Construction of the South Hill Mall began in October 1987 at the junction of State Route 512 and Meridian Avenue in southern Puyallup. Its first retailers opened on July 20, which was followed by a formal grand opening on May 12, 1989.[2][3] At the time, the mall included only three anchors, all discount retailers: Mervyns, Lamonts and Target.[4] Six years later, work began on a westward expansion which added more than 400,000 square feet (37,000 m2) of new retail space, including three new anchors: JCPenney, Sears and The Bon Marché.[5][6]Office Max (now DSW) and Old Navy were later added as well.
Lamonts was converted to Gottschalks in 2000 when the Lamonts chain was acquired. The Bon Marché was dual-branded as Bon-Macy's in 2003, and then was renamed as just Macy's in 2005, the same year that Gottschalks closed most of the former Lamonts stores.[7] Within a year of its closing, the former Gottschalks anchor was split between Circuit City and Linens 'n Things. Mervyns closed in 2006 as the chain exited Washington. By May of the same year, it was announced that Kohl's, a chain based in Wisconsin, had acquired the former Mervyns store,[8] although the mall's manager later said that Kohl's had no plans to open a store in the mall.[9] A multimillion-dollar renovation of the mall also began in 2009, starting with a renovation of the food court.[10] In addition, JCPenney moved its women's departments to the former Mervyns, while retaining all other departments in the existing store. Dick's Sporting Goods opened its first Washington state location in April 2010, replacing the spaces vacated by Circuit City and Linens 'n Things.[11]
On October 15, 2018, it was announced that Sears would be closing as part of a plan to close 142 stores nationwide.[12] As of 2022, the former Sears location has been converted to a Round 1 entertainment center.[13]
