Fashion Valley Mall’s owner wants to say goodbye to one of its last department stores — and bring in hundreds of new neighbors instead. Simon Property Group, which owns the sprawling Mission Valley shopping center, presented a revived redevelopment plan to the Mission Valley Planning Group this week that would tear down the mall’s JCPenney building along with the neighboring Firestone Tire shop and a long-vacant strip mall just to the north.
In their place, Simon is proposing a mixed-use addition packed with new restaurants, retail storefronts, and roughly 410 housing units. It’s a scaled-back version of an earlier proposal the company had floated and then shelved, part of a pattern playing out at malls across the country as anchor department stores close and owners look for ways to keep their properties relevant, and profitable, in a retail landscape that has shifted hard toward dining, entertainment, and housing.
For Mission Valley and the wider Central San Diego area, the project would be one of the more significant redevelopments the neighborhood has seen in years. Fashion Valley has long been one of the region’s top shopping destinations, and losing an aging department store wouldn’t change that much on its own. But adding hundreds of new residents within walking distance could reshape foot traffic for the mall’s restaurants and shops, and create fresh opportunities for nearby service businesses, from dry cleaners to coffee shops to dog walkers, looking to pick up customers who now live right around the corner.
The plan is still early. What was presented to the planning group this week is a proposal, not an approved project, and it will need to clear further design review and city planning steps before any demolition crews show up. Mission Valley has seen plenty of ambitious redevelopment ideas move slowly through that pipeline over the years, so nearby residents and business owners shouldn’t expect bulldozers anytime soon.
Still, it’s a reminder that San Diego’s retail centers are in flux, and that a change at one large property can ripple out to the small businesses around it. Whether this particular plan clears its remaining hurdles or gets reworked again, it’s one worth watching for anyone with a stake in Mission Valley’s business district.
Source: Times of San Diego
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