Before it became Eastmont Town Center, this once-thriving complex was known as Eastmont Mall—a major community hub in East Oakland. Developed on the site of a former Chevrolet assembly plant at 73rd Avenue and Foothill Boulevard, Eastmont evolved over the years from a simple neighborhood shopping center to a full-fledged, multi-level mall.
From strip center to enclosed mall: 1966–1970
The development of Eastmont Mall occurred in three phases between 1966 and 1970, led by Irvin J. Kahn and designed by the Los Angeles-based architectural firm Burke, Kober, Nicholais, and Archuleta.
May 18, 1966– The first phase opened as a convenience center, including stores like Safeway, in a typical strip mall layout.
1968 – A secondary wing was added, extending perpendicularly from the original strip, and began resembling more of a traditional mall.
November 18, 1970– A two-story enclosed mall officially opened, bringing the total space to 650,000 sq. ft. across two levels. That mall was built to accommodate a second anchor, which came later.
This final phase marked Eastmont’s full transformation into what locals now remember as “the mall.”
Anchor stores: J.C. Penney and Mervyn’s
Two major retailers helped define Eastmont’s status in the community:
J.C. Penney opened a massive three-level, 191,000 sq. ft. store in 1970, the same year the enclosed mall debuted. It was one of the largest locations in the area.
Mervyn’s joined the center in 1974, becoming a vital anchor and attracting family shoppers from across Oakland and beyond.
By the end of 1970, Eastmont Mall housed 40 retailers, with room for 45 more—making it a true shopping destination for the East Bay, even though it was never officially intended to be a regional mall.
A community mall by design—not by scale
Unlike other large-scale malls of the era, Eastmont was never planned as a regional retail giant. Instead, it was a redevelopment project, designed to serve the immediate community of East Oakland. But during the height of the American mall boom, it naturally evolved into a major hub—because, at the time, malls were seen as a solution to urban development challenges.
As demand for large department stores grew, J.C. Penney's interest in East Oakland helped shape the mall’s destiny. What was once a modest convenience center became a full-service shopping complex for the community—long before the modern concept of “mixed-use” development existed.
Decline and transition: 1990s to present
June 1991–J.C. Penney closed its Eastmont location after two decades in operation.
June 1993–Mervyn’s also shuttered, accelerating the mall’s decline.
With both anchor stores gone, much of the mall’s interior space was left vacant. For a time, Eastmont fell into disrepair, becoming a symbol of the challenges facing malls across the country.
But unlike many of its peers, Eastmont didn’t vanish—it reinvented itself
Eastmont Town Center: a civic and community hub
Today, the former Eastmont Mall is known as Eastmont Town Center—a reimagined space focused on health care, public services, and community support rather than fashion and retail.
Former anchor tenant spaces now house:
A full-service Oakland Police Department precinct (opened in 2001 in the former Mervyn’s)
Medical clinics, job training programs, and community services
The shift from consumer mall to community-serving complex has ensured that Eastmont remains an essential resource for the area—even if its storefronts and escalators have given way to waiting rooms and office suites.
A mall that was never meant to be—but became everything
Eastmont Mall's history reflects both the rise of the American mall and the resilience of East Oakland. It wasn’t designed to be a regional retail powerhouse, but it became one. And even after retail left, the space found a new life.
From Chevrolet plant to shopping center to Eastmont Town Center, it remains a vital part of Oakland’s evolving landscape—still solving community challenges, just with different tools than before.
Comments
And thank you for your great comments to my recent blog posts. THey are always intelligent and thought provoking. Right on.
On a tour of bay area malls about ten years ago, I found it nearly empty. What was there originally ?
Was it ever vibrant ?
Love your site and thanks for your efforts on it.
Eastmont was built on a site that used to be a Chevrolet assembly plant (which probably closed when GM moved to Fremont...it's now NUMNI)
The mall was built in two stages.
In the early/mid 60's, the first part(and probably the only part that is still retail) was a community/strip center with a Safeway fronting Bancroft. It had a small indoor mall that later connected to the second phase, which was a two level structure with double deck parking and a full line, three level Penneys.(it was not yet "JCPenney", which puts it in the late 60's)
Mervyns came later in the 70's and was built on the upper deck of the parking structure fronting 73rd.
But what distinguished Eastmont from other malls was that it was in (at the time) a middle class, but predominantly African American neighborhood. And as someone that used to hang around mostly white venues like SunValley, it was very odd to be in this sprakling new mall with mostly black people. (I hope that doesn't come across as racist it's just that it truly looked odd to a 12 year old in the 70's)
I always used to drive by Eastmont on the way to A's games at the Coliseum, and once in a while I'd pop in. I don't think it ever was fully leased out(particularly the food court), but it still had a nice selection of stores like Smiths, Kress(later Woolworths), B Dalton, Leeds, Orange Julius, and a four screen cinema. And the Safeway section on the west side always looked busy.
Unfortunately, over the years the area became more lower income, gang infested, and you can pretty much figure out what happened. Penneys eventually closed the third floor and before leaving for good (mid/late 80's?) told mall and city offoials that the only way to make it work was to either go down to one level or move to a smaller space. Never happened.
Interestingly, for many years there were still small Penney stores in Alameda and San Leandro that competed with the large Eastmont store. Obviously, the folks there weren't gonna go to Eastmont and now there is no Penneys between Hayward and Richmond.
Mervyns just up and closed one day around 92/93 without any prior announcement. They likely figured there'd be a strong public reaction and they didn't wish to put their employees in danger. That took the cake! Even Safeway eventually left and the space filled with an assortment of independents that come and go.
But crime and demographics aside, the fact that Eastmont was far from a freeway and small in size would have likely killed it eventually. Had it hung in there long enough perhaps they could have gotten a Wal Mart or something. Today it is the Eastmont Town Center and is a combination of small retail, with community services. The former Penneys is a community health center, and the Mervyns is a Police station.
In my opinion, it's a wasted facility and should be demolished for housing. However, there are too many other former industrial and retail sites in the city being redeveloped for residential and Eastmont will have to wait. Just as well, as it's still considered a bad neighborhood.