A former Dallas retail giant is making way for what's next

A fond reminder of Dallas' department store heyday will soon face the wrecking ball to make way for a new development, reflecting a broader trend across the Lone Star State and the country.

Developers have plans to demolish a vacant anchor store at The Shops at RedBird and replace it with a multi-tenant mixed-use development, according to a recent filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR). 

The building at 3550 West Camp Wisdom Blvd. in Dallas formerly housed a Sanger-Harris, then a Macy's, before closing its doors for good in 2017. 

RELATED: Texas' mall era might be over. Here's what replaced it. 

What is Sanger-Harris, and when did it close? 

The history of Sanger-Harris dates back to the 1800's as a wholesale-retail dry goods establishment, according to the Texas Archival Resources Online (TARO). In 1961, a merger between Sanger Brothers and A. Harris and Co. created the Sanger Harris Department Stores Inc.

Sanger-Harris stores sold a variety of goods, like apparel and accessories, home goods and decor, furniture, electronics and appliances and other services. The RedBird location opened in 1975 as an original anchor of the mall.

In 1987, Foley's acquired Sanger-Harris, and a "century of tradition ended," according to TARO. Macy's acquired Foley's parent company in 2005 and transitioned all stores by 2006. 

The Macy's at RedBird closed in the spring of 2017 as part of a broader sweep of closures across Texas. 

RELATED: The last enclosed mall built in Texas is about to be reimagined

What's planned? 

With a $9 million cost, the project includes the demolition of a 52,589 square-foot building and renovation of the remaining 95,379 square feet. The renovated portion will be used as a multi-tenant office building, with tenant finish-out construction set for the future. 

Site plans submitted to the City of Dallas describe the project as a "major reposition of the currently vacant Sager-Harris anchor store into a multi-tenant mixed-use building along with a new primary entrance through to the adjacent Covered Mall." 

"Approximately half of the existing 150,000 sf structure will be demolished to create more functional suite depths and provide additional parking area," according to the project description. "The lower level is slated for medical clinic uses (while) the upper level is to include a retail tenant."

Crews could break ground this June, with construction lasting through December 2027, according to the filing. 

Peter Brodsky, CEO of The Shops at RedBird, told Chron on Tuesday that the filing relates to the partial demolition of the former Macy's building in order to transform it into a "state-of-the-art health care facility, to be occupied by Children's Health."

In November, Children's Health announced plans for its RedBird location, to be known as the RedBird Specialty Center, according to a prior news release. The system expects to welcome its first patients in December 2027.   

“We are thrilled to welcome Children's Health to the Shops at RedBird community," Brodsky said in the release. "We have always been committed to providing the community with high-quality amenities, and there is no amenity more important than health care." 

Brodsky said The Shops at RedBird was not disclosing costs of construction or build-out for the Children's Health location. When asked about the potential tenant for the upper-level space, Brodsky said he was unable to comment. 

"There is an anticipated retail store that we are negotiating a lease with but are not yet able to disclose," Brodsky added.

New life for RedBird as a 'live-work-play' destination 

Across Texas, traditional malls continue to meet their end, often making way for open-air, live-work-play developments. The Shops at RedBird is no outlier when it comes to facing challenges of longevity: recessions, shifting consumer habits and the rise of online shopping. 

Like many others, The Shops at RedBird is on its way to becoming a self-described "Work, Shop, Play, Stay and Live" destination. 

After a series of hardships, the community pulled together to revive RedBird, according to The Shops at RedBird website. In 2015, Brodsky connected with the former mall owners to broker a deal, with plans to breathe new life into the site.

"A diverse group of individual investors who are proponents of social enterprise investing and believers in southern Dallas joined Brodsky and the City of Dallas," according to the website. "Brodsky partnered with Terrence Maiden, CEO of Russell Glen Co, for his management team, real estate, and relationships with MWBE vendors."

Redevelopment of RedBird broke ground in 2018, with a funding commitment of $240 million, including at least a $27.4-million investment from the City of Dallas. The first phase of the redevelopment included upgrades to the west wing of the property, WFAA reported in 2025. At the time, investors were looking to recruit a grocery tenant.  

In the past few years, UT Southwestern opened a 150,000-square-foot clinic in the former Sears, Parkland Health opened a primary care clinic in the former Dillard's, and a 20,000-square-foot Dallas Entrepreneur Center was developed, according to the Oak Cliff Advocate. Starbucks, Chick-fil-A, Jamba Juice, AT&T and Breakfast Brothers are also among a list of relatively new tenants onsite. 

Last May, Brodsky told the Oak Cliff Advocate that investors were also looking to bring in a hotel, residential space and more restaurants.