They may share the same parent, but Sacramento's Downtown Plaza and the Galleria at Roseville have received very different treatment.
Shoppers at the Roseville mall owned by Westfield Corp. stroll along carpeted walkways lined with high-end stores. The steel skeleton of a $250 million addition is rising next to the Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware.
At the Downtown Plaza, also owned by Westfield, at least a dozen storefronts on the second floor sit empty as Christmas approaches. One major tenant, J. Crew, decamped to Arden Fair mall northeast of downtown three months ago. A third of the spaces in the food court are shuttered.
Since shortly after it bought the center on K Street in 1998, Westfield has promised upgrades. But they haven't arrived.
Sacramento city leaders grumble that Westfield treats Downtown Plaza like an unwanted stepchild. The City Council's frustration boiled over Tuesday night when a lawyer for Westfield challenged the city's environmental review for a massive proposal to redevelop the downtown railyard, which would include enough retail space to fill a shopping mall.
Such a challenge is often the first step toward filing a lawsuit, a practice Westfield has employed in Sacramento and elsewhere to quash potential competition. Earlier this decade, Westfield financed a lawsuit – ultimately unsuccessful – to block construction of the Lent Ranch mall in Elk Grove. It vehemently opposed a previous proposal by Mills Corp. to build a retail and entertainment center in the downtown railyard.
Westfield lawyer Patrick Soluri said he was "not authorized" to say whether the company intended to sue the city. But Westfield has sent several letters detailing alleged legal deficiencies in the environmental review.
The company opposes the construction of retail stores in the railyard.
"We don't think there should be big retail before they clean up K Street and strengthen the central core of the city," said Larry Green, senior vice president for Westfield Corp.
In an interview Wednesday, Mayor Heather Fargo said Westfield has been so slow to upgrade the Downtown Plaza that she is starting to wonder if the company is deliberately allowing it to deteriorate so the Roseville Galleria has less competition.
"We see tenants leave, and we don't see them replaced with tenants of the same quality," Fargo said.
Westfield, based in Australia, is one of the world's largest mall operators. Among its two dozen holdings in California are Solano Mall in Fairfield and the renovated San Francisco Centre, anchored by Bloomingdale's.
"They own everything," said Lisa Bradner, 36, who moved to Folsom about two years ago from San Jose, where she used to shop at Westfield's Valley Fair mall.
Like many newcomers, Bradner doesn't think of Downtown Plaza when she's looking for a place to shop. "It just doesn't occur to me to go downtown," she said.
When Westfield bought Downtown Plaza, it told the city it would use its negotiating power to bring the same quality of tenants to both malls, Fargo said. But the Galleria has emerged the clear winner in the tenant race. Downtown Plaza doesn't have the offerings to tempt people who don't view downtown Sacramento as the center of the universe.
Jan and Carol Flynn, residents of Sun City Lincoln Hills, were strolling through the Galleria on Wednesday after hitting See's candy. They moved from Hillsborough, in San Mateo County, seven years ago.
"I don't like to go downtown. Why bother? Everything is here," Carol Flynn said.
Even shoppers who like Downtown Plaza's urban atmosphere sometimes head to malls that offer more choices. Heather Diaz, 23, of West Sacramento said she has been going to Downtown Plaza "forever," but heads to Arden Fair if she's doing major shopping. "They have more stores," she said.
A Westfield representative says the company is still committed to renovating the Downtown Plaza, which last received a face-lift in 1993.
The mall has steadily lost ground to the Galleria at Roseville and to Arden Fair. Sales tumbled from $219 million in 2000 to $165 million in fiscal 2007, according to city tax records.
"We've been trying to effect redevelopment there for a long time, and everybody knows that," Green said. "Our frustration is getting on with it and getting going."
Westfield's current plan for Downtown Plaza involves spending about $130 million to add more than 42,000 square feet.
The developer is proposing to bring in a Target and a grocery store to join Macy's as anchor tenants, and to create a new movie theater entrance on J Street.
The company is still talking to the city about a hefty subsidy. At one time, Westfield officials said they wanted $30 million, but that figure is no longer on the table.
Westfield's plan for downtown pales next to the $250 million it is spending on the Galleria, where it is adding 400,000 square feet.
"We've got an incredible lineup of retailers," Green said of Roseville. "We're going to be the pre-eminent shopping center in that market."
Westfield has dangled a Tiffany's, not a Target, in front of the Roseville City Council as a possible tenant.
Sacramento's reaction to the latest Westfield proposal for Downtown Plaza has been mixed.
Assistant City Manager John Dangberg said the city is generally pleased. The new design would open up the mall and bring more people – and safety – to an area known for crime, he said.
At the same time, city staffers and members of the Design Commission have advised Westfield that it needs to use higher quality materials and make its proposed expansion fit in better with the surroundings.
Westfield's Green said the company is re-examining its proposal based on the city's comments.
"The issue is about one architect's preference vs. another architect's preference," Green said. "This is not about quality; we're delivering quality."
Fargo said Westfield had better deliver something soon. Otherwise, she would just as soon the company sell Downtown Plaza.
"I'd like to see it owned by someone who cares," she said.
Call The Bee's Mary Lynne Vellinga, (916) 321-1094.
