Eastmont Town Center
Encyclopedia
Eastmont Town Center is a shopping mall
and social services hub located on 33 acres (133,546.4 m²) bounded by Foothill Boulevard, Bancroft and 73rd Avenues, and Church Street, in the Eastmont
neighborhood of East Oakland
. The mall opened in 1970 on the site of a 1920's-era Chevrolet
truck factory. Architect William Pereira
designed the building. It is physically almost next to, and by entry access a few blocks away from, the similarly sized Evergreen Cemetery
.
Eastmont's primary anchor tenants were JCPenney, Mervyns
, Woolworth's
, Safeway
, and Kinney Shoes
, one of the nation's leading shoe retailers at the time. The mall also housed a movie theater with four screens.
Eastmont Mall became the only remaining indoor mall in Oakland after the closure of the MacArthur-Broadway Center in North Oakland in the mid-1990s.
JCPenney and Mervyns closed their Eastmont locations in the early 1990s. In the early 2000s, the mall was only 30 percent leased and had fallen into bankruptcy. Local real estate developers purchased the mall in 2000, and emphasized a focus on neighborhood and community services; many of the abandoned retail stores were converted into office space. The Mervyns location was converted into a substation for the Oakland Police Department
and the JCPenney location was converted into a joint City of Oakland/Alameda County
social services center. A handful of existing retail tenants stayed on, and a few new ones were attracted due to the success of the renovations, including Gazzali's market, the only supermarket to serve the surrounding neighborhoods. In the spring of 2007, the mall was sold to a group of real estate investors based in Oregon.
Currently, the mall houses the supermarket, a Social Security
office, a branch of the Oakland Public Library
, a primary care medical clinic operated by the Alameda County Medical Center
, General Assistance
and WIC
offices, and other small businesses and social service organizations.
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
and social services hub located on 33 acres (133,546.4 m²) bounded by Foothill Boulevard, Bancroft and 73rd Avenues, and Church Street, in the Eastmont
Eastmont, Oakland, California
Eastmont is a neighborhood in Oakland, the county seat of Alameda County, California. It lies at an elevation of 95 feet . It was formerly an unincorporated community....
neighborhood of East Oakland
East Oakland, Oakland, California
East Oakland is the southeastern portion of Oakland, California, and takes up the largest portion of the city's land area. It stretches between Lake Merritt in the northwest and San Leandro in the southeast...
. The mall opened in 1970 on the site of a 1920's-era Chevrolet
Chevrolet
Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...
truck factory. Architect William Pereira
William Pereira
William Leonard Pereira was an American architect from Chicago, Illinois, of Portuguese ancestry who was noted for his futuristic designs of landmark buildings such as the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco...
designed the building. It is physically almost next to, and by entry access a few blocks away from, the similarly sized Evergreen Cemetery
Evergreen Cemetery (Oakland, California)
Evergreen Cemetery is a cemetery, crematorium and mausoleum in Oakland, California, near the Eastmont Town Center and Mills College. The cemetery is on a small hill, with a large combined mausoleum, crematorium and chapel at the top of the hill. It is the second largest cemetery in Oakland, after...
.
History
Originally known as Eastmont Mall, the mall was a popular and heavily-used shopping destination during most of the 1970s and 1980s; but declined by the 1990s due to a huge drop in the average income level, and a concurrent increase in the crime rate in the mall and the surrounding neighborhoods.Eastmont's primary anchor tenants were JCPenney, Mervyns
Mervyns
Mervyns was an American middle scale department store chain based in Hayward, California. It carried national brands of clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, electronics, and housewares. Many of the company's stores were in shopping malls...
, Woolworth's
F. W. Woolworth Company
The F. W. Woolworth Company was a retail company that was one of the original American five-and-dime stores. The first successful Woolworth store was opened on July 18, 1879 by Frank Winfield Woolworth in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, as "Woolworth's Great Five Cent Store"...
, Safeway
Safeway Inc.
Safeway Inc. , a Fortune 500 company, is North America's second largest supermarket chain after The Kroger Co., with, as of December 2010, 1,694 stores located throughout the western and central United States and western Canada. It also operates some stores in the Mid-Atlantic region of the Eastern...
, and Kinney Shoes
G.R. Kinney Company
G.R. Kinney Company was an American manufacturer and retailer of shoes from 1894 until September 16, 1998. Its listing on the New York Stock Exchange, symbol KNN, began in March 1923. The shoe concern was started by...
, one of the nation's leading shoe retailers at the time. The mall also housed a movie theater with four screens.
Eastmont Mall became the only remaining indoor mall in Oakland after the closure of the MacArthur-Broadway Center in North Oakland in the mid-1990s.
JCPenney and Mervyns closed their Eastmont locations in the early 1990s. In the early 2000s, the mall was only 30 percent leased and had fallen into bankruptcy. Local real estate developers purchased the mall in 2000, and emphasized a focus on neighborhood and community services; many of the abandoned retail stores were converted into office space. The Mervyns location was converted into a substation for the Oakland Police Department
Oakland Police Department (California)
The Oakland Police Department is the law enforcement agency responsible for the city of Oakland, California.-Ranking structure:-Officers killed in the line of duty:...
and the JCPenney location was converted into a joint City of Oakland/Alameda County
Alameda County, California
Alameda County is a county in the U.S. state of California. It occupies most of the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 1,510,271, making it the 7th most populous county in the state...
social services center. A handful of existing retail tenants stayed on, and a few new ones were attracted due to the success of the renovations, including Gazzali's market, the only supermarket to serve the surrounding neighborhoods. In the spring of 2007, the mall was sold to a group of real estate investors based in Oregon.
Currently, the mall houses the supermarket, a Social Security
Social Security Administration
The United States Social Security Administration is an independent agency of the United States federal government that administers Social Security, a social insurance program consisting of retirement, disability, and survivors' benefits...
office, a branch of the Oakland Public Library
Oakland Public Library
The Oakland Public Library is the public library in Oakland, California. Opened in 1878, the Oakland Public Library currently serves the city of Oakland, along with some neighboring smaller cities including Emeryville and Piedmont. The Oakland Public Library has the largest collection of any...
, a primary care medical clinic operated by the Alameda County Medical Center
Alameda County Medical Center
Alameda County Medical Center is a medical organization operated by Alameda County, California. It operates hospitals and primary care medical clinics within the county.-Hospitals:*Highland Hospital, Oakland...
, General Assistance
General Assistance
General Assistance is a term used in the United States to denote welfare programs that benefit adults without dependents as opposed to families with children, who receive assistance from the federal program formerly known as Aid to Families with Dependent Children, and, since 1996,...
and WIC
WIC
The abbreviation WIC can mean:*Walta Information Center, a news agency based in Ethiopia.*Dutch West India Company, a former trading cooperation that led to the establishment of some Dutch colonies....
offices, and other small businesses and social service organizations.
External links
- "Unlikely tenants spur recovery of blighted mall", San Francisco Business Times, March 14, 2005