Bannister Mall 3.25

Bannister Mall was a shopping mall in the southeast corner of Kansas City, Missouri opened on August 6, 1980. After nearly 27 years of operation, the mall closed on May 31, 2007. It was originally anchored by Dillard's (formerly Macy's), JCPenney, The Jones Store, and Sears.HistoryBannister Mall was built and opened in August 1980 at 5600 Bannister Road in Kansas City, Missouri between I-435 and Hillcrest Road. The area was once the site of the Three Trails (Santa Fe, California, and Oregon) and the Santa Fe trail actually crossed the original property. The mall was one of the largest malls in the Kansas City area and in the region in a previously vital and vibrant shopping area. In the early 1980s, Bannister Mall was the "place to go" with a draw over a large area that was mostly from South Kansas City, suburban Jackson County, Missouri, and Johnson County, Kansas. In 1988-1990, an area north and east of the mall called Benjamin Plaza was added to the commercial retail area.In the late 1980s, bus service from mid-town Kansas city was extended to the area, and by the mid to late 1990s with newer and more desirable developments further south and in Johnson County Kansas, the area began to wane. Also, due to consistent crime, the area around Bannister Mall earned a bad reputation. This combination led to the present blight of the area. By 2005, three of the four anchor stores in the mall were gone. In 2006, Sears closed leaving the mall anchor-less. Bannister Mall once hosted 180 stores, but by 2007 only 50 stores were open.