Retrofit Atlas

Malls · Texas

Highland Mall

From the authors' mapRedevelopedRegreenedReinhabitedPartly retrofittedAustin, TX

Opened 1971. Closed 2015. Partial Redeveloped · Regreened · Reinhabited in 2012.

Status nowPartly retrofittedpublic sources reported
What it becameeducation, retail, housing, parkextracted, unreviewed reported
Site size1,116,000 sq ft GLAEsri 2014 layer reported
Retrofit year2012authors' map reported
Walkability18.2 of 20 · 15-minute 5 of 6EPA, OpenStreetMap
Rail within 800 mNoOpenStreetMap, HUD
Reach the owner Download dossier (PDF) · early access Download record (JSON) API Share LinkedIn Correct this record

Solid = from the authors' map · outlined = public source · dashed = model-written, not yet reviewed by a person. Tap any value's source label to see where it came from. documented = a quoted excerpt (click to read it) · reported = a source named, no excerpt yet · no source.

Highland Mall
Highland Mall. Photo: Bellerophon5685, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Site profile30 elements · what this retrofit is built with · tap a chip for the evidence

Former anchors
Dillard'sThis site: Dillard's wikipedia · all sites with this
Dillard's 2This site: Dillard's 2 wikipedia · all sites with this
Foley'sThis site: Foley's wikipedia · all sites with this
JCPenneyThis site: JCPenney wikipedia · all sites with this
Macy'sThis site: Macy's wikipedia · all sites with this
Finance and pipeline
On FacebookThis site: …https://www.facebook.com/1031388473623910 overture · all sites with this
ULI referenceThis site: Reviving a Dying Mall - Urban Land Magazine web-search · all sites with this
Ownership
Public bodyThis site: Austin Community College District county-parcels · all sites with this
Place
100k+ jobs within 45 min by transitThis site: 178,788 epa-walkability · all sites with this
15-minute neighbourhood (5+ of 6 daily needs within 800 m)This site: 5/6 openstreetmap · all sites with this
Bike network nearbyThis site: 187 ways openstreetmap · all sites with this
County permitting 2,000+ apartment units a yearThis site: 12,145 units, Travis County census-bps · all sites with this
Fast-growing county (8%+ 2018–23)This site: 9% census-acs · all sites with this
Grocery within 800 mThis site: 3 stores openstreetmap · all sites with this
High tornado riskThis site: Relatively High fema-nri · all sites with this
Renter-majority tractThis site: 74% census-acs · all sites with this
Tract income up 60%+ since 2013This site: +86% census-acs · all sites with this
Tract population up 25%+ since 2013This site: +38% census-acs · all sites with this
Walkable block group (EPA ≥ 12)This site: …index 18.2 epa-walkability · all sites with this
Policy tool
RezoningThis site: Form-based code planned for the Airport Blvd corridor (adoption not confirmed) (form-based code (planned)) research-planning · all sites with this
Scale
1M+ sq ft GLAThis site: 1,116,000 sq ft esri-closed-us-malls-2014 · all sites with this
Building footprint 50,000+ m²This site: 54,687 m² overture · all sites with this
Strategy
RedevelopedThis site: Reinhabitation, education Partial redevelopment, office and residential Partial regreening arcgis-webmap · all sites with this
RegreenedThis site: Reinhabitation, education Partial redevelopment, office and residential Partial regreening arcgis-webmap · all sites with this
ReinhabitedThis site: Reinhabitation, education Partial redevelopment, office and residential Partial regreening arcgis-webmap · all sites with this
New use
EducationThis site: …ice and residential Partial regreening Approved by Austin Community College board (purchase); City of Austin. extraction · all sites with this
HousingThis site: …inhabitation, education Partial redevelopment, office and residential Partial regreening Approved by Austin Community College b extraction · all sites with this
OfficeThis site: Reinhabitation, education Partial redevelopment, office and residential Partial regreening Approved by Austin Com extraction · all sites with this
Park and open spaceThis site: …new_use field extraction · all sites with this
Retail (continued)This site: …new_use field extraction · all sites with this

All elements and lists · Trends

From the authors' map

TX, Austin: Highland Mall/ACC Highland, 2012
• Reinhabitation, education
• Partial redevelopment, office and residential
• Partial regreening

Now

StatusPartly retrofittedpublic sources reported
StrategyPartial Redeveloped · Regreened · Reinhabitedauthors' map reported
New useseducation, retail, housing, parkextracted, unreviewed reported
What is there nowReinhabitation, education Partial redevelopment, office and residential Partial regreeningauthors' map reported
Retrofit year2012authors' map reported
RedeveloperAustin Community College, RedLeaf Propertiespublic sources reported

Planning

Zoning changeForm-based code planned for the Airport Blvd corridor (adoption not confirmed) (form-based code (planned))research
documented
The plan for the Highland Mall site, as for the entire Airport Boulevard, is for a form-based code to drive the approvals process and zoning.

sites.austincc.edu

Public purchase or subsidyACC (public college) bought the site: 18.5-acre Dillard's parcel for $4.71M, 32.2 acres of mall core for $14.6M, and the JCPenney tract for $15.9M (about $35.2M for those three; Community Impact reported about $42.4M total including later parcels).research reported
Entitlement year2012research reported
Planning notesApproved by Austin Community College board (purchase); City of Austin. research reported

Deals and debt

DateEventPricePartiesSource
2016Sold—Brookfield Asset Management ← Rouse PropertiesWikipedia
2012Sold—Austin Community College ← Rouse PropertiesWikipedia

Securitised debt and public filers

Filings (2001 to date) that name “Highland Mall” and “Austin” (171 hits, first 100 sampled, 5 other filers such as tenants left out). No commercial-mortgage trust names this mall in the sample, which does not rule out a securitised loan. Text matches, not a title search. Open the search · all trusts.

KindFilerFilingsDatesForms
Public owner (strong)General Growth Properties, Inc.72011-03-01 to 2012-02-298-K 3, 10-K 2, 10-Q 2
Public owner (strong)ROUSE COMPANY42003-08-14 to 2006-04-1810-K 3, 10-Q 1
Public owner (weak)SIMON PROPERTY GROUP INC /DE/ (SPG, SPG-PJ)512002-02-13 to 2010-04-308-K 36, 10-K 14, 8-K/A 1
Public owner (weak)SIMON PROPERTY GROUP L P /DE/152001-03-30 to 2009-03-0210-K 15
Public owner (weak)GENERAL GROWTH PROPERTIES INC142005-02-10 to 2010-10-278-K 8, 10-K 6

As reported by the owner

Property tables from the owner's annual report (Form 10-K, Item 2) on EDGAR, one row per filing year. GLA, occupancy and anchors are the filer's own figures at that year end; “leased” counts signed leases, “occupied” counts open stores; ownership is the filer's share. Matched by name and place, unreviewed; the verbatim table row is in sec_facts.csv.

Year endFilerName in filingGLA sq ftOccupancyYearsShareSales psfAnchors listed
2009General Growth Properties 10-K, 2010-03-01Highland Mall Austin, TX
match: exact		1,116,241
in-line 397,500		50.0%Dillard's Men's, Macy's
2006General Growth Properties 10-K, 2007-03-01Highland Mall Austin, TX
match: exact		1,116,20350.0%Austin Leasehold Investors, Dillard’s, Dillard’s Men’s, Macy’s

Site context

FEMA flood zoneX · AREA OF MINIMAL FLOOD HAZARDFEMA NFHL
EPA-regulated facilities within 500 m16: ACC HIGHLAND CAMPUS PHASE 2; ACC HIGHLAND PARKING GARAGE; AIRPORT CENTER; AUSTIN BAKING CO; AUSTIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE HIGHLAND CHILLED WATER PLEPA FRS
Census tract 484530015035,547 people, 4,134 per sq mi; median household income $98,528; median gross rent $1,825; 74% renters; 7.0% vacant units; 8.2% commute by transitACS 2023 5-year
Walkability (EPA, block group)index 18.2 of 20; 228 intersections per sq mi; nearest transit stop 106 m; land-use mix 0.59; 222,416 jobs within 45 min by car, 178,788 by transit; 9% of households without a carEPA Smart Location
Within a 10–15 minute walk (800 m)5 of 6 daily needs: 3 grocers, 7 schools, 10 parks or playgrounds, 2 health, 0 civic, 14 food and drink; 187 cycleway segments, 272 sidewalk-tagged segmentsOpenStreetMap
Opportunity ZonenoHUD
Housing permits, Travis County (TX), 202412,145 units in 5+ unit buildings, 286 in 2–4, 4,559 single-family; 2023: 18,311 in 5+Census BPS
Social vulnerability (CDC SVI 2022, tract)overall percentile 0.37; socioeconomic 0.50; housing and transport 0.68; 13% below 150% of poverty; 8% of households with no vehicleCDC/ATSDR
Other atlas sites nearby2 within 10 km, 2 within 25 km: North Campus Redevelopment Project (1.4 km); Mueller Community (4.3 km)computed
Overture Mapsplace ACC Highland Welcome Center (college_university, confidence 0.82, from Overture, Overture-signals, meta); building footprint 54,687 m², 11.56312370300293 mOverture (CDLA-Permissive 2.0)
Website and socialno website listed · social: facebookOverture / Internet Archive
Attention: Wikipedia page views95,518 since 2015; 5,912 in the last 12 months (-19% vs the prior 12); peak 2019-09 with 1,669Wikimedia
Tract change 2013–2023population +38% (4,008 → 5,547); median income +86% ($53,024 → $98,528); renters 60% → 74%; median home value +172% ($220,300 → $600,100)Census ACS 5-year
Natural hazard risk (FEMA National Risk Index, tract)relatively low overall (score 51.8); expected annual loss $2.1M; high: tornado, hail; community resilience relatively highFEMA NRI
Tax-credit housing within 1 km2 LIHTC properties, 98 units: Highland Heights (88 units); Gateway Apts (Austin) (10 units)HUD LIHTC
Retail trade in the county, 2025 (BLS QCEW)70,272 jobs in 3,818 establishments; average annual pay $53,510; employment location quotient 0.76; employment +2.7% on the yearBLS QCEW 2025, NAICS 44-45, private
Jobs located in the tract, 202215,826 jobs; 1,032 in retail trade, 1,191 in accommodation and food (workplace blocks summed to tract 48453001503)Census LEHD LODES8 WAC 2022
Upward mobility (Opportunity Atlas, 2010 tract)children of low-income (25th percentile) families reached the 36th income percentile as adults; 3.5% incarcerated at the 2010 count (507 children in the sample); born 1978–83, measured 2014–15Opportunity Insights
Food access (USDA FARA 2019, 2010 tract)not a low-access tract at 1 mile; poverty rate 15.6%; median family income $71,250; 162 SNAP householdsUSDA ERS
SchoolsAustin Independent School District (PK-12); 5 public schools within 1 mile: CEDARS ACADEMY NEXT GENERATION H S AT HIGHLAND; MCCALLUM H S; REILLY EL; WEBB MIDDLENCES EDGE
Elevation686 ft above sea level at the site pointUSGS 3DEP
Storm events in the county, 2016-2025332 county-logged events: 152 hail, 85 thunderstorm wind, 77 flash flood, 8 lightning; $324,193,500 property damage reported; 7 direct deaths; forecast-zone events (most flood, winter and heat) not countedNOAA Storm Events
Homes for sale in ZIP 78752, 2026-09median list price $352,000 (-14.1% on the year); 68 active listings; median 84 days on market; 16% with a price cutRealtor.com Research
Retail trade in the county, 2012 to 20233,898 establishments (+12%); 67,861 jobs (+25%)Census CBP
Housing market in the countytypical home value $461,123 (-4% 1 yr, -15% 5 yr); typical rent $1,602/mo (+1% 1 yr), 2026-09Zillow Research
House price index, tract, 2025819 (2000 = 100); +9.2% 1 yr, +27% 5 yr, +69% 10 yrFHFA
Traffic on the busiest road within 600 m (2024)16,872 vehicles a day (principal arterial, 4 lanes); 540 trucks; 13 counted segmentsFHWA HPMS

Similar sites

  • Six Flags Mall, Arlington, TX · Malls · similar GLA (1,049,000 sq ft); opened 1970; closed 2016
  • Windsor Park Mall, Windcrest, TX · Malls · similar GLA (1,079,250 sq ft); opened 1978; same strategy: reinhabit
  • Centre of Tallahassee, Tallahassee, FL · Malls · similar GLA (965,680 sq ft); opened 1971; same strategy: redevelop
  • Landmark Mall, Alexandria, VA · Malls · similar GLA (880,000 sq ft); opened 1965; closed 2017

Elsewhere on the web

Retail history: Highland Mall on DeadMalls.com photos, field notes and visitor memories since 2000; matched by name and city; nothing copied here

Pages with photos

Search images: Google · Bing · Commons · references: ULI case studies · Google Scholar

Multifamily screen

  • retrofit already built
  • 1,116,000 sq ft GLA (large site)
  • county grew 8.7% 2018–23
  • median rent $1,669
  • housing in the record

Inputs: record fields (size, status) and county Census ACS 2018–2023 figures (growth, rent). How the points work. Not a recommendation.

History and original facts

Now called / also known asACC Highland
Opened1971Wikidata
Closed2015extracted, unreviewed
documented
On April 30, 2015, Highland Mall officially closed after 44 business years.

en.wikipedia.org

Gross leasable area1,116,000 sq ftEsri 2014 layer reported
Stores at peak137Esri 2014 layer reported
Original developerAustin Malls, Inc., a subsidiary of The Rouse Companyextracted, unreviewed
documented
Highland Mall opened on August 4, 1971, developed by Austin Malls, Inc., a subsidiary of The Rouse Company.

en.wikipedia.org

AnchorsMacy's, Dillard's, Dillard's 2, JCPenney, Foley's, Scarbrough's, Joske's
Organisations in Wikidata (undated)Austin Community College District
AddressI-35 & US Hwy 290
CountyTravis
Census division7 · West South Central

Not yet recorded: acres. Know it? Tell us.

Background

ACC Highland Campus is a community college operated by the Austin Community College District, adjacent to retail space. It was formerly known as Highland Mall, which was a shopping mall located in north Austin, Texas, United States, on Airport Boulevard west of I-35 and north of US Route 290. Opened in 1971, Highland Mall was Austin's first suburban shopping mall. Highland Mall was jointly owned by General Growth Properties and Simon Property Group until 2011. On April 30, 2015, Highland Mall officially closed its doors; the space has since been repurposed primarily as a campus for Austin Community College.

Excerpt from Wikipedia (authors and history), CC BY-SA 4.0. May be older than the record above.

Timeline

  1. 1971 Opened (Wikidata)
  2. 1971 Highland Mall opened
  3. 2006 JCPenney left the mall
  4. 2009 Dillard's closed
  5. 2011 Joint ownership ended
  6. 2012 Retrofit: redevelop, reinhabit, regreen
  7. 2012 GGP spun off properties to Rouse Properties
  8. 2012 ACC purchased Highland Mall
  9. 2014 First phase of ACC Highland Campus opened
  10. 2015 Highland Mall officially closed
  11. 2016 Rouse Properties acquired by Brookfield Asset Management
  12. 2026 Ownership of surrounding retail space

Sources

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