After a spark of hope for potential redevelopment with a proposal from real estate mogul Ethan Conrad in early 2025, the Sunrise Mall has continued to decline, with stores vacating the mall in clusters.
At least one dozen businesses closed inside Sunrise Mall last year.
Stores closed for various reasons, according to multiple sources, including bankruptcy, lack of foot traffic, corporate decisions, and relocation to other commercial districts.
Decades-long Sunrise Mall anchor Macy’s closed both its men’s and women’s stores in March 2025, leaving JCPenney as the only remaining national anchor. JCPenney remains open for business.
Macy’s closure, due to bankruptcy, has resulted in reduced foot traffic and exacerbated the situation for multiple other businesses, resulting in further store closures in March, April, and July. Then four more stores left in quick succession at the end of October.
Related: Sunrise Mall has lost a dozen businesses in 12 months – Citrus Heights Sentinel
Potential redevelopment
Amid the continued exodus of retailers, potential redevelopment plans brewed.
After purchasing the former Sears property in 2022, Ethan Conrad Properties proposed a site plan for the southern portion of the mall, which included multiple quick-service drive-thru restaurants, including an In-N-Out Burger and a Home Depot.
Many of the proposed uses were not permitted within the existing redevelopment guide, requiring Ethan Conrad Properties to request an amendment to the city’s Sunrise Tomorrow plan.
The site map sparked contention among the community as the real estate company visited and presented to multiple neighborhood association groups in 2024 and early 2025.
In April 2025, the Citrus Heights City Council and Ethan Conrad, CEO of Ethan Conrad Properties, discussed the Sunrise Mall’s future late into the night, culminating in the rejection of Conrad’s amendment proposed to change the Sunrise Tomorrow Specific Plan.
Residents voiced concerns about the lack of green space, a potential increase in traffic and noise, and homelessness linked to the proposed development directly behind residential areas. Then-Mayor Jayna Karpinski-Costa asked Conrad directly why he wasn’t proposing a sit-down restaurant instead of fast food restaurants.
Conrad said market conditions determine what can be developed on the site, adding that the current Specific Plan, though well-intentioned, is not financially feasible. He described adding a Home Depot as a potential “catalyst” to drive redevelopment of the entire site. He also stated that without allowing for these types of uses, the mall property would remain undeveloped and “fail.”
Inspection and Lawsuit
In response to ongoing community complaints and lack of compliance with previous requests to abate exterior code enforcement violations, officials with Citrus Heights, the Sacramento County Department of Health, and the Sacramento Metro Fire District conducted a three-day inspection of the mall in May and found hundreds of thousands of dollars in violations, some severe. A notice to abate and repair damage incurred by neglect was issued shortly afterward.
In mid-July, the City of Citrus Heights sued majority owner Namdar Realty Group, alleging prolonged neglect, and demanded the repayment of fines and repair of damage to the property to bring the property up to code.
Additional outstanding violations stemming from more than a year of code enforcement calls have brought the total amount of fines owed by majority owner Namdar Realty Group to over $1.7 million as of November 2025.
City officials confirmed that fines first began accruing in July 2024, following initial abatement notices issued to address a range of property maintenance problems.
Future plans
In December 2025, Citrus Heights issued a request for proposals (RFP) seeking professional engineering firms to assist with frontage improvements along Sunrise Boulevard and Greenback Lane for a Sunrise Tomorrow Specific Plan Frontage Improvement Project.
City RFP documents state the project includes 4,200 linear feet of frontage improvements along Sunrise Boulevard and Greenback Lane. Proposed design elements include a separated multi-use “Green Loop” path, intersection and traffic signal upgrades, specifically the installation of a new signal on Sunrise Boulevard, and the development of a transit center designed to support both conventional bus service and future Bus Rapid Transit operations.
City officials and the Citrus Heights City Council have continued to reaffirm their goal of redevelopment of the Sunrise Mall property into a vibrant, mixed-use destination.
During the city’s 2025 State of the City address, the mayor reaffirmed the city and community’s vision for the Sunrise Tomorrow redevelopment plan and refreshed the community on the purpose and impact of the council’s study trip to Lakewood, Colorado, to visit the Belmar Shopping District.
“[The Belmar Mall] was torn down and rebuilt into an urban village, generating substantial cash flow to the city and demonstrating to us what the Sunrise Tomorrow plan could be,” Karpinski-Costa said in November.
Citrus Heights City Manager Ash Feeney also touched on the “once-in-a-generation” redevelopment opportunity.
While city leaders have doubled down on their commitment to the Sunrise Tomorrow plan and invested in infrastructure intended to encourage private development, the mall’s deteriorating condition, continued exodus of retailers, and ongoing legal dispute, underscore the complexity of transforming the aging property.
