Citrus Heights seeks community input to revitalize run-down Sunrise Mall
CITRUS HEIGHTS — The City of Citrus Heights is looking to transform the run-down Sunrise Mall.
The mall has been on the decline for years, but the city wants to bring the space into the 21st century.
"If we get this right, we set ourselves up for making sure Citrus Heights has a true downtown area and unlimited growth and unlimited job potentials," said Porsche Middleton, Citrus Heights councilmember for District 5.
The city is calling the plan "Sunrise Tomorrow" that will transform the Sunrise Mall into a mixed-use space including residential units, office buildings, a hotel, shopping, and entertainment with plenty of green space, parks and bike paths.
"I just hope we can still walk because it's a safe place to walk a lot of seniors come here," said one shopper CBS13 spoke with.
The city has been eyeing a similar property in Lakewood, Colorado that changed a dying mall into a mixed-use hub. The full council is visiting there in early April.
"It needs a change because it is kind of falling apart," said Darrion Carlock, who was at the mall Monday.
The developer, Ethan Conrad Properties, is making amendments to the plan.
"Just trying to get everybody on the same page has been fairly difficult," Middleton said.
The developer's draft has the mall sitting in the center with new retailers like Tilly's and Bath and Body Works and possibly a bowling alley. It also proposes building a Home Depot, fast-food drive-throughs like In-N-Out and childcare facilities.
The food court at Sunrise Mall is currently non-existent, the Macy's is down to its final days and the JCPenney's was recently targeted by a brazen burglar who plowed a car through the store during the holidays.
People CBS13 talked with said any plan is better than how the mall is now, and they hope it will become the place to go for future generations.
"I remember this mall used to be like thriving," said Royanna Peterson, who was at the mall Monday.
The developer is still looking for community input to make changes to the draft and is hosting community meetings.
There is no date on the calendar for when the revised plan will be presented at a city council meeting.
