COUNTRY CLUB CENTRE
El Camino and Watt Avenues
Sacramento County, California
Plans for the first regional-class shopping center in Greater Sacramento were announced in June 1948. A small plaza, known as MANOR VILLAGE, would house a supermarket, clothing stores, a pharmacy and 1,000-seat movie theater.
The project was being developed by a joint venture of Sacramento's James J. Cordano Company and San Francisco's Blumenfeld Enterprises. Designing the prospective plaza was San Francisco's William B. David. Construction was underway by June 1951. By this time, the name of the complex had been changed to COUNTRY CLUB CENTRE.
Built on a 37.3-acre plot, located 7 miles north of the center city, the CENTRE was officially dedicated on August 21, 1952. The basic complex was implemented in five stages over the following 8 years. The first stage, consisting of twelve stores and services, included Emigh Hardware, Kid-E-Korral, a (15,300 square foot) Lucky Stores supermarket and 3-level (40,000 square foot) J.C. Penney. On hand for the official dedication were Billy Jack Wills & His Western Swing Band, The Kramers juggling act and clowns. Free pony rides were given to tots.
An expansion, dedicated on December 2, 1953, added Casual Corner, Fashion Fabrics, Hartfield's ladies', Mode O'Day Frock Shop, See's Candies and Singer Sewing Center. By 1954, there were also F.W. Woolworth and Joseph Magnin stores. A 3-level (110-,000 square foot), Tacoma-based Rhodes debuted on November 12, 1954.
The original strip complex was expanded further with an open-air mall in the late 1950s. This was built onto the southwest corner of the existing structure. This "Back Mall", adding fourteen stores, encompassed 155,000 square feet. The first tenants, House of Fabrics and PayLess Drug, opened their doors in October 1956.
A formal dedication was held on November 17, 1960, inaugurating Grebitus & Sons Jewelers, The Toy Shop, Jay Vee ladies' wear, a 2-level (25,200 square foot) Grodin's and 2-level (18,000 square foot) Roos-Atkins. J.C. Penney had also added a full third floor.
In November 1969, the Rhodes parent company was bought by Honolulu-based American Factors, Limited (AMFAC), who owned Hawaii's Liberty House chain. Soon after the merger, stores were promoted to as Liberty House / Rhodes. The COUNTRY CLUB CENTRE store was branded, as a bona fide Liberty House, on May 9, 1975.
Meanwhile, a mall-enclosing project was completed in two stages. The first roofed the existing open-air concourse at the southwest corner. Stores in the original strip center section, which faced the new mallway, were extended 40 feet southward. The air-conditioned concourse featured terrazzo floors, carpeted seating areas and tropical plantings. A grand opening was held on December 3, 1970.
A few years later, three inline stores on the east end of of the structure were demolished and replaced by a 2-level (147,200 square foot) Montgomery Ward. This store, which included a freestanding, 16-bay Auto Center, opened for business on March 24, 1976. The new Wards was built along with a 300-foot extension of the enclosed mall and a covered parking deck. When all construction dust settled, COUNTRY CLUB CENTRE encompassed approximately 680,000 leasable square feet.
By this time, the CENTRE had two major competitors. ARDEN FAIR CENTER {2 miles southwest, in Sacramento} had opened for business in 1961. COUNTRY CLUB PLAZA, built across Watt Avenue from COUNTRY CLUB CENTRE, also opened during 1961. The three malls coexisted peaceably until July 1971, when COUNTRY CLUB PLAZA snatched the 19-year-old J.C. PENNEY from COUNTRY CLUB CENTRE.
In spite of several renovations, the CENTRE was in a downward spiral by the early 1980s. Liberty House was shuttered in the summer of 1984, followed by Joseph Magnin, which ceased operation September 17 of the same year. Ownership of the shopping venue had changed twice since 1983. It was acquired by a joint venture of the MaceRich Company and Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company in January 1985.
A 5 million dollar renovation was announced. This project was to rebuild the mall, with its name being changed to SACRAMENTO PLACE. The prospective refurbishment never materialized, so mall -and moniker- remained as is. The center was sold to a consortium of investors, headed by Sacramento's Marvin "Buzz" Oates, in June 1987.
After a few false starts, a renovation of the virtually vacant complex got underway in early 1991. Inline store space on the west end was demolished, leaving the Rhodes / Liberty House structure standing. It was gutted and reconfigured as the Liberty Center office building. The remaining interior concourse was also gutted and refashioned into office space. The project was finished in mid-1992.
Late in the year, an outparcel Pace Membership Warehouse opened for business at the southwest corner of the mall site. It was rebranded as a Sam's Club in early 1994. The reconstituted shopping and office complex now spanned approximately 594,500 leasable square feet.
An exterior face lift was completed in December 2002; this done in anticipation of a renovation of the Montgomery Ward, which had been shuttered in March 2001. The store was rebuilt into a 2-level Wal-Mart, which was dedicated on July 22, 2004.
COUNTRY CLUB CENTRE now featured the aforementioned Sam's Club and Wal-Mart, along with Anna's Linens, See's Candies, Michaels and offices for the State of California Department of Water Resources. Freestanding strip structures housed Chipotle Mexican Grill, Panera Bread, SuperCuts, The UPS Store and Wells Fargo Bank.
The complex was sold to Tourmaline Capital Management, a San Diego-based investment company, in March 2015. 3 years later, a store exodus was underway. Sam's Club went dark on January 26, 2018, followed by WalMart, on February 9th. Michaels pulled the proverbial plug on their COUNTRY CLUB CENTRE store soon after.
Sam's Club was retenanted by a Costco Business Center, which opened on June 4, 2020. A vacant WalMart was razed in 2021. The building was replaced by a (41,500 square foot) junior anchor. Planned as an Amazon Fresh grocery, the opening of the store was delayed indefinitely in September 2022.
At this time, operational stores at COUNTRY CLUB CENTRE included See's Candies, as well as freestanding Raising Cane's, Bank of America, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Supercuts, Wingstop and aforementioned Costco Business Center.
Sources:
The Sacramento Business Journal
www.valcomnews.com / Lance Armstrong
www.buzzoates.com
www.costar.com
https://www.retailwatchers.com
"Country Club Centre" article on Wikipedia
