By Sara Beth Williams–
Construction occurring behind Sunrise Mall’s food court seems to have halted for the last several months, leaving more questions than answers.
In November and December of last year, those driving behind Sunrise Mall near JCPenney and the food court entrance may have noticed part of the roadway blocked off with orange delineator posts and yellow caution tape, marking the space as under construction.
At the end of November, construction workers told The Sentinel that they were repairing a water line but did not give any other details.
After multiple visits to the mall, Sentinel staff observed that construction appeared to have halted, leaving a hole in the ground covered by plywood and orange buckets, a large mound of dirt, and a cordoned-off roadway.
The construction zone remained the same as of Saturday, Feb. 14.
When asked about the halted construction in mid-January, a security guard for Sunrise Mall confirmed that the repairs were related to a roof drain or water line, and that construction was stopped due to bad weather. The security guard said construction was expected to resume sometime soon, but did not know when.
The Sentinel reached out to James Anderson with Sunrise Mall management, and Executive Director with Sunrise MarketPlace business district Kathilynn Carpenter for comment in January. The Sentinel has not received a response from Sunrise Mall management, and Carpenter said on Feb. 14 that she hadn’t received a reply regarding the construction behind the food court but would reach out to management again.
The halted construction is one of many other developments impacting Sunrise Mall. Majority owner, New York-based Namdar Realty Group, now owes more than $3.5 million in fines due to outstanding code violations stemming from over a year neglect of the property both inside and outside.
Namdar Realty Group has a long history of property neglect and litigation related to neglect of their mall properties. According to multiple news sources, Namdar was forced to make repairs at Bangar Mall in Bangor, Maine, through an injunction by the city, to repair sinkholes, broken stormwater drains and leaking roofs.
Previously Bangor filed two lawsuits against the realty group alleging of code violations that involved leaking roofs, potholes, a dilapidated sign, and “failing to fix sinkholes that caused a sewer line to break, spilling sewage into nearby ponds,” according to Bangor Daily News.
Mall still open
The Sunrise Mall remains open, with 13 businesses still operating, including JCPenney on the backside of the mall, as well as Royal Stage Theater, Perfumes Luxe, La Estetica hair salon, Shoe Palace, Famous Footwear, T-Mobile, Ron’s Jewelers, Kay Jewelers, Image, Tops Men’s Fashion, California Basics, and T&Z Toys. Some businesses have posted signs indicating that they are not closing
Lids and Torrid recently shuttered in the middle of January.
The City of Citrus Heights and City Council continue to advance the Sunrise Tomorrow Specific Plan, a development guide for the property which envisions transforming the acreage into a “vibrant, mixed-use destination.”
Recently, the city 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. Proposals were due on Feb. 5.
In October 2025, the City Council also unanimously approved a service agreement for the development of preliminary infrastructure phasing work for the Sunrise Tomorrow project.
The $178,000 planning grant will fund preliminary engineering for underground infrastructure, including capacity analysis, phasing, and other technical studies. Grant funds must be completely utilized by June 30, 2026.
According to city staff, advancing this level of infrastructure planning now allows the city to respond to developer inquiries more precisely, identify potential constraints early, and solidify its understanding of future infrastructure demands.
