Gruen received his architectural training at the Technological Institute and Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna, and worked under Peter Behrens, a leading German architect and teacher, before opening his own architectural practice in 1933 in Vienna. In 1938, shortly after the German occupation of Vienna, Gruen went to the United States, where he began designing projects in various cities, beginning with the Lederer Store (New York City, 1939). He became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1943. In 1950 he established Victor Gruen Associates, a firm composed of professionals from all fields of engineering, architecture, and planning, and turned his attention to solving problems of modern urban areas for mass population. Besides Northland, his significant shopping centres include Southdale (Minneapolis, Minn.), Randhurst (Mount Prospect, Ill.), and Midtown Plaza (Rochester, N.Y.). From 1963 to 1967 his firm produced the general master plan for modern Tehrān, Iran. He served as planning consultant for cities worldwide, including his native Vienna, where, in 1972, he received the City of Vienna award for architecture. After his retirement in 1968, he devoted himself to the Victor Gruen Foundation for Environmental Planning.

Gruen wrote How to Live with Your Architect (1949), Heart of Our Cities (1964), and Centers for the Urban Environment (1973).