Bentley Mall

Bentley Mall is an enclosed community shopping mall in Fairbanks, Alaska, United States. It is best known for its northern location: the mall is generally described as the northernmost shopping mall in both the United States and North America. Its latitude places it north of Centre Square Mall in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, which is commonly identified as Canada's northernmost mall, and north of Nuuk Center in Greenland. The property has a longer local history predating the shopping center. From approximately 1922 through the 1940s, the site was associated with Bentley Dairy and formed part of the Bentley family's extensive land holdings. Those holdings once extended from the Chena River toward the foothills north of Fairbanks along what is now Farmers Loop Road. In 1953, Bobby Miller, working with a member of the Bentley family, established Miller-Bentley Equipment Company on the property. The business occupied the site while a junkyard operated there for more than two decades. After the Miller-Bentley operation departed in 1974, the property was redeveloped for retail use. Construction of Bentley Mall began in 1976, and the enclosed mall opened in April 1977. Safeway and Pay 'n Save served as the original anchor tenants. Pay 'n Save continued operating another Fairbanks location in the nearby Gavora Mall for several years after Bentley Mall opened, an arrangement that was unusual in many parts of the contiguous United States but consistent with Fairbanks's comparatively small and geographically distinct retail market. The mall was sold to a California partnership for $12.1 million in 1982. The reference material does not identify the partnership by name or provide later ownership details. Bentley Mall occupies a site of approximately 15 acres and contains about 170,000 square feet of space. Its principal anchors are Safeway, occupying roughly 38,000 square feet, and Michaels, occupying roughly 28,000 square feet. Michaels opened in 1999 in the former location of a Pay Less Drug Store. Smaller shops account for approximately 49,000 square feet. The center is configured as a relatively compact single corridor, with Safeway and Michaels positioned at opposite ends. Because of its modest scale compared with large metropolitan malls, local residents have sometimes referred to it humorously as “Bentley Small” or “Bentley Hall.” The available material presents Bentley Mall primarily as a local shopping center and geographic curiosity rather than as a nationally managed consumer brand. Detailed information about current ownership, management, tenant turnover, financial performance, marketing programs, and present-day operating status is not established in the supplied sources.

The land associated with Bentley Mall was historically connected to the Bentley family and Bentley Dairy. The dairy operated from about 1922 through the 1940s and was described as the focal point of a larger family property that extended from the Chena River toward the foothills north of Fairbanks along present-day Farmers Loop Road. In 1953, Bobby Miller and a member of the Bentley family formed Miller-Bentley Equipment Company. The business established itself on the property around the time the Steese Highway was rerouted around the site in connection with the opening of the Wendell Street Bridge. A junkyard also operated on the land for more than twenty years, reflecting the site's industrial and equipment-oriented use before retail redevelopment. The Bentley family's property interests later became associated with the Bentley Family Charitable Trust. Bobby Miller and his nephew Cliff Burglin established the trust in 1969 because no surviving Bentley family members remained and the family's land had not yet been fully disposed of. The trust continued into the twenty-first century and used income from family properties to support charitable causes, especially libraries in communities extending from Fairbanks to northern California. The supplied material does not establish whether the trust retained ownership of Bentley Mall after its development or sale. Miller-Bentley Equipment Company left the site in 1974. Redevelopment followed, with construction of an enclosed shopping mall beginning in 1976. Bentley Mall opened in April 1977 with Safeway and Pay 'n Save as its anchor tenants. Pay 'n Save also maintained a store two blocks away in Gavora Mall for several years, allowing both Fairbanks locations to operate simultaneously. This reflected the distinctive scale and competitive conditions of the Fairbanks retail market. In 1982, Bentley Mall was sold to a California partnership for $12.1 million. The available reference does not name the partnership or document later transfers. The center occupies approximately 15 acres, or about 61,000 square meters, and contains roughly 170,000 square feet, or about 16,000 square meters, of retail space. The smaller shops together account for approximately 49,000 square feet. The mall's tenant composition changed over time. Safeway remained a major anchor, with an area of approximately 38,000 square feet. Michaels opened in 1999 in the former Pay Less Drug Store space and occupies approximately 28,000 square feet. The resulting layout places the two major anchors at opposite ends of a single retail corridor. Its compact footprint and relatively simple configuration distinguish it from large regional malls, and local residents have used the informal nicknames “Bentley Small” and “Bentley Hall” to describe it humorously. Bentley Mall's principal historical significance is local and geographic. It developed from a former dairy, equipment, and junkyard site into a community shopping center, while its position in Fairbanks gives it the widely cited distinction of being the northernmost mall in the United States and North America. The supplied material does not provide enough information to describe current management, ownership, tenant occupancy, advertising strategy, or financial performance.

1. 1999Michaels opens at the mall

   Michaels occupies the former Pay Less Drug Store location and becomes a principal anchor.

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2. 1982Ownership transfer to a California partnership

   The mall is sold to a California partnership for $12.1 million.

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3. 1977Bentley Mall opens

   The mall opens in April with Safeway and Pay 'n Save as anchor tenants.

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4. 1976Mall construction begins

   Construction starts on the enclosed shopping center.

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5. 1974Miller-Bentley leaves the site

   Miller-Bentley Equipment Company departs, clearing the way for redevelopment of the property.

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6. 1969Bentley Family Charitable Trust established

   Bobby Miller and Cliff Burglin create a charitable trust connected with the Bentley family's remaining property interests.

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7. 1953Miller-Bentley Equipment Company established

   Bobby Miller and a Bentley family member establish the equipment company on the property around the time of the Steese Highway rerouting and Wendell Street Bridge opening.

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8. 1922Bentley Dairy period begins

   The future mall site becomes associated with Bentley Dairy and the Bentley family's local land holdings.

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A compact enclosed community shopping center serving Fairbanks and the surrounding Interior Alaska market, with grocery and arts-and-crafts anchors and a distinctive claim to being the northernmost mall in North America.

• SafewaySupermarket anchor1977

  Safeway is one of Bentley Mall's principal anchor tenants and occupies approximately 38,000 square feet. Its grocery and everyday-needs assortment provides the center with a recurring-use destination, supporting the mall's role as a community shopping facility rather than a purely discretionary specialty-retail complex.

• MichaelsArts and crafts anchor1999

  Michaels opened at Bentley Mall in 1999 in the former Pay Less Drug Store space. The store occupies approximately 28,000 square feet and functions as the mall's other principal anchor, bringing arts, crafts, hobby, and related seasonal merchandise to the center.

• Small-shop retail unitsSpecialty retail and services1977

  The mall's smaller shops collectively occupy approximately 49,000 square feet. The supplied source does not provide a complete tenant list or identify the current mix, so these units are best characterized generally as specialty retail and community services.

• 1999Michaels introduced as a major anchorProduct launch

  The former Pay Less Drug Store space provided a large-format unit within the mall.

  What changed. Michaels opened in the space and became one of the center's principal anchors.

  Aftermath. The mall's anchor configuration came to be defined by Safeway and Michaels at opposite ends of its single corridor.

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• 1976Redevelopment of the former equipment and junkyard siteStrategy

  After Miller-Bentley Equipment Company left the property in 1974, the site was selected for conversion into an enclosed community shopping mall.

  What changed. Construction of Bentley Mall began in 1976, replacing the property's earlier industrial and equipment-related uses with a retail center.

  Aftermath. The mall opened in April 1977 and became a Fairbanks retail destination anchored initially by Safeway and Pay 'n Save.

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• 1999Michaels becomes a major Bentley Mall anchor

  Michaels opened at Bentley Mall in the former Pay Less Drug Store location, becoming one of the center's principal anchors alongside Safeway.

  Product launch
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• 1982Bentley Mall sold to a California partnership

  The mall was sold to a California partnership for a reported $12.1 million. The supplied reference does not identify the partnership or subsequent ownership structure.

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• 1977Bentley Mall opens in Fairbanks with Safeway and Pay 'n Save as anchor tenants

  The enclosed shopping mall opened in April 1977 after construction began the previous year. Safeway and Pay 'n Save were the initial anchor tenants.

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1. Bentley Mall