West Acres shopping mall (located at I-29 and 13th Avenue) opened for business on August 2, 1972. The mall was conceived and built by Bill Schlossman, owner of the Black Building. The plan for West Acres began in about 1967. Schlossman originally wanted to build a retail center in downtown Fargo. The city rejected the idea and Schlossman looked south and west of Fargo for space for his shopping center. In 1968, Sears announced it planned to move to the planned West Acres. deLendrecie's followed and soon nearly 50 smaller stores leased space as well.

This was a turning point in the retail history of Fargo. Every successful retail shopping area (downtown, strip mall, indoor mall, etc.) needs a few large stores to attract the majority of potential customers These "anchor stores" help the surrounding smaller stores by the traffic they generate. In strip malls, the anchors are usually grocery stores. In downtown and indoor malls, the anchors are usually department stores. With Sears and deLendrecies moving, Fargo's retail shopping headed southwest, never to return to the once-busy streets of downtown.

Brad Schlossman, Chief Executive Officer of the West Acres Development, unveiled a $19 million renovation project in 2001

You can visit the West Acres website here.