“Fort Dodge is a community we are excited to re-enter, and we are thrilled to be part of this vibrant redevelopment at the Corridor Plaza,” Renee Schedlbauer, senior vice president of Maurices Stores, said in a written statement issued Wednesday.

“At Maurices, we believe a great outfit can change a woman’s day,” she added. “Above all, we aim to make a difference in the lives of women who are the heart of our hometowns.”

There used to be a Maurices store in the old Crossroads Mall. It closed before the mall was shuttered and torn down in 2022.

The new store will be in what used to be the Younkers wing of the mall. Now referred to by developers as the Power Center, that structure will be home to four stores.

Dunham’s Sporting Goods, another former mall tenant, announced last month that it also is returning to Fort Dodge with a new 33,000 square foot store that will occupy about half of the Power Center.

The sporting goods store will be located at the east end of the building, closest to South 29th Street. Maurices will be immediately to the west.

“The addition of Maurices to Corridor Plaza is another step towards revitalizing our city’s retail landscape,” Mayor Matt Bemrich said. “It’s not just about shopping, it’s about creating a destination that our community can be proud of. We are confident that Maurices will be a great fit for our city and a draw for shoppers.”

BJ Stokesbary, a spokesman for Crossroads Plaza Development LLC, of Ankeny, which owns the site, said the development group is thrilled to add Maurices to “our growing family of first class tenants at Corridor Plaza.”

“Their commitment to quality and size-inclusive womens apparel aligns perfectly with our vision of offering diverse and premium shopping experiences to the residents of Fort Dodge,” he said.

An opening date for the new store was not announced, but Stokesbary said it is anticipated to be in the fall.

“The goal for everyone across the Power Center will be to open this fall,” he said.

Maurices Stores is headquartered in Duluth, Minnesota. The company promotes itself as having “feel-good fashion at really great prices.”

Crossroads Mall past and future

The transformation of the former Crossroads Mall property began in late 2019 when the former Sears store at its south end was torn down.

The JCPenny store on the north end was demolished a year later.

Crossroads Plaza Development LLC, of Ankeny, completed its purchase of the property in early 2020 and announced plans to turn it into a multi-use area of stores, restaurants, a hotel and outdoor gathering spaces.

The center core of the mall was demolished in the fall of 2022.

A new section of Second Avenue South was built across the northern end of the site.

UnityPoint Clinic Express was the first new business on the site.

A new 9,500-square-foot strip mall on the southern end of the property is home to Teriyaki Madness, Clean Laundry and a T-Mobile phone store. A car wash called Tidal Wave Auto Spa is located at the intersection of 25th Street and First Avenue South.

A large sports pavilion on the west side of the property is planned. It would include four basketball courts, three pickleball courts and a microbrewery restaurant.