Now under Simon Property Group ownership, it is currently undergoing redevelopment into a mixed-use complex that includes operational and practice facilities for the Seattle Kraken National Hockey League team.

It was the first post-war shopping mall in the United States and originally went by the name of "Northgate Center", in light of its location at the north edge of Seattle (and being beyond the city limits at the time).

[3] Northgate was the first of three malls in the Puget Sound region to be developed by Allied Stores (the parent company of the Bon Marché) and designed by Seattle architect John Graham Jr.

[4][5] Northgate was the first regional shopping center in the United States to be described as a mall,[citation needed] in this instance a double row of stores facing each other across a covered pedestrian walkway.

In 1952, Redmond sculptor Dudley C. Carter designed and carved the 59-foot (18 m) cedar totem pole that decorated the grand entrance to the central retail corridor, known as the "Miracle Mall".

Other tenants who signed on early included the National Bank of Commerce (eventually bought by Norwest Corporation and renamed Wells Fargo) and locally-owned Nordstrom's Shoes, which was expanded into a full line clothing store in 1965.

[9] Macy's subsequently announced in January 2019 that it would also close its store in 2020; the closure was ultimately moved up to July 2019, allegedly at the request of Simon Property Group.

[15] In 1973, the serial-killer Ted Bundy reportedly apprehended a purse-snatcher late at night in the Northgate Mall parking lot, a few weeks before his first documented murder.

[16] On September 12, 1983, Tracy Ann Winston was abducted from Northgate Mall and murdered by Gary Ridgway, the Green River Killer.

[17] The following year, on April 23, 1984, a seven-man force of The Order attacked an armored car at the mall, after first staging a diversionary bombing.

In 2018, Simon Property Group announced their intention to redevelop the 55-acre (22 ha) mall into a mixed-use center with hotels, housing, offices and the headquarters and practice facility for the Seattle Kraken National Hockey League franchise, in addition to retail space.

[24] Two hotels are planned to be developed at Northgate Station, both operated by Marriott International; the first, with 167 rooms, is scheduled to open in 2025 on the west side of the property.