MARCH A BIG MONTH FOR TWO AREA MALLS

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Montgomery Ward is moving to University Mall here.

Montgomery Ward, which is headquartered in Chicago, will become an anchor store for the mall, which is expanding its operations to include more than 650,000 square feet and 90 merchants.

"A dozen new businesses will open here March 6 when we start our grand opening," said mall manager Rick Murphy. "That's also the day that one of our anchor stores Venture will open."

March will be a big month for two area malls. University Mall will hold its grand re-opening; West Park Mall, of Cape Girardeau, will observe its 10th anniversary.

Montgomery Ward is expected to open operations in November of this year.

"The Montgomery Ward anchor will be replacing Sears," said Murphy.

Sears, which will close operation in July or August, is moving to Illinois Center, a new 768,000-square-foot mall located near the Interstate 57 and Highway 13 junction at Marion, Ill.

Montgomery Ward's announcement came Wednesday.

The business offers a full line of electronics, appliances, home furnishings, automotive parts, accessories and service, and apparel.

"The store will occupy 92,000 square feet on two levels," said Murphy.

Venture, which announced its intentions to locate here in late 1988, will open March 6, in an 80,000-square-foot building. The last anchor store, Famous Barr, is scheduled for an April 1992 opening.

Other anchor stores include JCPenney and Elder-Beerman.

A total of 12 retail and food stores will open March 6, with another six businesses to open within a few months, said Murphy.

Those opening March 6 are A & W Hotdogs and More, Merry Go Round, Sbarro, The Buckle, Naturalizer Plus, Lady Footlocker, Tracks, Mastercuts, J. Riggins, Victoria's Secret, Sungear, Stuarts/Stuarts Plus. Opening within a month will be Limited Express, Bookland, Lerner, Hibbetts Sporting Goods, and DeJaiz.

"This will give us about 90 stores in operation," said Murphy. "About 96 percent of our space here is leased."

When Illinois Center opens this year at Marion, tri-state area shoppers will have access to four major malls.

University Mall was the first of the four to open. It opened in 1974 and encompassed 450,000 square feet. West Park Mall opened in March of 1981, and will observe its 10th anniversary this year. Kentucky Oaks Mall opened in 1982, and the Illinois Center is scheduled to open this spring.

The following is a capsule look at the four malls.

West Park Mall: Interstate 55/Route K, Cape Girardeau, 600,000 square feet, with about 90 stores, including anchor stores Famous Barr, Venture, and JCPenney. A fourth anchor, Sears, has announced it will locate at West Park Mall.

University Mall: Route 13, Carbondale, 650,000 square feet, with about 90 stores, including anchor stores JCPenney, Venture and Elder-Beerman. Montgomery Ward will open in November, and Famous Barr will open in April of 1992. Sears will be located at University Mall until July or August.

Kentucky Oaks Mall: 780,000 square feet, about 100 stores, along Interstate 24, Paducah, Ky. Anchor stores are Sears, JCPenney, Meis, Hess's.

Illinois Center: Interstate 57/Route 13, Marion, 768,000 square feet, will include about 100 stores. Anchor stores include Sears, Phar-Mor, and Dillards. Target Stores has indicated it is considering the Marion location.