In June 2008, the nation was on a hard downhill run into deep recession, California's real estate market was crumbling, and consumers were starting to hold on tight to their dollars.

It was hardly the best time to open an upscale shopping complex.

Yet that's exactly what Sacramento-based Inter-Cal Real Estate Corp. did, launching Fountains at Roseville on the already busy corner of Roseville Parkway and Galleria Boulevard.

Three years later, numerous shopping centers in the Sacramento region are dotted with empty storefronts, contributing to double-digit vacancy rates. A regional mall sits half built and silent in Elk Grove.

Amid this misery, the Fountains enjoys a gaudy occupancy rate of 97 percent, boosted by three new leases announced last month.

"When we opened in 2008, it probably wasn't the best time, but we were confident about what we had to offer the area," said Gloria Wright, manager of Fountains. "We have grown (in tenants) and year-over-year sales since."

Wright ticks off her reasons for the center's success like a shopper finishing off a Christmas list.

She said Fountains completed a "golden triangle" of shopping centers at Roseville Parkway and Galleria Boulevard. The other two points on the triangle are the Westfield Galleria at Roseville shopping mall and Creekside Town Center shopping center.

Wright said the three centers offer myriad options to a wide range of consumers, making the site "one of the strongest retail sections" in Northern California.

Wright also points to Fountains' mix of outlets unique to the Sacramento area, or "retailers that you'd otherwise have to go to San Francisco" to patronize. The list includes Anthropologie, Sur La Table, Z Gallerie, Orvis and Yard House.

She said Yard House, which opened about a month ago, is off to a particularly fast start. The Southern California restaurant chain boasting a vast selection of draft beers also added 275 jobs.

Another reason Wright cites for Fountains' run: It's not just a shopping center; it's become a destination for South Placer residents.

With archways, broad walking areas, varied restaurants, plentiful exterior lighting, fountains, mini-train rides for kids, a fire pit, periodic live entertainment and special events like a Tuesday farmers market, Fountains has the ambience of a tourist village or resort area.

Wright and Fountains developer Peter Bollinger, whose Sacramento company owns Inter-Cal, studied scores of shopping complexes and the amenities they offered prior to Fountains' opening.

They also talked to area consumers about what they wanted. Respondents didn't want fast-food drive-thrus, large movie screens or traffic-laden confusion.

"What (they) wanted was a gathering place … where people could relax and enjoy themselves. People feel safe and secure here. There are people who walk or ride their bikes here," Wright said.

The gathering place atmosphere was evident during a recent, warm summer evening.

Mark Lincoln of Roseville was sitting on the centrally placed show fountain with his wife and two small children, part of a regular summer routine.

"Sometimes we just come here to walk … and just people watch," Lincoln said. "It's like a mini-Disneyland with things for both kids and adults.

" … You can have a good time here without spending a dime, but we usually do buy some food or other things the kids want."

The vibe was similar the next morning. Young moms walked along storefronts, pushing strollers or watching their kids frolicking in a play area.

"We call it our park," said South Placer County resident Rebecca Jones, keeping an eye on her 3-year-old daughter. "It's clean. It's safe. I like to shop here, and the kids really like to come along. It works out great for me."

Fountains also has benefitted from a growing population of affluent residents. As a city, Roseville has weathered the recession better than most parts of the Sacramento region. New homes are still being built here, although in much lower numbers than during the boom.

According to census numbers compiled by the Nielsen Co., the population within a two-mile radius of Fountains in 1990 was just short of 20,000. It's estimated today at nearly 43,000. The 1990 population in a five- to 10-mile radius was about 305,000. Today, it's about 457,000.

And these residents have incomes higher than the region as a whole. According to Nielsen, estimated average household incomes for 2011 break down this way: $72,165 within a two-mile radius of Fountains, $92,302 at two to five miles and $78,285 at five to 10 miles.

"We do have the right mix of retailers and demographics to make (Fountains) one of the primary destinations in the region," said Megan MacPherson, spokeswoman for the city of Roseville. "We also have a lot of shoppers willing to try new things."

Fountains is sprinkled with an array of decidedly high-end shops. Some, like Boulevard de Amelie, touting French-inspired ladies' fashions, look like they'd be right at home on Fifth Avenue in New York City.

Other shops in the center make money selling small indulgences. Roseville businesswoman Kelli Ridenour opened her Kelli's Best Cookies shop near the Fountains fire pit in late July. Business on the shop's staple offering – a $2.50 quarter-pound cookie – has been brisk.

"We thought we'd be more of a morning place, but we ended up being more of a little late-night hangout," Ridenour said.

"Even at night when it's pretty warm, people buy cookies and sit around the fire pit … In this economy, it's almost like a cookie is a good way to treat yourself instead of buying a $50 steak dinner."

While the recent federal debt-ceiling battles have produced mixed predictions about retail sales nationwide in the last half of the year, the Washington, D.C.-based National Retail Federation recently said things were looking up for U.S. shopping centers in general.

In its July report, the NRF said retail sales gained for the the 12th consecutive month, up 5.5 percent year over year in June. California's high jobless rate, however, remains a point of concern.

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