The center originated with a Leonard's department store, the Fort Worth-based chain's third location. This store was dedicated July 10, 1970. A single level mall of eighty inline stores was added, which officially opened March 25, 1971 or 1972. This included a Fort Worth-based Stripling's and JCPenney. North East Mall now encompassed 750,000 leasable square feet. Sears and Montgomery Ward stores were added, which opened in August 1978. This expansion also added twenty store spaces and the United Artists Cinema 6. The gross leasable area of the mall now stood at, with 106 inline stores. The mall office is located near Sears. In 1995, they expanded the mall during the holiday season, later it uploaded to YT.
1999–2004: Expansion and power center
In October 1999, a $200 million renovation and expansion of North East Mall succeeded. Plans to open an Power center adjacent to the Mall known as The Shops at North East Mall came to fruition, it officially opened in October 1999. The Shops at North East Mall opened in October 1999. At the same time in 1999, the first parking structure were both completed. Four parking garages were also constructed as part of the 1998–2001 remodeling. A new South Wing was built, containing 28 store spaces. In the fall of 2000, Saks Fifth Avenue opened as the first and only store in Tarrant County inside a 100,000 sq ft space at the mall. When North East Mall held its official re-dedication on September 15, 2001, the center encompassed 1,749,000 leasable square feet and 168 stores and services. It was then the second-largest enclosed shopping mall in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and the second-largest in Texas, following The Galleria in Houston.
2005–present
In 2006, it was announced that Saks Fifth Avenue will would be closing their Hurst location at North East Mall on September 16, 2006. On January 23, 2014, Dallas Morning News reported that new additions were coming to North East Mall, which were expected to open in spring 2014. On January 27, 2014, KTVT reported that the construction on State Highway 183 was decreasing the population of the mall, as well the sales. On June 30, 2014, it was reported by the Fort Worth Business Press that according to Simon, new additions were coming to the mall. On August 6, 2019, it was announced that Sears would be closing this location as part of a plan to close 26 stores nationwide. The store closed in October 2019. On November 1, 2019, a major scale refurbishment of the JCPenney store would be completed. The store would have its lighting fixtures, departments and internal embellishments replaced. On May 6, 2020, it was announced that Nordstrom would also be closing as part of a plan to close 16 stores nationwide. The store closed on May 12, 2020.
