Cupertino Square
Encyclopedia
Vallco Shopping Mall is a three-level shopping mall
located in Cupertino, California
, USA
. It is anchored
by J.C. Penney
, Macy's
, and Sears
.
Vallco also hosts the city's weekly farmers' market. Running every Friday throughout the year, it is popular with the local residents of Cupertino and has been there for over a decade. The farmers' market is host to many regional and local growers and producers.
in the 1960s, formed from land owned by 25 Cupertino property owners. It was named for the primary developers: Varian Associates
, and the Leonard, Lester, Craft, and Orlando families.
Vallco Fashion Park opened in September 1976. In its first years, the mall's main walkway was punctuated by several parks showcasing aspects of local history, ranging from 'cots
to Klystron
tubes. Vallco was one of the largest shopping centers in Silicon Valley
and soon drew customers from all over the region.
One of the unique early features of the mall was the ice skating rink attached to the shopping center. The Ice Capades Chalet, open for almost ten years, began to run into trouble in 1986, when proposals to close it and replace it with movie theatres emerged. By June 3, 1988, the rink faced imminent closure, until the Cupertino city council stepped in and kept the rink open when faced with vocal protest. (At the time, the ice rink was one of two year-round skating rinks in all of Santa Clara county.)
Increased competition from other regional malls, such as Stanford Shopping Center
, and in particular Valley Fair
(opened 1986) began to cause Vallco trouble. In July 1988, an $20 million expansion for the mall was announced, which would add a lower level and 50 stores, increasing the total store count from 140 to 190. Ultimately, this expansion was completed in August, 1988, adding a total of 60 stores.
Another large tenant arrived at the mall on the weekend of August 11, 1990, with the addition of the Tilt Family Entertainment Center.
Alan Wong, Emily Chen, and John Nguyen bought Vallco and began renovation of the mostly empty mall in 2005. By 2006, Vallco had the lowest occupancy rate of any mall in the area, at just 24 percent. One of the changes made to Vallco as part of these new renovations was to completely close the first of the mall's two levels in 2005, leaving the focus on the second floor. From there, new tenants were pulled in over the next few years.
In 2006, Cupertino voters prevented rezoning of part of the Vallco property for condominiums, by overturning a rezoning ordinance that was passed by the city council. The loss of the revenue that was expected from the sale of this parcel contributed to the financial problems of the owners. The contractor for the movie theater, DPR, filed a mechanics lien against the owners for approximately ten million dollars in July 2007, which was settled the following September when Orbit Resources acquired the mall.
Vallco Fashion Park's name was changed to Cupertino Square in 2007. Later that year, the owners sold three parcels of land to Evershine Property Management and sold a controlling stake of the mall to Orbit Resources, which switched managing agents from Landmark Property Management to Jones Lang LaSalle.
Renovation of the mall that began in 2005 continues. As of 2009, two new parking structures, a 16-screen AMC movie theater
, a food court, and Strike Bowling (at the former location of Tilt Family Entertainment Center) have been added to the complex. Future plans include shops facing the street at the corner of Wolfe Road and Vallco Parkway, a seismic upgrade of the parking garage west of the theatres as well as the main mall structure, as well as two new hotels.
In September 2008, the two owners of the complex filed for bankruptcy
to prevent the primary financier Gramercy Capital
from foreclosing on their property. According to Gramercy, the assets of the company fall well below the amount they are in debt to, though the consortium disputes this.
In September 2009, Vietnamese food processing company Son Son Co. purchased Cupertino Square for US$64 million in an all-cash transaction. The new owners returned the Vallco name to the property, though this time as Vallco Shopping Mall.
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...
located in Cupertino, California
Cupertino, California
Cupertino is an affluent suburban city in Santa Clara County, California in the U.S., directly west of San Jose on the western edge of the Santa Clara Valley with portions extending into the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains. The population was 58,302 at the time of the 2010 census. Forbes...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is anchored
Anchor store
In retail, an anchor store, draw tenant, anchor tenant, or key tenant is one of the larger stores in a shopping mall, usually a department store or a major retail chain....
by J.C. Penney
J.C. Penney
J. C. Penney Company, Inc. is a chain of American mid-range department stores based in Plano, Texas, a suburb north of Dallas. The company operates 1,107 department stores in all 50 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. JCPenney also operates catalog sales merchant offices nationwide in many...
, Macy's
Macy's
Macy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States...
, and Sears
Sears, Roebuck and Company
Sears, officially named Sears, Roebuck and Co., is an American chain of department stores which was founded by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck in the late 19th century...
.
Major stores and activities
The anchors and major businesses in Vallco are:- JC Penney
- Macy'sMacy'sMacy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States...
(previously, Bullock'sBullock'sBullock's was a department store based in Los Angeles, California. The company operated full-line department stores all across California, with some stores in Arizona and Nevada. Bullock's also operated the more upscale Bullocks Wilshire in parts of Southern California.- History :Bullock's was...
, then The Emporium) - SearsSears, Roebuck and CompanySears, officially named Sears, Roebuck and Co., is an American chain of department stores which was founded by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck in the late 19th century...
- AMC TheatresAMC TheatresAMC Theatres , officially known as AMC Entertainment, Inc., is the second largest movie theater chain in North America with 5,325 screens, second only to Regal Entertainment Group, and one of the United States's four national cinema chains AMC Theatres (American Multi-Cinema), officially known as...
- Strike Bowling
History
Vallco Park started as a business parkBusiness park
A business park or office park is an area of land in which many office buildings are grouped together. All of the work that goes on is commercial, not industrial or residential....
in the 1960s, formed from land owned by 25 Cupertino property owners. It was named for the primary developers: Varian Associates
Varian Associates
Varian Associates was one of the first high-tech companies in Silicon Valley. It was founded in 1948 by Russell H. and Sigurd F. Varian, William Webster Hansen, and Edward Ginzton to sell the klystron, the first tube which could generate electromagnetic waves at microwave frequencies, and other...
, and the Leonard, Lester, Craft, and Orlando families.
Origins and expansion
In the early 1970s, the Cupertino City Council held public hearings on the possible locations of a regional shopping center in the city. After it decided the city could only support one center, the Vallco group found itself competing with another group led by orchard owner Paul Mariani, Jr. In 1973, the city council decided it wanted the regional shopping center on the edge of the city and gave the proper zoning to Vallco.Vallco Fashion Park opened in September 1976. In its first years, the mall's main walkway was punctuated by several parks showcasing aspects of local history, ranging from 'cots
Apricot
The apricot, Prunus armeniaca, is a species of Prunus, classified with the plum in the subgenus Prunus. The native range is somewhat uncertain due to its extensive prehistoric cultivation.- Description :...
to Klystron
Klystron
A klystron is a specialized linear-beam vacuum tube . Klystrons are used as amplifiers at microwave and radio frequencies to produce both low-power reference signals for superheterodyne radar receivers and to produce high-power carrier waves for communications and the driving force for modern...
tubes. Vallco was one of the largest shopping centers in Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
and soon drew customers from all over the region.
One of the unique early features of the mall was the ice skating rink attached to the shopping center. The Ice Capades Chalet, open for almost ten years, began to run into trouble in 1986, when proposals to close it and replace it with movie theatres emerged. By June 3, 1988, the rink faced imminent closure, until the Cupertino city council stepped in and kept the rink open when faced with vocal protest. (At the time, the ice rink was one of two year-round skating rinks in all of Santa Clara county.)
Increased competition from other regional malls, such as Stanford Shopping Center
Stanford Shopping Center
Stanford Shopping Center is an upscale open air shopping mall located on El Camino Real at Sand Hill Road in Palo Alto, California. It is on the campus of Stanford University although the university only owns the land and not the actual buildings or stores...
, and in particular Valley Fair
Westfield Valley Fair
Westfield Valley Fair, formerly known as Valley Fair and Westfield Shoppingtown Valley Fair is an upscale in-door shopping mall owned by the Westfield Group, located at the corner of Winchester and Stevens Creek Boulevards, straddling the border of San Jose and Santa Clara, California, United...
(opened 1986) began to cause Vallco trouble. In July 1988, an $20 million expansion for the mall was announced, which would add a lower level and 50 stores, increasing the total store count from 140 to 190. Ultimately, this expansion was completed in August, 1988, adding a total of 60 stores.
Another large tenant arrived at the mall on the weekend of August 11, 1990, with the addition of the Tilt Family Entertainment Center.
Deterioration and renovation
Occupancy began deteriorating in the 1990s, and the emptying of the mall continued into the mid 2000s. One major reason for this decline was the fact that the mall's selection of mid-range stores did not reflect the growing affluence of the surrounding population.Alan Wong, Emily Chen, and John Nguyen bought Vallco and began renovation of the mostly empty mall in 2005. By 2006, Vallco had the lowest occupancy rate of any mall in the area, at just 24 percent. One of the changes made to Vallco as part of these new renovations was to completely close the first of the mall's two levels in 2005, leaving the focus on the second floor. From there, new tenants were pulled in over the next few years.
In 2006, Cupertino voters prevented rezoning of part of the Vallco property for condominiums, by overturning a rezoning ordinance that was passed by the city council. The loss of the revenue that was expected from the sale of this parcel contributed to the financial problems of the owners. The contractor for the movie theater, DPR, filed a mechanics lien against the owners for approximately ten million dollars in July 2007, which was settled the following September when Orbit Resources acquired the mall.
Vallco Fashion Park's name was changed to Cupertino Square in 2007. Later that year, the owners sold three parcels of land to Evershine Property Management and sold a controlling stake of the mall to Orbit Resources, which switched managing agents from Landmark Property Management to Jones Lang LaSalle.
Renovation of the mall that began in 2005 continues. As of 2009, two new parking structures, a 16-screen AMC movie theater
AMC Theatres
AMC Theatres , officially known as AMC Entertainment, Inc., is the second largest movie theater chain in North America with 5,325 screens, second only to Regal Entertainment Group, and one of the United States's four national cinema chains AMC Theatres (American Multi-Cinema), officially known as...
, a food court, and Strike Bowling (at the former location of Tilt Family Entertainment Center) have been added to the complex. Future plans include shops facing the street at the corner of Wolfe Road and Vallco Parkway, a seismic upgrade of the parking garage west of the theatres as well as the main mall structure, as well as two new hotels.
In September 2008, the two owners of the complex filed for bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
to prevent the primary financier Gramercy Capital
Gramercy Capital
Gramercy Capital Corp. is a real estate investment trust and a commercial real estate specialty finance company that focuses on the direct origination and acquisition of whole loans, subordinate interests in whole loans, mezzanine loans, bridge loans, preferred equity, and net lease investments...
from foreclosing on their property. According to Gramercy, the assets of the company fall well below the amount they are in debt to, though the consortium disputes this.
In September 2009, Vietnamese food processing company Son Son Co. purchased Cupertino Square for US$64 million in an all-cash transaction. The new owners returned the Vallco name to the property, though this time as Vallco Shopping Mall.