Tully and Quimby Roads
Santa Clara County (San Jose), California
Illinois' Homart Development and Michigan's Taubman Centers teamed up in the late 1960s, forming a joint venture to build shopping malls. Along with Marshall Field & Company, they constructed Chicagoland's WOODFIELD MALL, which, by the end of 1971, was one of the largest fully-enclosed shopping malls in the world.
Over on the "Left Coast," a sibling shopping center was being built by Homart Development and Bayshore Properties (the Taubman enterprise). Plans for EASTRIDGE CENTER had been announced in February 1968. The 1.4 million square foot shopopolis would occupy a 200-acre plot. This was located 1.7 miles east of the San Jose Central Business District, in an unincorporated section of Santa Clara County. The mall site, which had been utilized as the Hillview Golf Course, was eventually annexed by San Jose.
The 32 million dollar EASTRIDGE was designed by Avner Naggar, of Burlingame, California, and John Savage Bolles & Associates, of San Francisco. The complex featured 2 full levels of retail, with a third (sub) level situated at two corners of its Grand Court. This design was used for WOODFIELD MALL and also at Taubman's FAIRLANE TOWN CENTER, in Dearborn, Michigan.
Thirty-one EASTRIDGE stores were dedicated on May 12, 1971. Among these were a 2-level (133,700 square foot) J.C. Penney. The EASTRIDGE location was noteworthy as being one of the last stores in the chain to be branded with the "New Generation" (1960s-vintage) Penneys nameplate. The remaining EASTRIDGE anchor stores opened in the following order; a 2-level (192,500 square foot) Sears on July 21, 1971, 3-level (185,000 square foot), Honolulu-based Liberty House on August 1st and 3-level (187,000 square foot) Macy's California on August 12th.
A (21,500 square foot) Joseph Magnin had welcomed first shoppers on July 1, 1971. Among 112 charter stores were See's Candies, Jarman Shoes, Petries, Size 5-7-9 Shops, Albert's Hosiery, Singer Sewing Center, Tiffany's Bakery and Thayer-McNeil Shoes. There was also an (18,100 square foot) Ice Arena.
In keeping with the times, the interior of EASTRIDGE CENTER was decorated with "mod" Constructivist statuary created by Roger Bolomey and Boyd Mefford (of New York City), Stephanie Scuris (of Baltimore), and Fred Eversley (of Los Angeles). The Grand Court featured a large, multilevel fountain.
Commercial competitors of EASTRIDGE CENTER included VALLEY FAIR MALL (1956) {6.7 miles west, in San Jose}, WESTGATE MALL (1960) {9.5 miles southwest, in Campbell}, OAKRIDGE MALL (1971) {5.4 miles southwest, in San Jose} and -eventually- GREAT MALL OF THE BAY AREA (1994) {7.3 miles northwest, in Milpitas}.
A succession of EASTRIDGE anchor nameplate changes got underway in the late 1970s. The Liberty House store had never been successful. It was sold to the Carter Hawley Hale chain in November 1977, was shuttered on January 28, 1978, an re-opened -under the Emporium nameplate- on March 1, 1978. On May 1, 1980, all Emporium and Capwell's stores were rebranded under a new Emporium-Capwell nameplate. This brand lasted until 1990, when it was truncated back to simply The Emporium. The EASTRIDGE Emporium store closed for good on January 31, 1996 and would sit vacant for 7 years.
Meanwhile, plans for a mall expansion become a hotly-debated issue in 1986. The mall owner and operator of the adjacent Reed-Hillview Airport battled it out in court. The mall parking lot had become infamous for several plane crashes and missed landings. The airport argued that an 8-screen multiplex, proposed for EASTRIDGE, would block access to their runway. The mall owner stipulated that the airport constituted a safety hazard and should be shut down.
A compromise, of sorts, was finally worked out. The airfield remained in business and a new multiplex (which would now feature 15 screens) would be built. However, its location would be moved substantially to the southwest...placing it out of the trajectory of descending aircraft.
EASTRIDGE CENTER, which had been remodeled in 1982, 1988 and 1995, was in need of some sprucing up by the turn of the 21st century. Moreover, the enormous, vacant Emporium needed to be redeveloped. Chicago-based General Growth Properties, who had acquired a majority interest in EASTRIDGE in October 1999, started a 100 million dollar makeover in January 2003.
The Emporium and adjacent Ice Arena were razed and replaced with an open-air "Streetscape" section of stores. Barnes & Noble opened its doors on March 15, 2005. By this time, inline mall stores had relocated into the Penney's Wing. The interior of the shopping center was gutted and rebuilt in stages. New stores, such as Hollister, Victoria's Secret, Vans and Old Navy, were added to the directory.
The old Grand Court was reconfigured into a new Central Plaza. Its two sub-level sections had been taken out, with the entire mall reoriented with just 2 floors. The Food Court, on the Upper Level, was also expanded into a 9-bay operation. Lastly, a cinema multiplex, on the drawing boards for nearly 20 years, came to fruition as the American Multi-Cinema Eastridge 15. This venue opened on November 23, 2005. The rejuvenated EASTRIDGE MALL now encompassed 1,310,000 leasable square feet, with a retail roster of 140 stores and services.
A less involved renovation got underway following the shuttering of Bed, Bath & Beyond, in January, 2014. Its 2-level area, and adjacent store space, was reconfigured. A (40,000 square foot) 24 Hour Fitness and (50,000 square foot) Round 1 Bowling & Amusement Center were dedicated in March and September 2015. Sears, a charter mall anchor, went dark on February 2, 2020.
Meanwhile, General Growth Properties sold the shopping hub in January 2016. The buyer was a joint venture of El Segundo, California's Pacific Retail Capital Partners and New York City's Silverpeak Real Estate Partners. The new proprietors performed a mall-wide face lift in 2017 and renamed the shopping hub as simply EASTRIDGE.
Sources:
The Oakland Tribune (Oakland, California)
The Palo Alto Times (Palo Alto, California)
The Santa Cruz Sentinel
The Argus (Fremont, California)
Scott P. / "BigMallRat"
http://www.greatamericaparks.com / Steven Wilson
http://www.eastridgecenter.com
http://www.ggp.com / General Growth Properties
http://www.bizjournals.com
Santa Clara County tax assessor website
http://www.greatamericaparks.com / Steven Wilson
http://www.eastridgecenter.com
http://www.ggp.com / General Growth Properties
http://www.bizjournals.com
Santa Clara County tax assessor website
