By Sara Beth Williams–
Just over one dozen stores out of over 100 possible remain open at Sunrise Mall, including JCPenney, the only anchor remaining.
Other national retailers still open include Famous Footwear, TMobile, Kay Jewelers and Shoe Palace.
Since the beginning of 2025, multiple stores have shuttered within the mall in quick succession, including both Macy’s Men’s and Women’s, which were closed along with over 60 other underperforming locations, nine from California alone. Hot Topic also closed its Sunrise Mall location in March, while Masterboy Streetstyle relocated to Folsom Premium Outlets, according to two handwritten signs posted on the storefront.
Stores closed for various reasons, according to multiple sources, including bankruptcy, lack of foot traffic, corporate decisions, and relocation to other commercial districts.
All eateries have also vacated the mall just within the last three years, with several closing in early 2024 and the last eatery closing unexpectedly in November 2024.
What’s next for Sunrise Mall?
In mid-March, the Citrus Heights City Council approved an historic Economic Development and Participation Agreement with The Mettle Shop, in anticipation of building a major sports complex on the site of the former Macy’s Men’s.
The Sunrise Sports Complex will include two NHL-size sheets of ice, and two fields of turf, along with a 4,000-seat arena, and potential for also turning one of the fields of turf into an open concert area.
The sports venue is designed to be a catalyst to attract more mixed-use development on the rest of the property, the city says. Tallen Capital Partners LLC is in the process of purchasing the majority of the mall property from Namdar Realty Group, Tallon’s CEO told The Sentinel in March.
Martha Lofgren, partner with Brewer Lofgren and one of the consultants for The Mettle Shop, said during the latest City Council meeting on March 11 that the first immediate next steps involve technical studies, such as traffic and noise studies and a utility demand analysis.
“We have a lot of work left to do,” Lofgren said, adding that the team is also working with the city to retain a parking consultant that can evaluate what parking will be needed in the short-term and the long-term.
The Mettle Shop will also work on refining a finance plan with the city, and Lofgren said The Mettle Shop hopes to bring the plan forth simultaneously with the project entitlement package by the end of 2026.
Both Tallon Capital Partners, who is in the process of buying the majority of the mall property, The Mettle Shop, and the city, have expressed excitement in embarking on furthering the city’s Sunrise Tomorrow Specific Plan, a mixed-use development guide for the property which was approved by the City Council in 2021.
The Specific Plan was developed at a cost of over $1 million to the city, including an extensive Environmental Impact Report in an effort to make the property “shovel ready” and as attractive as possible to developers.
The plan envisions creating a walkable “21st Century Main Street,” with five key ideas guiding the plan: creating an economic engine, livable neighborhoods, streets for people, connected green spaces, and making the site a “community and regional destination.”
The Mettle Shop hopes to present and have plans approved by the city and break ground in the first half of next year.
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