Bayfair Mall in San Leandro, continuing its path of reconstruction and remodel, announced Old Navy is coming to the mall. Old Navy will be occupying the space previously vacated by Long's Drugs.
Foot traffic and store openings seem to be increasing, finally turning around the aging 48 year-old shopping center. Only two indicators of the past remain: the nearly empty food court and the deserted second floor. No plans have yet been announced by mall management concerning those two areas. However, as foot traffic and sales continue to grow, the evolution of the mall will dictate new stores in those once empty areas. We look forward to the complete revitalization of Bayfair mall.
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8 comments:
That ceiling looks familar. I remember seeing a picture of a Montgomery Ward fronting a mall court with a ceiling that looked remarkably similar to this mall's.
Funny you should mention. The ceiling hasn't been remodeled. Well, except the flags. :)
Scott
Even with the new anchors, I bet that it'll still be tough for Bayfair to fill that interior space The new stores they're getting are pretty typical of what you'd see in any power center with parking up front. I would imagine any smaller retailers attracted to Target, Kohls, and the like will want that same access.
Who actually DOES go inside the mall will depend a lot on Macys' coattails, and frankly they haven't been too effective these last few years at Bayfair. And what you usually see in middle/lower income malls are pretty much three things: Sneakers, Cellphones, and Hip-Hop.
If Bayfair can get names like Chico's, Jos A Bank, and The Gap, then we'll know they've turned the corner. Otherwise, they may regret not demolishing everything except Macys and Target and going with an outdoor "main street" concept like they originally planned/
We went to Bayfair last weekend during the "Remarkable Heatwave of 2006" and it was actually crowded. And I'm talking a diverse crowd, not just screaming children.
Baron's Jewelers opened a new shop next to Kohl's and it's quite attractive. In fact, most of the new stores look good and are the typically mall-faire. However, the older shops, near the Target end, are still sneakers, cell-phones, and ghetto swank. Not to mention, the food court is still empty and there are no stores on the second level, yet.
I think the Old Navy will be a big shot in the arm. Nonetheless, I do think this mall is finally moving from ghetto to typical.
Scott
I think the escalators to the left are the original ones from when the mall was open-air. They are definitely in the same location. I find it interesting how the "center court" of the outdoor mall survived the transition to an indoor mall.
To me, Bayfair has the distinction of being one of the first with multi-level access. The parking on the south side of the mall accessed the second level of Macy's, Ward's and the upper level shops (which were one level in that area).
The food court opened to the name "Cascades" and had fountains to either side of the entrance. It was Bayfair's attempt to keep up with the competition but I've never liked the space, buried in the downstairs center of the building.
And the food court is still dead. It's like they ran out of the money during the remodel. I've written mall management about it and they haven't responded (how rude!!).
Scott
I used to work at Fanstand, a sports memorabilia shop on the second floor. This was 1986-1987.
Bayfair has changed so much in the ensuing years that I don't even recognize it. I last visited during its hip-hip/ghetto phase in 1995, and haven't been there since.
I recently returned to the bay area where I grew up in the 60's and stopped by to see Bayfair. Even though I have seen the changes the Mall took up to the mid 1980's I was saddened by it all. I realize retail is ever changing but the rundown- destruction of the whole region and clientele of the Mall made me sorry I tried "to go home" to a the time when it was an outdoor Mall and Macy's was booming as a department store with everything under one roof. Its hard for us baby boomers to revisit places that were once truly special and safe.
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