Built in 1984 on 100 acres of farm land on East County Line Road, the 957,000 square foot Northpark Mall was a joint project of Cadillac-Fairview of White Plains, New York and McRae's, Inc. It was built to compete with Jackson's Metrocenter Mall, and when it officially opened for business on September 12, 1984, approximately 25,000 people visited. Northpark originally featured sixty retail outlets with two anchor department stores, McRae's and D.H. Holmes, and JC Penney and Gayfer's were added later. The mall expanded to over 100 stores, specialty shops, restaurants, a cafeteria, and a food court. Northpark 10 Cinema opened in 1987, and four more screens were added in 1996. Northpark Mall played a key role in transforming the positive growth of Ridgeland and northeast Jackson. It was open on Sunday afternoon despite opposition from local religious leaders who supported Mississippi Blue Laws banning businesses from opening on Sundays, and the later opening time was a compromise to avoid conflict with church service hours.