PHOENIX — It's the end of an era at Metrocenter Mall, which is set to be developed and remodeled into a “walkable urban village.”
“For anybody who lived in Phoenix, this was the place to come,” Jack Becker, a former employee said.
The Metrocenter Mall was once the biggest in the country. On Sunday, an event was held to commemorate its history.
“It was just kind of sad seeing store after store close and now the whole thing’s going away,” Carin Oliver said. She moved to the Valley in 2004.
Becker began working at the mall in 1974, a year after Metrocenter opened.
“It’s depressing. I worked here, my kids came here. My son worked for Harkins theater and was trained here,” Becker said. "I mean we’ve got great memories of this place. But like everything else, it’s got to come to an end.”
Last year, the Phoenix City Council approved an $850 million revitalization project which will see the mall replaced with multi-family housing, office and retail spaces.
“There’s a little bittersweetness,” said Phoenix City Councilwoman Ann O’Brien, who helped organize Sunday’s event. “I have a lot of great memories here at Metrocenter so I’m kind of sad to see it go but I’m thrilled for what the revitalization and redevelopment will bring to not only Metrocenter but the surrounding areas.”
