SUNRISE MALL
Sunrise Boulevard and Greenback Lane
Sacramento County (Citrus Heights), California
Plans for the sixth major shopping hub in Sacramento County were announced in November 1969. SUNRISE CENTER would be the largest shopping hub in the Capital Region and the area's first four-anchor mall. Initially, the complex was going to be anchored by Sears, J.C. Penney, Weinstock's and Rhodes stores. However, this line-up was altered, with Rhodes being replaced by Liberty House.
Ground was broken on November 10, 1970. The event was celebrated by a string of "multi-colored explosions." These were ignited by remote control and viewed, via closed-circuit television, from a banquet room party at the Senator Hotel in center city Sacramento.
SUNRISE MALL was built on a 96-acre tract, located 17.5 miles northeast of the California State House, in an unincorporated section of Sacramento County. The complex was developed by H & C Associates, a joint venture of the James J. Cordano Company and Ernest W. Hahn, Incorporated.
The single-level, fully-enclosed shopping hub was designed by Parkin Architects, Engineers & Planners, of Los Angeles, Avner Naggar, of Los Angles, Burke, Kober, Nicolais & Archuleta, of Los Angeles, Charles Luckman Associates, also of Los Angles, and Eddie & Painter, of Fresno. It was centered on a 1,250-foot-long shopping concourse.
When fully realized, SUNRISE MALL covered approximately 1,250,000 square feet and housed 108 stores and services. The mall's first operational tenant, a 3-level (163,000 square foot), Sacramento-based Weinstock's, opened for business on February 16, 1972.
The mall was dedicated during two separate grand opening celebrations; these taking place on April 19, 1972 and between August 23 and August 30, 1972. A 2-level (230,000 square foot) J.C. Penney was dedicated as part of Grand Opening 1 (in April 1972). Sears' 2-level (285,000 square foot) store welcomed first shoppers as part of Grand Opening 2 (on August 30, 1972).
Fifty inline stores were inaugurated as part of the Grand Opening 1, with thirty-five inline stores dedicated during Grand Opening 2. Charter tenants included Marlene's ladies' wear, Sunset House Gadget Tree, College-Hi young men's wear, Richman Brothers men's wear, The Happy Steak Restaurant, Double Up ladies' wear, Hof's Brau Restaurant, Fabric Center and Waldenbooks.
The United Artists Sunrise Mall 4, an in-mall multiplex, showed first features on June 1, 1972. The mall's fourth -and final- anchor, a 3-level (173,000 square foot), Honolulu-based Liberty House, opened its doors on October 18, 1972. A (28,400 square foot) Lucky Stores supermarket, in a northeastern parking area convenience center, was also dedicated in October 1972.
The decor of SUNRISE MALL was thoroughly modern. There were artificially-lighted ceiling panels, with a honeycomb design. Sculptures were created by John Lilly, Jerome Kirk and the Burke, Kober, Nicolais & Archuleta firm.
Major shopping venues in the SUNRISE MALL trade area included COUNTRY CLUB CENTRE (1952) {7.5 miles southwest, in Sacramento County}, ARDEN FAIR CENTER (1961) {9.7 miles southwest, in Sacramento} and COUNTRY CLUB PLAZA (1961) {7.3 miles southwest, in Sacramento County}.
Only the ARDEN FAIR property presented any kind of rivalry. BIRDCAGE WALK, an open-air, congregation of shoppes added to an existing Montgomery Ward, was built across the boulevard from SUNRISE MALL. This complex opened for business in August 1976.
BIRDCAGE WALK morphed into BIRDCAGE CENTRE in August 1997. The complex proved to be no match for SUNRISE MALL, even after its renovation into MARKETPLACE AT BIRDCAGE in 2001. However, GALLERIA AT ROSEVILLE {6.6 miles north, in Roseville}, which was dedicated in August 2000, provided plenty of competition.
Anchor rebrandings started early at SUNRISE MALL. Liberty House was shuttered in May 1984. The building was leased as Macy's Sunrise, a Women's store, which was operated in conjunction with Macy's Birdcage, a Men's store at BIRDCAGE WALK. The two Macy's stores opened on September 28, 1984. With the demise of the Weinstock's chain in March 1996, the SUNRISE location became a Macy's Men's Store, resulting in the shuttering of the Macy's Birdcage operation.
SUNRISE MALL became part of the newly-incorporated municipality of Citrus Heights on January 1, 1997. The center was given a 10 million dollar face lift in 1999, with new ceilings, skylights, seating areas and fountains installed. Several years later, a 9-bay Food Court was built in gutted mall space. The initial four vendors debuted on April 6, 2007, with the remainder commencing operation on September 13th.
Newport Beach-based Steadfast Commercial Properties acquired the mall in January 2008. Soon after, they proposed a large-scale redevelopment. The project was to be conducted in two phases. The first would have removed 9,700 square feet of retail space and added 77,300. Ten freestanding banks and restaurants, within a new "Main Street" shops section, were to be built in the west parking area.
Phase two would have demolished a vacant Albertsons (nee' Lucky Stores) supermarket and replaced it with a new cinema multiplex. A multilevel parking garage was also proposed. Years passed, no construction started, and the renovation project was cancelled.
SUNRISE MALL was acquired by the New York City-based Spinoso Real Estate Group in November 2015. Spinoso sold the property to Great Neck, New York's Namdar Realty Group in December 2018. The mall's Sears, a charter anchor store, went dark on July 15, 2018. The vacant building was purchased by Sacramento's Ethan Conrad Properties in November 2022.
The Sacramento Bee
The Citrus Heights Sentinel
The Folsom Telegraph
The Press-Tribune (Roseville, California)
https://www.sacramentopastperfect-online.com
http://www.steadfastcompanies.com
http://www.citrusheights.net
http://www.bizjournals.com
https://namdarrealtygroup.com
https://www.abc10.com
https://www.citrusheights.net
https://www.citrusheightsmessenger.com
"Sunrise Mall" and "Citrus Heights" articles on Wikipedia
