expansion in 1978 added Montgomery Ward as a third anchor, while a Richman Gordman department store became the mall's fourth anchor in 1982. Plans to add Dillard's to Southridge in 1987 were immediately opposed by Younkers, who claimed that the store's lease limited Southridge to four department stores. Younkers sued Southridge's management over this issue, but a federal magistrate ruled against Younkers in June 1990 even though Dillard's backed out of its plan to build at Southridge before the ruling. After the failure to attract Dillard's, Target became the mall's fifth anchor in 1992 while the rest of the mall was renovated; the expansion increased Southridge's floor space to just over 1 million square feet (93,000 m2). Richman Gordman closed in 1992 after the chain declared bankruptcy, and JCPenney moved from downtown Des Moines to Southridge two years later to replace that anchor spot. Montgomery Ward closed its stores at Southridge and Merle Hay Malls during that chain's first round of bankruptcy in 1999, and Wards' 109,000-square foot (10,100 m2) space at Southridge remained vacant until it was demolished in April 2006. On January 24, 2011, it was announced that JCPenney would close its store in June 2011, though one JCPenney store in Des Moines at Valley West Mall would remain open. General Growth Properties, which was originally based in Des Moines, sold Southridge to the Equitable Life Assurance