History[edit]

The exterior of The Mall and Legend Hotel in 2007.

The Mall under renovation, September 2013
The complex, known as "The Mall" at that time, was built by Metroplex Holdings Sdn. Bhd. (MHSB)[3] and opened on 12 June 1987 by Mahathir bin Mohamad, then Prime Minister who personally buried a time capsule that will be unearthed after a century, in 2087. The capsule contains a message written by Mahathir and is addressed to the citizens of the future.[4]

At the time, The Mall was the largest shopping centre in Malaysia and was built to attract more shoppers from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur.[5] It was built at cost of RM289 million and its launch by a light show.[6] The complex once had Malaysia's first Yaohan store which operated from the mall's opening in 1987 until 1997 before its bankruptcy in Japan.[7]

In March 2011, Putra Place, which consists of The Mall, Legend Hotel (now known as Sunway Putra Hotel) and an office block, was acquired by Sunway REIT under Sunway Group for RM513.94 million in a public auction and spent RM307 million in refurbishment costs.[8] The refurbishment started in May 2013 and reopened as "Sunway Putra Mall" on 28 May 2015.[9][10] Sunway Putra Mall repositioned itself as an urban-chic lifestyle mall and will house 300 outlets.[11]