By Sara Beth Williams–
The Sunrise Mall property spans nearly 100 acres in Citrus Heights and is currently divided into seven separate parcels owned by five different entities, which has caused confusion and complications for redevelopment of the site.
Economic Development and Community Engagement Director Meghan Huber has spoken to The Sentinel on several occasions, emphasizing the city does not own the mall property and therefore doesn’t have “decision-making authority” over investments or redevelopment. Huber also said the city has made an effort to facilitate “direct introductions between developers and ownership.”
Ownership of the large property has been complicated.
The largest stake belongs to Namdar Realty Group, which purchased the majority of the property in 2019 for $25.6 million.
At a town hall meeting in 2019 when Namdar’s purchase was announced, then Citrus Heights Mayor Jeannie Bruins said the city had “absolutely zero success” engaging with the former owner of the property, New York-based Spinoso Real Estate Group. Spinoso had purchased the mall for an undisclosed price in 2015, which brought about speculation of redevelopment at the mall.
But apart from Spinoso getting approval to subdivide a few portions of the property nearest Greenback Lane and Sunrise Boulevard in 2018, no changes ever emerged. Also in 2018, the previous owners backed out of plans for a 2,500-seat pop-up stadium that would have been set up in the mall’s parking lot for hosting events.
Since 2019, the mall property has declined significantly, losing dozens of businesses, and battling multiple break-ins and thefts. The interior has also come under disrepair, with Sentinel staff witnessing multiple roof leaks, bathroom plumbing issues, and an inoperable HVAC system on multiple visits to the mall.
Namdar has come under fire for a similar pattern of neglect across several of its properties. Locally, the real estate group has racked up over $300,000 in code enforcement violations. Elsewhere, Namdar faces multiple lawsuits, including for allegedly spilling sewage into a stream near one of its malls in Maine.
Namdar currently owns a 25-acre parcel where the core mall building stands and two 12-acre parcels home to Goodyear Tires, and the buildings which formerly housed Macy’s Men’s and Macy’s Women’s.
Namdar Realty has not responded to repeated requests for comment regarding future plans for the mall site or future plans for addressing an inoperable HVAC system and code violations.
The remaining portions of the mall property are controlled by Ethan Conrad Properties, JCPenney, Red Robin, and Antioch Street LP. Ethan Conrad Properties, which bought the former SEARS site in 2022, recently said he was in escrow to buy Namdar’s holdings, but walked away from the deal after the Citrus Heights City Council rejected a proposed amendment to the city’s long-range Sunrise Tomorrow Specific Plan, a redevelopment guide that seeks to transform the Sunrise Mall property into a mixed-use regional destination.
Ethan Conrad, CEO of Ethan Conrad Properties, had previously told The Sentinel and the Citrus Heights City Council he would not go through with purchasing the remaining 50 acres if the city rejected his informal amendment request. Conrad does plan to continue to redevelop the 21 acres he owns on the south side of the property.
Namdar Realty has not responded to requests for comment regarding the deal that fell through between Ethan Conrad Properties and Namdar.
JCPenney, the last remaining anchor store that owns 18 acres, appears to have no plans of leaving at this point, in the midst of an announcement by the company of a handful of JCPenney store closures across the country. The company has posted a red banner atop their Sunrise Mall location stating, “We are Open” in large white letters.
Though Sunrise Mall remains largely vacant, signs of redevelopment on the outside have been slowly emerging. A 2.8-acre parcel at the prominent corner of Sunrise Boulevard and Greenback Lane, owned by Antioch Street LP, has been subdivided to allow for a future hotel, described by Community Development Director Casey Kempenaar as “the first domino to fall” toward broader revitalization under the city’s Sunrise Tomorrow Specific Plan.
Sunrise Montessori Preschool was also recently approved to occupy a small building adjacent to SEARS, and an electric vehicle charging station is currently under construction near the corner of Sunrise Boulevard and Macy Plaza Drive.
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*This article has been updated to reflect the correct amount of fines issued to Namdar.
