“I grew up coming to this mall, starting when I was a little younger than my daughter’s age,” Plummer said, pointing to her 10-year-old daughter, Annabell, sitting atop their Ford SUV with her friend Helaina, both girls craning their necks to watch the mall’s demolition. “This was our mall, so we wanted to come see it and say goodbye.”

Dozens of Baytown residents showed up on Friday to witness demolition start on San Jacinto Mall, the latest shopping center in the Houston area to fall victim to changing consumer preferences and the rise of e-commerce. Fidelis Realty Partners, which acquired the 1.2 million-square-foot mall in 2015, is razing much of the enclosed mall to pave way for a new outdoor shopping center with restaurants, offices, stores, green spaces and a festival concert venue.

Shopping malls across the country are being redeveloped into so-called “lifestyle” centers, filled with food and beverage tenants, entertainment, fitness clubs and movie theaters to draw visitors to eat, play and shop. The redevelopment of San Jacinto Mall into the $100 million-plus San Jacinto Marketplace represents one of the biggest examples of this national trend taking place in the Houston area, said Ed Wulfe, chief executive of Wulfe & Co., a Houston-based retail developer and brokerage firm.

“Mall owners nationally are trying to figure out how to energize and reinvigorate a mall that has seen its best days,” Wulfe said. “It’s all about activating spaces and creating energy to generate foot traffic.”

Related: San Jacinto Mall redevelopment proves to be a puzzle

San Jacinto Mall was envisioned by Mississippi developer Paul Broadhead & Associates as a major regional shopping center anchored by department stores such as Foley’s, Sears, JCPenney and Montgomery Ward. The mall would boast more than 100 stores, as well as a movie theater, food courts and a dozen courtyards landscaped with trees, benches and fountains.

“We intend for this shopping center to be one of our showcase shopping centers,” the developer, Buddy Herring Jr., told the Houston Post in 1978. “We want it to be the best and most attractive shopping center in the Houston metropolitan area.”

Failure to adapt

When the mall opened in 1981, it drew crowds of shoppers and soon became the single-largest property and sales taxpayer for the city of Baytown. However, the mega mall failed to adapt to changing times, losing customers to Baybrook and Deerbrook malls over the coming decades. The rise of online shopping and the demise of department stores delivered the final blow.

Fidelis acquired San Jacinto Mall from the California investment group Triyar in 2015 with plans to remake the dilapidated mall. The former Montgomery Ward wing was demolished in 2016, and the Sears closed last year amid its high-profile bankruptcy.

“A lot of malls just die on the vine, so we’re fortunate that we’re able to demolish and transition San Jacinto Mall,” Baytown Mayor Brandon Capetillo said. “I’m excited the mall is being demolished because I know the new shopping center will bring new consumers to the Baytown area and give our residents new choices for restaurants and shops.”

San Jacinto Marketplace will feature 1.1 million square feet of shops; 80,000 square feet of offices; 20 restaurants and a festival and concert space the size of two football fields. The first phase of the new shopping center is expected to open in late 2020.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Developer plans to remake San Jacinto Mall

Macy’s and JCPenney — the last two department stores in San Jacinto Mall — will remain open throughout the mall’s redevelopment. Macy’s will undergo a major remodel, and JCPenney will move to a new space within the shopping center.

The demolition of San Jacinto Mall brought a rush of memories back to dozens of onlookers, who swapped stories with each other about eating hot dogs at the food court, shopping at Mervyn’s and Journeys, and dancing at teen-friendly Club Soda.

“It was a nice place back then, but it just went downhill,” Bobbie Hicks, 74, said. “It’s sad to see it go. I saw it come up, and now I get to see it come down.”

Thanks for the memories

The mall meant a lot of things to a lot of people in town. For Tina Garcia, 55, it was a great high school job at Coach House Gifts shop. For her daughter Sarah Garcia, 26, it was once the hangout spot for teens growing up in Baytown.

Sallie Roberts, 68, fought back tears as she watched the mall come down piece by piece. The Channelview resident recalls taking her sons and later her grandkids to ride the carousel at the mall.

“We had a lot of fun,” Roberts said. “There are a lot of good memories here.”

Brandi Plummer, who drove an hour to watch the mall’s demolition, said it was a bittersweet moment.

“It needs to happen; it’s an eyesore,” Plummer said. “It’s time to put it to bed and give it new life.”

paul.takahashi@chron.com

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