Country Club Centre

Last updated
Country Club Centre (Arden-Arcade)
Country Club Centre
LocationEl Camino & Watt Avenues, Sacramento, California, United States
Coordinates 38°36′32″N121°23′05″W / 38.608806°N 121.384661°W / 38.608806; -121.384661
Opening date1952
DeveloperJames J. Cordano Company, Blumenfeld Enterprises
OwnerTourmaline Capital Management
No. of stores and services9
No. of anchor tenants 4 (3 vacant)
Total retail floor area 370,353 square feet (34,406.9 m2)
(GLA)
No. of floors1 (2 in the rear of the main building)

Country Club Centre is a shopping center in the Arden-Arcade area in unincorporated Sacramento County, California, United States, in the Sacramento area. It is located at the southwest corner of El Camino and Watt Avenues, diagonally across from what was the very first stand-alone store of the now defunct Tower Records chain. It originally opened as a small strip shopping center in 1952 that was later expanded into a regional mall and then later converted into a mixed use of office and retail. The shopping center is currently anchored by the Sacramento area’s only Costco Business Center. It was previously anchored by Walmart (closed), Sam's Club (closed, current Costco Business Center) and Michaels (relocated).

Contents

History

As one of the first suburban shopping centers in the Sacramento area, Country Club Centre opened on August 21, 1952, with a 40,000 sq ft (3,700 m2) JCPenney and a Lucky supermarket anchoring the shopping center. [1] Later additions included Joseph Magnin, Walgreens, Woolworth and a three-story Rhodes department store in 1954, which later became a Liberty House in 1976, anchoring the west end of the mall.

In 1971, JCPenney closed its store, relocating across Watt Avenue to the newer Country Club Plaza with a much larger store (it was later relocated to Arden Fair Mall in 1994 over 3 miles (4.8 km) away, where it is still operating to this day). Other retailers also withdrew from Country Club Centre, including Woolworth, which also relocated to Country Club Plaza.

In 1976, after experiencing a small decline, a Montgomery Ward opened up as the new east end anchor (which replaced Lucky), as well as a Longs Drugs, extension of the covered mall and addition of 6 acres (24,000 m2) of parking facilities, sparking the Sacramento Bee to comment on its "strong comeback." At that time, store space totaled 680,790 square feet (63,247 m2), 89% of which was leased. [2]

In the 1980s, Country Club Centre saw a much sharper decline when Liberty House shuttered its store in 1984, followed by Joseph Magnin when the chain declared bankruptcy and shuttered all their remaining stores. In June 1987, after going through many absentee owners, including a possible name change to Sacramento Place, but never materialized, local Sacramento developer Marvin “Buzz” Oates acquired the shopping center from Macerich (which currently manages Arden Fair). By the early 1990s, much of the interior mall shops were vacant, further hampered by Country Club Plaza across Watt Avenue and the huge expansion of Arden Fair. The interior wing that connected Liberty House was later torn down for additional parking and access to the rear of the shopping center and the old Liberty House was later repurposed into a office building. Most of the mall’s interior shops were then converted to office space. In 1992, Pace Membership Warehouse opened in the southwest corner of the shopping center. It was later rebranded to Sam's Club in 1994 when parent company Walmart acquired Pace from Kmart in 1993. In the later years, Longs Drugs shuttered their store and relocated about 1 mile (1.6 km) south on nearby Arden Way, where it was in operation as a CVS Pharmacy after the chain acquired Longs in 2008 and was converted to CVS in 2009. CVS shuttered the store on January 18, 2024.

In 2001, Montgomery Ward, the last traditional department store anchor, shuttered its store as the chain went out of business. A full renovation of the shopping center occurred in 2002, to bring it and its look up to date, which included the opening of an Office Depot store (it would later relocate across Watt Avenue to Country Club Plaza in 2013, before shuttering altogether a few years later). Walmart opened in 2004 in the old Montgomery Ward, becoming the Sacramento area's only 2-level Walmart, complete with specialized escalators for shopping carts.

In 2015, Country Club Centre was sold to San Diego investors Tourmaline Capital Management for $56 million. At that time, in addition to Walmart and Sam’s Club, the shopping center was also anchored by Michaels and Anna's Linens. Anna's Linens was shuttered the same year when the chain filed for bankruptcy.

In 2018, the shopping center lost two of its major anchors. Sam’s Club shuttered its warehouse store on January 26 and Walmart shuttered its store on February 9. [3] Michaels soon followed suit when their store relocated to the Howe 'Bout Arden shopping center about 3 miles (4.8 km) away on Arden Way. This, in effect, left Country Club Centre anchorless for the first time in its history.

On June 4, 2020, the center gained back an anchor store as the first Costco Business Center in the Sacramento area opened in the former Sam’s Club.

In 2021, the old 2-story Walmart/Montgomery Ward building was razed and part of it was rebuilt into a smaller single story anchor building. [4] The newly-built anchor spot is slated to become an Amazon Fresh store, but the opening of the store was put on hold after Amazon placed a hiatus on opening new stores to reevaluate the operations of its current stores. [5] The other anchor spot is currently unbuilt and is unknown what will occupy the other new anchor spot.

As of 2024, with the exception of Costco and a handful of smaller businesses, the center is mostly vacant, including the aforementioned anchors. Fast-food restaurant chain Raising Cane's opened May 8, 2023 in front of the unopened Amazon Fresh store. Other notable tenants include Chipotle Mexican Grill, Supercuts, Wells Fargo, and Wingstop. Despite Country Club Centre's ups and downs over the past several decades, a See's Candies shop is the only remaining store left from its 1950s original opening still in operation. [6] [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big-box store</span> Physically large retail establishment

A big-box store is a physically large retail establishment, usually part of a chain of stores. The term sometimes also refers, by extension, to the company that operates the store. The term "big-box" references the typical appearance of buildings occupied by such stores.

Christown Spectrum is a mall in Phoenix, Arizona, located at 1703 W. Bethany Home Road. It is the city’s oldest operating mall and was the third shopping mall built in the city. The name Christown Spectrum is derived from Chris-Town Mall and Phoenix Spectrum Mall, previous names. The mall opened as an enclosed shopping mall, but the enclosed portion of the mall was greatly reduced when redevelopment changed the configuration closer to a power center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arden Fair</span> Mall in Sacramento, California

Arden Fair is a two-level regional shopping mall located on Arden Way in Sacramento, California, United States. It consists of over 165 tenants, encompassing over 1,100,000 square feet (100,000 m2) of retail space. The mall features Macy's and JCPenney as anchor stores. It is operated by the premier development firm Macerich.

Downtown Commons, formerly known as Sacramento Downtown Plaza, Westfield (Shoppingtown) Downtown Plaza and Downtown Plaza, is a two-level outdoor mixed-use entertainment and shopping complex operated by JMA Ventures, LLC, located along the alignment of K Street in downtown Sacramento, California, United States, near the State Capitol building. The complex is bordered by J Street to the north, L Street to the south, 7th Street to the east and 4th Street to the west. Downtown Commons' previous format was a mainly two-level outdoor shopping mall commonly known as Downtown Plaza, despite numerous official name changes over the years. The majority of the site has been redeveloped, centering on the Golden 1 Center, home of the NBA's Sacramento Kings. The section between 5th and 7th Streets was demolished in 2014 to make room for the Golden 1 Center, as well as The Sawyer, a 250-room boutique hotel operated by Kimpton Hotels immediately north of the arena site. The remaining standing section between 4th and 5th Streets was also redeveloped a few years later in association with the arena project.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westfield Topanga</span> Shopping mall

Westfield Topanga is a shopping mall in the Canoga Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It has 1,588,050 square feet (147,535 m2) of gross leasable area and features Nordstrom, Macy's, Neiman Marcus, and Target. The mall has been owned by Westfield-affiliated companies since 1993, and has been owned by the present-day Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield since 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southgate Shopping Center</span> Shopping center in Michigan, United States

Southgate Shopping Center is a shopping center located at the southeast corner of Eureka and Trenton Roads in Southgate, Michigan. Completed by 1958, it was one of the first major strip malls in the southern Detroit suburbs until the nearby Southland Center opened in 1970. At its peak, the center housed over thirty stores.

Lakewood Center is a super-regional shopping mall in Lakewood, California. Lakewood Center opened in 1952 and was enclosed in 1978.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Springdale Mall</span> Shopping mall in Mobile, Alabama

Springdale Mall is a shopping center located in Mobile, Alabama, United States, directly across from Bel Air Mall. Opened in 1959 as an open-air shopping center, Springdale Mall was later redeveloped as an enclosed shopping center. Facing competition from larger shopping centers in the area, Springdale was demolished in stages in the 2000s, with most of the former enclosed mall being replaced with big-box stores.

Lesso Home New York is a planned mixed-use development center located in Westbury, New York, on Old Country Road and Merchants Concourse, currently owned by Lesso Mall Development Long Island Inc. The center is being built inside the mostly unoccupied Mall at the Source, which was named for its former anchor store Fortunoff operated until June 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paradise Valley Mall</span> Former shopping mall in Phoenix, Arizona

Paradise Valley Mall was a shopping mall located in Phoenix, Arizona, United States. The last remaining anchor stores were JCPenney and Costco. There were 3 vacant anchor stores that were once Sears, Dillard's, and Macy's.

Greengate Centre is an open-air power center in Hempfield Township, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located on U.S. Route 30. The center opened in 2005 on the site of the defunct Greengate Mall, which was demolished in 2003. Greengate Centre currently encompasses over 430,000 square feet (40,000 m2) of retail space, and more than 45 stores and restaurants. Anchor stores include Jo-Ann Fabrics, Petco, Ross Dress for Less, and Walmart. It also contains dozens of smaller retailers such as Five Below, GameStop, Lane Bryant, General Nutrition Centers, Oshkosh B'gosh, and Verizon Wireless. The Kroenke Group of Columbia, Missouri owns and manages the shopping center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wonderland Village</span> Shopping center in Michigan, United States

Wonderland Village is an outdoor shopping center in Livonia, Michigan, United States, a suburb of Detroit. The center is located at the southwest corner of Middlebelt Road and Plymouth Road, approximately one mile south of I-96. Opened in 1959 as the outdoor Wonderland Center, it originally featured Montgomery Ward and Federal's as its major anchor stores. A 1980s renovation enclosed the formerly open-air complex and renamed it Wonderland Mall, by which point the anchor stores were Montgomery Ward, Service Merchandise, and Target. This configuration lasted throughout the late 1990s, by which point the closure of both Service Merchandise and Montgomery Ward had led to a number of vacancies. The center reopened officially in 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westfield Wheaton</span> Shopping mall in Maryland, United States

Westfield Wheaton, formerly known as Wheaton Plaza, is a 1.7 million square-foot, two-level indoor shopping mall in Wheaton, Maryland, north of Washington, D.C. It is owned by Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield and Its anchor stores include Macy’s, Target, JCPenney, Dick's Sporting Goods, and Costco.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spotsylvania Towne Centre</span> Shopping mall in Virginia, United States

The Spotsylvania Towne Centre is a mall located in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, on Virginia State Route 3, less than a mile west of Interstate 95, and directly across from the Central Park shopping and dining complex. The mall is owned and developed by Cafaro Company. The property was renamed as "Spotsylvania Towne Centre" at the beginning of a $12 million renovation project. The project, completed in 2009, included an extensive remodeling of the mall's interior and exterior. At the same time, construction was begun on an outdoor lifestyle center called "The Village." The mall's anchor stores are Guitar Center, Dick's Sporting Goods, Belk, Costco, JCPenney, and Macy's. There is 1 vacant anchor that was once Sears. The Splitsville Bowling Alley is connected to a movie theater. The mall also houses over 150 specialty stores and restaurants.

Florin Towne Centre is an outdoor shopping center in the unincorporated area of Parkway-South Sacramento in Sacramento County, California, United States, in the Sacramento area. It opened in 2008 on the site of the old Florin Mall, which closed and was demolished in 2006. The 484,500 square feet (45,010 m2) center is anchored by AutoZone, Chuze Fitness, PetSmart, US Foods CHEF'STORE, and Walmart Supercenter.

This is a list of small shopping centres in the island of Montreal.

Manassas Mall is a shopping center located in Bull Run, Virginia. Built in 1972, it is owned by Lionheart Capital LLC and managed by Spinoso Real Estate Group. formerly by Vornado Realty Trust which shelved its regional mall holdings in 2014. The mall is anchored by Macy's, Walmart, Floor & Decor, and an At Home, There is also a bowling alley and an indoor go-kart track.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orange County Plaza</span> Shopping mall in Garden Grove, California

Orange County Plaza, later Garden Grove Mall, Garden Promenade, now The Promenade at Garden Grove, was, upon its expansion in 1959, with sixty stores, the largest shopping center in Orange County, California, and at the time billed itself as "Orange County's first regional shopping center". However, Anaheim Plaza had in fact already opened In 1955, four years prior, and had an anchor department store.

Orangefair Marketplace is a community shopping center in Fullerton, California which when built was one of the earliest large shopping centers in Orange County, California. along with Anaheim Plaza and Orange County Plaza. It is located at the southeast corner of Harbor Boulevard and Orangethorpe Avenue, a mile south of Fullerton's historic downtown.

Bridgepointe Shopping Center is a shopping mall in San Mateo, California, United States. Opened in 1982 as San Mateo Fashion Island, it was originally an enclosed shopping mall featuring JCPenney, Bullock's, Liberty House, and Montgomery Ward as its anchor stores. Following the closures of Bullock's and Liberty House, the mall went into decline throughout the 1990s, leading to its closure and demolition in favor of a power center. Bridgepointe Shopping Center is owned and managed by CBRE Group. Major tenants of Bridgepointe Shopping Center include The Home Depot and Target.

References

  1. "Shopping Center Rises on Part of Old Rancho". Sacramento Bee. August 20, 1952. pp. 45 ff.
  2. Burns, John (December 6, 1976). "Strong Comeback (Country Club Centre)". Sacramento Bee. p. 42.
  3. Glover, Mark (January 16, 2018). "Walmart Supercenter in Sacramento slated to close Feb. 9". Sacramento Bee.
  4. Sorich, Sonya (August 3, 2021). "5 things to know: Demolition of former Walmart store underway in Arden-Arcade". Sacramento Business Journal.
  5. Taylor, Brianna (July 17, 2023). "When will Amazon Fresh markets open? We asked about 3 vacant Sacramento-area locations". Sacramento Bee. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  6. "See's Candies storefront in December 2022". Google Maps/Google Street View . December 2022. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
  7. "Country Club Centre has experienced many changes". Valley Community Newspapers. September 30, 2012. Archived from the original on 14 November 2021.