The Daily Mall Reader: Tanforan Mall Redevelopment

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"CASE STUDY: Tanforan Turnaround"

Retail Traffic - September 1, 2005

(Excerpt) The site of the new Shops at Tanforan in San Bruno, Calif. was a retail developer's dream.

Located five miles south of San Francisco, in an area where the average household income is $90,000, it housed an underused mall known as the Tanforan Shopping Center — a real fixer-upper.

Even though the mall was more than 30 years old and half-dark, its Sears anchor was ranked in the top five performing stores nationally, says Greg Wattson, senior vice president of the mall's redeveloper, Wattson Breevast LLC. “We knew that the customers were coming to the mall anchors,” says Wattson. “Our challenge was to make them stay longer and spend time in the mall proper.”

Read the full article here.

Tanforan Shopping Center (aka The Shops At Tanforan)

San Bruno, California - circa 1970s

Now called The Shops At Tanforan, the Tanforan Shopping Center (or Tanforan Park Mall) originally opened in 1971, and then was rebuilt and updated in 2003. Current anchors include Sears, Barnes & Noble, Target, and JCPenney. The vintage interior photo above is from one of the mall's 1970s postcards.

Apparently it's a pretty swanky place to shop today. Here's a description of its current-day atmosphere and decor from Bigmallrat.com:

"Tanforan mall is chic; beautifully designed and decorated. The architects, Altoon + Porter, are known for other famous mall renovations, including Las Vegas' The Fashion Show mall. The ceiling is stunning, with the latest in lighting design. At night, it glows a beautiful blue. Careful attention was given to detail, including fixtures and neutral flooring. The mall appears upscale and demands attention. Only Westfield Valley Fair Mall and Westfield Oakridge Mall could compare in terms of design."

Mall history: 1971 - present
Current website: here
Current aerial view
Info from Wikipedia
Previous entries: none