Kids Empire, an indoor children’s playground chain, is opening a new location on the upper level of the former Nordstrom building at 11900 SE 82nd Ave in Happy Valley, inside Clackamas Town Center. A company representative said the opening is tentatively planned for December, though that timeline could still shift as buildout continues.
The space fills part of a 120,000-square-foot building that has sat mostly vacant since Nordstrom closed its Clackamas store in 2020, one of 16 locations the retailer shuttered nationwide during the pandemic. Kids Empire will share the building with several other incoming tenants, including a bouldering gym from Movement Climbing, Yoga and Fitness on the ground floor and an indoor trampoline park from Sky Zone on the lower level, part of a broader effort to fill the long empty anchor space with a mix of family entertainment concepts.
Kids Empire operates more than 100 locations across the country, built around multi-level climbing structures, slides, ball pits, obstacle courses and dedicated toddler zones for younger kids. According to The Oregonian, the chain already has a Portland area location in Gresham, at the Oregon Trail Center near NE Burnside Road, making Clackamas Town Center its second stop in the region.
The company has continued expanding steadily nationwide, recently opening its first North Carolina location at Northlake Mall in Charlotte, where local officials pointed to the addition as a sign of renewed investment in an aging shopping center, a dynamic similar to what’s playing out at Clackamas Town Center as new tenants move into the old Nordstrom space.
