Netflix takes 110K sf for experiential concept at Galleria mall

Netflix will bring its an entertainment hub to the Galleria Dallas with the launch of a so-called Netflix House. 

The new venture will transform a 110,000-square-foot space, formerly a Marshall Fields department store, into an “experiential entertainment venue,” spanning two floors on the northwest side of the shopping center, the Dallas Business Journal reported. 

The Dallas location is one of two initial Netflix House sites, the other being at a shopping mall in Pennsylvania. Both venues are slated to open in fall 2025. 

Netflix House aims to immerse visitors in the world of its popular TV shows with themed restaurants, interactive game experiences and retail merchandise from hits like “Stranger Things,” “Bridgerton” and “Squid Game.” The company envisions guests dancing on a replica of the Bridgerton set or competing in the Squid Game’s Glass Bridge challenge.

The entertainment offering is expected to significantly boost visitor numbers at the Galleria. Terry Montessi, CEO of Trademark Property, which manages the mall, anticipates Netflix House could attract up to a million visitors annually. The Galleria has had roughly six million visitors in the past year.

“I don’t know of a bigger, more impactful retail leasing that’s been signed in Texas in the last decade,” Montessi told the outlet. “It’s a game-changer for Dallas and a game-changer for the Galleria.”

Over the past two years, the mall has welcomed about 300,000 square feet of new tenants, including North Italia, Mango and H&M Home. 

Other North Texas malls have also embraced experiential concepts, such as the Grapevine Mills Mall with its Legoland Discovery Center, Sea Life Aquarium and Meow Wolf immersive art experience.

Netflix’s choice of the Galleria was influenced by the mall’s location just off the Dallas North Tollway and a strong retail market in North Texas. 

Since April 2021, sales at the Galleria have increased by nearly 60 percent, Montessi said.

An increase of online shopping, which was accelerated by the pandemic, delivered a huge blow to shopping malls across much of the nation, rendering many of them obsolete. Montessi, however, dismissed the notion that shopping malls are a thing of the past.

“Some malls are dead, either where the operator or owners aren’t investing or paying attention … but the Galleria is not dead,” he said. “It’s very much alive and kicking.”

—Quinn Donoghue

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