Hillsdale Shopping Center is a shopping mall in San Mateo, California, currently anchored by Macy's and Nordstrom, and featuring over 130 stores and restaurants. The mall is located at the intersection of Hillsdale Boulevard and El Camino Real or CA-82, adjacent to the Hillsdale Caltrain Station and the former site of Bay Meadows Racetrack. The property is owned by Bohannon Development Co.
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History
Developer David D. Bohannon acquired 848 acres (343 ha) from Burleigh H. Murray in the Beresford (later called Hillsdale) neighborhood in 1939-40 and began developing the area, starting construction on the Andrew Williams Grocery Store at the corner of Hillsdale Boulevard and El Camino Real in 1941. Sears selected the Hillsdale site for one of its earliest suburban stores in 1948, and the Hillsdale Mall master plan was completed in 1952; Bohannon was reportedly inspired by the recently-completed Westlake Shopping Center in Daly City. In December 1954, Hillsdale Mall opened as an open-air center, featuring Sears (completed in 1949) and the first suburban branch store of Macy's San Francisco, later adding Emporium in 1962. By 1970, Hillsdale had more than 150 stores. Through the 1960s and 70s, Hillsdale Mall marked the northern end of a popular Friday night cruise route along El Camino Real for young drivers.
In 1982, faced with competition from San Diego-based developer The Hahn Company's new San Mateo Fashion Island Mall, Hillsdale underwent a major renovation, adding a second floor, enclosing the shopping center between Macy's and Emporium and adding Northern California's first Nordstrom under the leadership of Bohannon's daughter, Frances Bohannon Nelson. Fashion Island could not compete, eventually closing and being demolished for the Bridgepointe power center. Another renovation started in 1992. In 1996 Sears relocated from its original location south of Hillsdale to the former Emporium store north of 31st. By 2013, Hillsdale added a Cheesecake Factory restaurant (replacing a Mervyn's), H&M, Forever 21, and Paul Martin's American Grill.
The next renovation at Hillsdale started with a March 2013 planning document, filed with the city of San Mateo, detailing plans to replace Sears with a three-story 174,000-square-foot (16,200 m2) Target, adding a nine-screen luxury cinema, and relocating the food court from its location in the Sears/Cost Plus Building north of 31st Street to the second-story bridge over 31st; the bridge links the north Sears Building with the main mall building between 31st and Hillsdale. The plans also included a new building at the northwest corner of El Camino and 31st, to be built when a tenant was secured. In December 2013, however, Bohannon put the proposed project on hold, citing changing marking conditions. Although Sears stated they had no plans to close the store at the time the plans were made public in 2013, the company later announced in 2016 the April closure of the Hillsdale store.
Because Target pulled back, the 2013 proposal, which would have reused the existing Sears building north of 31st, was re-imagined and re-introduced in November 2014. Also partly in response to public and official feedback, Bohannon presented a modified version of the 2013 plans in February 2015, dropping the idea of building a three-story Target in favor of a bowling alley and fitness center, as the mall sought to be an experiential destination, pivoting away from retail space, in the face of competition from online shopping. Planning officials asked Bohannon to consider incorporating housing as a mixed-use project, but a spokesman for the company said San Mateo's height restrictions made it unfeasible. The plans were approved in March 2016. Demolition of the former Sears building started on August 25, 2016. Construction on the replacement North Block buildings, which are planned to achieve LEED Gold certification, is expected to continue through fall 2018, with the luxury cinema scheduled to open in late 2017.
Hillsdale, along with Bellevue Square, NorthPark Center and South Coast Plaza, remains one of the few major shopping centers to remain in private ownership, continuing to be owned by the Bohannon family.
Anchors
- Macy's (246,175 sq ft (22,870.4 m2))
- Nordstrom (150,000 sq ft (14,000 m2))
Former Anchor
- Sears (206,000 sq ft (19,100 m2)) - closed in April 2016
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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