Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
Issue link: https://sct.epubxp.com/i/704472
Sunvalley, Concord, Calif. I ndustry pioneer A. Alfred Taubman may have gotten his start in the Mid- west, but he undertook some of his most ambitious projects in California in the 1960s. Sunvalley Shopping Cen- ter was among these. When Sunvalley opened in 1967, in the San Francisco Bay Area suburb of Concord, the two- level, 1.3 million-square-foot mall was billed as the world's largest air-condi- tioned shopping center. Sunvalley was a good deal larger than Taubman's previ- ous projects, but he was convinced that the mall would draw from far and wide, thanks to America's new post–World War II highway system. The mall's original anchors included a 233,000-square-foot Macy's, the result of Taubman's successful efforts to per- suade the chain to open a store that was unusually large for a suburban location at the time. Sunvalley also boasted an ice-skating rink, a one-screen movie the- ater and a popular collection of eateries known as the World's Fare, which pre- dated the food-court concept. Today Sun- valley is no longer the largest mall in the Golden State, but it is still owned by The Taubman Co., which continues to add new retailers, restaurants and amenities. In 2012 the company undertook a renovation of the mall that involved, in part, a new look for its original am- phitheater. It is now a spacious, light- filled lounge called Grand Court, of- fering free Wi-Fi and charging stations for mobile devices. Earlier this year Sunvalley unveiled a 23,000-square-foot food court boast- ing California-style fast-casual eateries. Round 1 Bowling & Amusement, a chain of family-oriented entertainment centers, was slated to open its first East Bay location at Sunvalley this summer. With Sunvalley and his other proj- ects, Alfred Taubman "wasn't just building physical space," recalled son Robert, chairman, president and CEO of Taubman Centers, in a 2015 SCT ar- ticle. "He was trying to build a customer experience." S C T 44 S C T / A u g u s t 2 0 1 6