Stevens Creek Boulevard and California Route 17 (Interstate 880)
San Jose, California
One of the early shopping mall projects of Austrian architect Victor Gruen, VALLEY FAIR CENTER was built on a 41-acre tract, located 5.5 miles southwest of San Jose's Central Business District. Ground was broken for the first mall phase on July 20, 1955. The open-air complex was developed by a joint venture of Macy's California and San Francisco's Capital Company. While the inline store section was designed by Victor Gruen, its anchor department store was designed by San Francisco's John Savage Bolles.
A 3-level (157,300 square foot) Macy's became the first operational VALLEY FAIR store on August 10, 1956. The grand opening was attended by Ernest L. Malloy (Macy's California president) and Harry McClelland (Capitol Company president). A ceremonial ribbon was cut by Joseph C. Kresse (Macy's Valley Fair manager) and Joan Beckett, "Miss California 1956."
Sommer & Kaufmann Shoes opened on March 22, 1957. Eight inline stores began business on April 5th; C.H. Baker Shoes, Leeds Qualicraft Shoes, Thom McAn Shoes, Webster's Shoes, Grodins, See's Candies, Kathy Don children's wear and 2-level F.W. Woolworth 5 & 10. Joseph Magnin welcomed first shoppers on August 8th. When fully-realized, the 488,000 square foot shopping hub featured fifty-five stores and services.
VALLEY FAIR CENTER was known for the carnival rides that had been installed on the roof of Macy's. Included were a 40-foot ferris wheel, merry-go-round and mini-train. These attractions were removed in late 1957. The mall was adjacent to an 8.8 mile stretch of the California Route 17 / San Jose-Los Gatos Freeway. This thoroughfare opened to traffic on May 1, 1959.
Competing shopping centers were springing up in -and around- San Jose. These included EASTRIDGE MALL (1971) {6.9 miles east, in southeast San Jose}, OAKRIDGE MALL (1973) {6.4 miles southeast, in San Jose}, VALLCO FASHION PARK (1976) {3.3 miles west, in Cupertino} and SUNNYVALE TOWN CENTER (1979-2007) {5.5 miles northwest, in Sunnyvale}.
VALLEY FAIR MALL was sold to El Segundo, California-based Ernest W. Hahn, Incorporated. In November 1980, the company's assets were acquired by Calgary's Trizec Corporation, Limited. In the fall of 1996, a new entity, known as Trizec-Hahn, was created.
Meanwhile, in 1985, Trizec had acquired STEVENS CREEK PLAZA. They started a large-scale renovation of the PLAZA and the adjacent VALLEY FAIR MALL. The bulk of VALLEY FAIR was razed, leaving only Macy's and its parking garage standing. The department store, expanded by 160,000 square feet, would now comprise 396,000 square feet.
A 100 million dollar, 2-level mall concourse was built. This linked Macy's with the Emporium and I. Magnin at the old STEVENS CREEK PLAZA. At the center of the center was a 2-level (168,000 square foot) Nordstrom. Renamed simply VALLEY FAIR, the amalgamated mall encompassed 1.2 million leasable square feet. 112 stores -out of an eventual 175- were dedicated on October 15, 1986.
Major retail complexes in the VALLEY FAIR trade area now included WESTGATE MALL (1960) {2.9 miles southwest, in Campbell} and GREAT MALL OF THE BAY AREA (1994) {6.4 miles northeast, Milpitas}.
Anchor stores at VALLEY FAIR changed nameplates during the 1990s. I. Magnin closed in May 1992. Its building was leased as Copeland Sports, which eventually morphed into Sports Authority. The Emporium was expanded with an additional (85,000 square foot) third level, for a grand total of 316,000 square feet. This store was rebranded as a Macy's Men's & Home Store in 1996.
In 1998, TrizecHahn sold VALLEY FAIR to a joint venture of Australia-based Westfield Holdings (now Westfield, Incorporated) and the Maryland-based Rouse Company. Westfield soon established full ownership of the venue and renamed it WESTFIELD SHOPPINGTOWN VALLEY FAIR. This was truncated to WESTFIELD VALLEY FAIR in June 2005.
Meanwhile, a major expansion had begun in late 1998. The project, encompassing three phases of construction, included two parking garages and a new 3-level (225,000 square foot) Nordstrom. A fifty-store, wrap-around concourse (built north of the existing mall and connecting the original Macy's and second Nordstrom) was dedicated in 2001. The circa-1986 Nordstrom was then sectioned into thirty store spaces. The renovated retail hub was re-dedicated on May 22, 2002.
2006 brought news of a third major expansion of the 1,475,600 square foot, 262-store, WESTFIELD VALLEY FAIR. The project was to add 650,000 leasable square feet in a second wrap-around concourse of seventy-two stores. This would be built on the south side of the existing mall, replace a parking garage, and connect the two Macy's stores.
Two new anchors, a 2-level (120,000 square foot) Neiman Marcus and 3-level (150,000 square foot) Bloomingdale's, would be included in the new concourse. Moreover, the existing Safeway supermarket and CVS Drug, outparcels of the circa-1964 STEVENS CREEK PLAZA, would be relocated to new structures and a parking garage would be built to replace the parking structure being demolished.
The project was approved by the local government in November 2007. However, The Great Recession derailed the prospective renovation. It was put on indefinite hold in May 2009. In the meantime, a refurbishment of two sections of the existing mall was carried out. Work started in September 2012. The Food Court on Level 2 was gutted and rebuilt as a more upscale "Dining Terrace." It encompassed 23,000 square feet and eighteen eateries.
On Level 2 of the mall, just east of Nordstrom, tenants were relocated to other spaces in the mall. The concourse became a "Luxury Collection" of high-end retailers, with names such as Cartier, Burberry, TAG Heuer, Wolford, Prada and Zara. These new sections of WESTFIELD VALLEY FAIR were officially dedicated November 1, 2013.
Sources:
The Peninsula Times-Tribune (Palo Alto, California)
A 100 million dollar, 2-level mall concourse was built. This linked Macy's with the Emporium and I. Magnin at the old STEVENS CREEK PLAZA. At the center of the center was a 2-level (168,000 square foot) Nordstrom. Renamed simply VALLEY FAIR, the amalgamated mall encompassed 1.2 million leasable square feet. 112 stores -out of an eventual 175- were dedicated on October 15, 1986.
Major retail complexes in the VALLEY FAIR trade area now included WESTGATE MALL (1960) {2.9 miles southwest, in Campbell} and GREAT MALL OF THE BAY AREA (1994) {6.4 miles northeast, Milpitas}.
Anchor stores at VALLEY FAIR changed nameplates during the 1990s. I. Magnin closed in May 1992. Its building was leased as Copeland Sports, which eventually morphed into Sports Authority. The Emporium was expanded with an additional (85,000 square foot) third level, for a grand total of 316,000 square feet. This store was rebranded as a Macy's Men's & Home Store in 1996.
In 1998, TrizecHahn sold VALLEY FAIR to a joint venture of Australia-based Westfield Holdings (now Westfield, Incorporated) and the Maryland-based Rouse Company. Westfield soon established full ownership of the venue and renamed it WESTFIELD SHOPPINGTOWN VALLEY FAIR. This was truncated to WESTFIELD VALLEY FAIR in June 2005.
Meanwhile, a major expansion had begun in late 1998. The project, encompassing three phases of construction, included two parking garages and a new 3-level (225,000 square foot) Nordstrom. A fifty-store, wrap-around concourse (built north of the existing mall and connecting the original Macy's and second Nordstrom) was dedicated in 2001. The circa-1986 Nordstrom was then sectioned into thirty store spaces. The renovated retail hub was re-dedicated on May 22, 2002.
2006 brought news of a third major expansion of the 1,475,600 square foot, 262-store, WESTFIELD VALLEY FAIR. The project was to add 650,000 leasable square feet in a second wrap-around concourse of seventy-two stores. This would be built on the south side of the existing mall, replace a parking garage, and connect the two Macy's stores.
Two new anchors, a 2-level (120,000 square foot) Neiman Marcus and 3-level (150,000 square foot) Bloomingdale's, would be included in the new concourse. Moreover, the existing Safeway supermarket and CVS Drug, outparcels of the circa-1964 STEVENS CREEK PLAZA, would be relocated to new structures and a parking garage would be built to replace the parking structure being demolished.
The project was approved by the local government in November 2007. However, The Great Recession derailed the prospective renovation. It was put on indefinite hold in May 2009. In the meantime, a refurbishment of two sections of the existing mall was carried out. Work started in September 2012. The Food Court on Level 2 was gutted and rebuilt as a more upscale "Dining Terrace." It encompassed 23,000 square feet and eighteen eateries.
On Level 2 of the mall, just east of Nordstrom, tenants were relocated to other spaces in the mall. The concourse became a "Luxury Collection" of high-end retailers, with names such as Cartier, Burberry, TAG Heuer, Wolford, Prada and Zara. These new sections of WESTFIELD VALLEY FAIR were officially dedicated November 1, 2013.
In 2015, the long-awaited expansion of the mega mall was revived. The original plan for two new anchor stores was amended to include only a 3-level (150,000 square foot) Bloomingdale's. Construction commenced in early 2015 on a high-tech "digital garage," which was replacing an existing structure at the northeast corner of the mall site.
The new garage was dedicated in late 2015. Following this, an existing parking structure at the front of the shopping hub (running along Stevens Creek Boulevard) was demolished; this to provide room for the new Bloomingdale's, Outdoor Dining Terrace and second "digital garage." A state-of-the-art cinema would also to be installed in another area of the mall.
On January 19, 2019, the Kerasotes San Jose Showplace ICON cinema opened for business. The mall addition and new Bloomingdales were officially dedicated on March 5, 2020. WESTFIELD VALLEY FAIR now spanned around 2,200,000 leasable square feet and housed 272 stores, restaurants and entertainment venues.
Westfield's American and European property portfolio had been merged into the holdings of Paris-based Unibail-Rodamco in June 2018. A new company, known as Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, was created. Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield began selling its American mall properties off in 2022.
The Peninsula Times-Tribune (Palo Alto, California)
The San Francisco Business Chronicle / Renee Frojo
The San Bernardino County Sun
The Santa Maria Times (Santa Maria, California)
www.renewvalleyfair.com
www.cestcop.com / Mike Carrol Productions
http://www.bigmallrat.com
www.renewvalleyfair.com
www.cestcop.com / Mike Carrol Productions
http://www.bigmallrat.com
http://www.westfield.com (website on Internet Archive Wayback Machine)
Santa Clara County tax assessor website
www.cahighways.org
Santa Clara County tax assessor website
www.cahighways.org
www.reuters.com
https://www.mercurynews.com
"Westfield Valley Fair" article on Wikipedia
