COLLEGE GROVE CENTER was usurped by newer shopping centers in its trade area. The complex was on the skids by the early '80s. A plan was drawn up in 1986 to enclose -and substantially reconfigure- the past-its-prime property. The existing Walker Scott was to remain as is. Two new anchor stores, and two parking garages, would be built.
Drawing from www.sandiego.gov
As it turned out, the 1986 plan was scaled-down considerably. The mall was never enclosed and no new anchors or parking garages were built. An abandoned Walker Scott was razed and replaced with a multiplex cinema. This incarnation of the shopping hub, known as MARKETPLACE AT THE GROVE, would be in existence for only 10 years.