Frew Development is investing $90 million into the redevelopment of the mall, converting it to an open air destination and re-branding it as Westdale Town Center.

In 1974, Hahn asked the Cedar Rapids City Council to rezone an additional 21 acres (85,000 m2) of land from residential to commercial use.

An organization of citizens known as "Taxpayers for Sensible Planning" opposed the rezoning, claiming that construction of a larger mall would have a severe impact on existing businesses in the Cedar Rapids area.

[4] Despite the construction problems and layoffs in Cedar Rapids' manufacturing sector during the recession of 1980, Westdale Mall was at 93 percent capacity with 114 stores by the beginning of 1981.

Westdale attracted shoppers from counties throughout eastern Iowa and surrounding states, including cities such as Davenport and Waterloo that already had enclosed malls.

Wards closed in early 2001 as the chain ceased operations, and the anchor space remained vacant for more than four years until Steve & Barry's opened there in November 2005.

[16] The Big Lots outparcel building was demolished in March 2010 to make room for Edgewood Station, a new 25,000-square-foot (2,000 m2) development that is expected to include at least two restaurants and a financial institution.

[17] Some of Westdale Mall's empty stores had been used as temporary homes for city and Linn County offices in the aftermath of the Iowa flood of 2008.

[18] After rejecting an $18.5 million offer to buy Westdale outright on January 21, 2009,[19] the Linn County Board of Supervisors agreed to move their offices to the former Steve & Barry's space on February 11, 2009.

[23] The library announced plans to move its west-side branch from Westdale to a former Target store west of the mall in February 2012.

[3] Plans call for demolishing most of the current mall except for the JCPenney, Younkers, and vacant Von Maur anchors, and turning the site into a "multiuse destination" similar to the Streets at Southglenn in Colorado and Jordan Creek Town Center in Des Moines.

[26] The mall remained open until March 31, 2014, at which point all tenants moved out except for JCPenney, Younkers, and a City Looks hair salon.