Oak Park, San Diego, California
Encyclopedia
Oak Park is a neighborhood of the Mid-City region of San Diego, California
.
to the southeast. Oak Park map
. The community is home to a large mall, the Marketplace at the Grove Shopping Center, with anchor stores of Wal-Mart
, Target
, Kohls, Staples, Sam's Club
and 24-Hour Fitness
.
The center originally opened as a traditional shopping mall called College Grove with anchors of JC Penney, Walker Scott, Sears, and various national chain retail stores. It was the first shopping center in central San Diego for the burgeoning community growing in the area in the Post-War era.
Over the years, management changed hands and in the mid-80s briefly became The Grove
and received a pastel-influenced makeover. By this time rent had increased sharply and one by one tenants left. Before the mall closed the center had only Mervyns
, Longs Drugs
, MANN Theaters, and a branch of the United States Post Office.
Close to the end of 1990s, a master plan was created to revitalized the dead mall
, with ambitious plans including the redevelopment of the mall into strip mall with many big box retailers. Walmart, Sam's Club
, Pic n Save (Later Big Lots
), Party City
, and Home Base opened in March of 2000. Mervyns
and Longs Drugs
were the only hold overs from the original mall.
In the next ten years Home Base would become House2Home and eventually go bankrupt and be replaced by Target. Longs Drugs was acquired by CVS and closed. Mervyns went out of business in 2008 as a result of the late 2000s recession but by late 2009 was gutted and replaced by Kohls. As of 2010, the shopping center sees daily full parking lots, a feat not even achieved by the mall in its prime.
Oak Park is divided between City Council District 4 and District 7. It has a fire station and a branch of the public library. It has a strong community organization, the Oak Park Community Council.
The jewel of Oak Park is Chollas Lake, a 16 acres (64,749.8 m²) lake designated for free youth fishing (age 15 and under); a 0.8 mile dirt path around the lake for walking, jogging, and bicycling; picnic tables with barbecue grills; children's play equipment; a small basketball court; hiking trails; and a multi-purpose ball field in North Chollas canyon.
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
Geography
The neighborhood's borders are defined by Euclid Avenue to the west, Chollas Parkway/Streamview Drive/College Avenue to the north, and State Route 94California State Route 94
State Route 94 in the U.S. state of California is the Martin Luther King Jr. Freeway from Interstate 5 in Downtown San Diego to the end of the freeway portion past Route 125 in Spring Valley; the non-freeway segment of SR 94 is Campo Road....
to the southeast. Oak Park map
Economy
Oak Park is located 4 miles (6 km) from San Diego State UniversitySan Diego State University
San Diego State University , founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, is the largest and oldest higher education facility in the greater San Diego area , and is part of the California State University system...
. The community is home to a large mall, the Marketplace at the Grove Shopping Center, with anchor stores of Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
, Target
Target Corporation
Target Corporation, doing business as Target, is an American retailing company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, behind Walmart. The company is ranked at number 33 on the Fortune 500 and is a component of the Standard & Poor's...
, Kohls, Staples, Sam's Club
Sam's Club
Sam's Club is a chain of membership-only retail warehouse clubs owned and operated by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., founded in 1983 and named after Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton. , the Sam's Club chain serves more than 47 million U.S. members...
and 24-Hour Fitness
24-Hour Fitness
24 Hour Fitness is the world's largest privately owned and operated fitness center chain, and third in number of clubs behind Gold's Gym and Fitness First of the UK. It currently has 425 clubs and over 20,000 employees in the U.S.A. The company has its corporate office located in San Ramon,...
.
The center originally opened as a traditional shopping mall called College Grove with anchors of JC Penney, Walker Scott, Sears, and various national chain retail stores. It was the first shopping center in central San Diego for the burgeoning community growing in the area in the Post-War era.
Over the years, management changed hands and in the mid-80s briefly became The Grove
The Grove
The Grove may refer to:Canada* Lakefield College School , a boarding schoolUnited Kingdom* The Emirates Stadium, sometimes called "The Grove" in reference to its pre-sponsorship name, "Ashburton Grove"...
and received a pastel-influenced makeover. By this time rent had increased sharply and one by one tenants left. Before the mall closed the center had only 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...
, Longs Drugs
Longs Drugs
Longs Drugs is an American chain of over 40 drug stores throughout the State of Hawaii. Before being acquired by CVS Caremark in 2008, it was a chain of over 500 stores, located primarily on the West Coast of the United States...
, MANN Theaters, and a branch of the United States Post Office.
Close to the end of 1990s, a master plan was created to revitalized the dead mall
Dead mall
A dead mall or greyfield is a shopping mall with a high vacancy rate or a low consumer traffic level, or that is dated or deteriorating in some manner. Many malls in the United States are considered "dead" when they have no surviving anchor store or successor that could serve as an entry into or...
, with ambitious plans including the redevelopment of the mall into strip mall with many big box retailers. Walmart, Sam's Club
Sam's Club
Sam's Club is a chain of membership-only retail warehouse clubs owned and operated by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., founded in 1983 and named after Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton. , the Sam's Club chain serves more than 47 million U.S. members...
, Pic n Save (Later Big Lots
Big Lots
Big Lots, Inc. is a Fortune 500 retail corporation with annual revenues well over $4 billion.Its department stores focus mainly on selling closeout and overstock merchandise. The company is based in Columbus, Ohio, USA and currently operates over 1,400 stores in 47 states...
), Party City
Party City
Party City is the largest retail party supply store in the United States, including Puerto Rico, with more than 500 corporate and franchised locations...
, and Home Base opened in March of 2000. 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...
and Longs Drugs
Longs Drugs
Longs Drugs is an American chain of over 40 drug stores throughout the State of Hawaii. Before being acquired by CVS Caremark in 2008, it was a chain of over 500 stores, located primarily on the West Coast of the United States...
were the only hold overs from the original mall.
In the next ten years Home Base would become House2Home and eventually go bankrupt and be replaced by Target. Longs Drugs was acquired by CVS and closed. Mervyns went out of business in 2008 as a result of the late 2000s recession but by late 2009 was gutted and replaced by Kohls. As of 2010, the shopping center sees daily full parking lots, a feat not even achieved by the mall in its prime.
Community character
Oak Park is characterized by single family homes, condominiums and apartments, as well as Navy housing. It is an established, stable community, demographically diverse and generally representative of San Diego.Oak Park is divided between City Council District 4 and District 7. It has a fire station and a branch of the public library. It has a strong community organization, the Oak Park Community Council.
The jewel of Oak Park is Chollas Lake, a 16 acres (64,749.8 m²) lake designated for free youth fishing (age 15 and under); a 0.8 mile dirt path around the lake for walking, jogging, and bicycling; picnic tables with barbecue grills; children's play equipment; a small basketball court; hiking trails; and a multi-purpose ball field in North Chollas canyon.
Education
Oak Park hosts two elementary schools.- Oak Park Elementary School (San Diego Unified School DistrictSan Diego City SchoolsSan Diego Unified School District is the school district of San Diego, California. It was founded in 1854...
):Oak Park Elementary Music Conservatory Magnet School enrolls grades kindergarten through 5th grade. The registered enrollment was 823 students for the 2007-2008 school year.
- Carver Elementary School (San Diego Unified School DistrictSan Diego City SchoolsSan Diego Unified School District is the school district of San Diego, California. It was founded in 1854...
)