The mall itself opened in 1984 with a single-level floorplan designed in a "Mission style", and replete with earth tone interiors, numerous fountains and skylights.

As Houston's economy suffered in the aftermath of the 1980s oil glut, demand for upscale retail declined sharply and by the spring of 1990, Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor closed their West Oaks locations,[4] replaced respectively by Sears and JCPenney (both stores of which would fill a large gap in Greater Houston) as part of a repositioning of the mall as a mainstream middle-class suburban regional mall.

By the early 1990s, West Oaks emerged as one of Houston's top performing regional malls, in large part due to the decline of Town & Country and rapid suburban growth in the aforementioned areas.

In July 2003, Somera Investment Partners and Coastwood Capital Group purchased the mall from an affiliate of CB Richard Ellis Investors.

[9] By this time, West Oaks faced increasingly stiff competition from Katy Mills which opened in 1999 with a lineup of outlet retail and entertainment options, as well as from a resurgent Memorial City Mall that completed a multimillion-dollar renovation in 2002.

The openings of the CityCentre and LaCenterra lifestyle centers in the Memorial area of Houston and Cinco Ranch, respectively, also further contributed to the mall's decline in prominence.

By June of 2023, only Dillards, The Outlet, Fortis College, Crazy Boss and two inline tenants remained open with the majority of interior corridors closed to the public.