This mall serves as evidence of Roanoke's northward expansion in the last decades of the twentieth century, and also indicates the city's position as a center of retail commerce in Southwest Virginia. At more than one million square feet of space, Valley View Mall is the region's largest and ever-expanding shopping center. Its enclosed spaces with avenues and cross streets, fountains, plantings, changing community exhibits, food court, arcades, and elaborate holiday displays make it a shopping village. It has succeeded like others of its kind in becoming more than a place to shop, but a destination and a place where, at least, teenagers go just to see what is happening. At Valley View, the surrounding lots continue to grow with buildings, including such huge big-box centers as Walmart and Target, as well as a multiplex movie theater and even its own strip development.