By Sara Beth Williams–
It appears one jeweler has combined with another jewelry store inside Sunrise Mall, amid the competition for limited foot traffic through the mall’s empty corridor.
On a recent visit to Sunrise Mall, Sentinel staff found the site where Sam’s Jewelers used to reside empty and dark. Two neon-colored signs posted on the windows indicated that the jewelry store had moved to the center of the mall “as Ron Jewelers” next to JCPenney.
An employee with Ron Jewelers said Sam’s Jewelers and Ron Jewelers are owned by the same company and that the previous jewelers moved several weeks ago, due to the lack of foot traffic.
The Sunrise Mall has struggled to attract foot traffic for years, with multiple businesses closing over the last several years. Anchor stores Macy’s and Hot Topic closed in March, and Spencer’s closed in April.
The City of Citrus Heights has levied hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines against Sunrise Mall’s majority owner, Namdar Realty Group. Following a Notice to Abate was sent to Namdar in June, the city of Citrus Heights filed a lawsuit against Namdar Realty in July, seeking over $500,000 in accrued code violation fines and immediate abatement of multiple violations ranging from electrical and plumbing violations to landscaping and fire code violations.
In April, potential development plans for the mall fell through when the Citrus Heights City Council rejected a proposal from Ethan Conrad Properties, who submitted a request to amend the approved Sunrise Tomorrow Specific Plan to allow for other uses that weren’t listed in the plan.
Ethan Conrad, CEO of Ethan Conrad Properties, submitted an informal map of redevelopment plans, which proposed adding a Home Depot, In-N-Out Burger, and multiple other drive-thru restaurants to the property.
The plans sparked debate among residents and community leaders, with over a hundred speakers commenting during an April 23 meeting that lasted four-and-a-half hours.
Following the rejection of the informal proposal to amend the Sunrise Tomorrow plan, Conrad dropped previously announced plans to buy 50 acres of the Sunrise Mall owned by Namdar Realty.
Recently, Namdar Realty has also been soliciting commercial real estate brokers in order to attempt to sell his portion of the property off the market.
The city has long-promoted the Sunrise Tomorrow Specific Plan redevelopment guide for the almost-100 acres of Sunrise Mall, which was adopted in November 2021.
The Sunrise Tomorrow Specific Plan would triple the development allowed on the site and proposes adding a maximum of 2,200 new housing units of varying types, 960,000 square feet of office space, 450,000 square feet of community and institutional space, and 320,000 square feet of retail space, plus 480 hotel rooms.
The Specific Plan calls for the creation of a “21st Century Main Street” where residents would be able to shop, eat, and gather together for community events. The goal of the redevelopment guide is to create a community and regional destination with a network of green spaces connected by trails and walkways, livable neighborhoods, and office space, which would create 24/7 foot traffic for retail shops.
Opponents of the Sunrise Tomorrow Plan call the plan not economically viable and criticize the 20-year timeline.
