Opening date 1968 No. of anchor tenants 3 (originally) | Closing date 2006 | |
Location Sacramento, California, United States Address Florin Road and Stockton Boulevard Developer James J. Cordano Company/Blumenfield Enterprises | ||
Florin Mall was an indoor shopping mall located on Florin Road in the community of Florin in Sacramento, California. The mall was torn down in 2006 to make way for Florin Towne Centre, an outdoor shopping center.
History
Florin Mall, (originally named Florin Center), Sacramento's first fully enclosed shopping mall, was built by the James J. Cordano Company and Blumenfield Enterprises. The single-level center was situated on 70 acres (280,000 m2), 8-mile (13 km) southeast of downtown Sacramento. The site had previously been utilized as the Sky Ranch Airfield.
The mall was opened in February 1968 and was anchored by a 3-level, 157,000 square foot (14,600 m2), Sacramento-based Weinstock's, which held its grand opening October 9, 1967. The mall also included a 2-level, 259,000 square foot (24,100 m2) Sears and a 2-level, 125,000 square foot (11,600 m2) JCPenney. Surrounding the mall were Montgomery Ward (now Burlington Coat Factory), Zody's and a White Front discount store. On March 23, 1968 during the 1968 US Presidential campaign, Senator Robert F Kennedy made a campaign stop at the recently opened Florin Mall.
The only physical expansion of the 620,400 square foot (57,640 m2) shopping center was completed in 1978. A 1-level, 46,600 square foot (4,330 m2) addition was built at the main entrance at the front of the mall, increasing its gross leasable area to 667,000 square feet (62,000 m2).
As the second mall-type center on Sacramento's south side, it eclipsed its nearest commercial competitor, Southgate Plaza.
By the 1980s, Florin Mall was becoming rather notorious as a haven for shootings, stabbings and car thefts. Local gangs had made the complex a regular hangout spot by the early 1990s. Customers began wafting to other frequent regional centers, such as Arden Fair Mall, Downtown Plaza and Sunrise Mall. A remodeling of Weinstock's in 1989 and a facelift renovation of the mall proper in the second half of 1990 did little to dispel the negative image that the center had taken on. With the acquisition of Weinstock's by Federated Department Stores in August 1995, it was decided that the Florin Mall location be shuttered rather than converting it to Macy's. The store closed in March 1996. This may be seen as the first significant decline to Florin Mall. JCPenney was converted to an outlet store in November 1998. The store was shuttered in 2003, leaving Sears as the sole anchor of the mall.
In a state of disrepair for some time, the bulk of Florin Mall was purchased by San Francisco's Jim Kessler and Prudential Insurance Company in October 2005. The mall closed on February 28, 2006. It was fully demolished in July 2006, leaving Sears, its Auto Center, and five outparcels standing.