Visalia’s Sequoia Mall has had its share of severe ups and downs over the decades. By the end of the 2010s, it was nearly deserted, empty of customers and businesses alike. But it appears to be enjoying a slow upswing again, with the promise of future development that might see it regain a bit of its former glory.
Planning Commission OK’s Changes at Mall Property
That possible pathway became more clear this week when the Visalia Planning Commission approved a change to parcel divisions at the 13.6-acre commercial property on the northwest corner of Mooney Boulevard and Caldwell Avenue. The move came at the request of the mall’s Tustin-based owners Paynter Realty and Investments, which is quietly pursuing the “de-malling” of the Sequoia Mall and has been since 2023, according to the online real estate marketplace Crexi.com.
While the commission approved Paynter’s request unanimously at its July 13 meeting, it was without knowledge of why the property owners asked for the changes or what they plan to do with the parcels. This is standard behavior for property development. All the city has to know is a plan complies with city standards.
“We wait and see like the rest of you,” said Josh Dan, senior city planner at Visalia City Hall. “Usually, they don’t like to disclose the type of business.”
The changes are a redrawing parcel of lines to redivide the western portion of the property into four portions. One of those is small, just 0.3 acres, has odd borders, and has Dan scratching his head.
“They have not alluded to what that may be in the future,” he said. “It’s a weird shape. I’m befuddled.”
Developers, Dan said, are often tight-lipped about their plans, seeking to protect deals in progress and to manage the public’s expectations. Despite City Hall’s being in the dark, Dan sees the changes as a sure sign of upcoming development at the Sequoia Mall.
“Whatever their plan for the future is, somehow these parcel lines make sense,” he said. “They’re setting up for their next steps.”
Payner Realty’s executive vice president Jim Sanders, however, gave the public a rare insight into the developers’ operations. He said the way the property has been reapportioned will let the company pay for rebuilding of the former location of Longs Drugs at the southwest corner of the property.
“We’re under construction with the drug store building to bring in Crunch Fitness,” he said. “With that, we wanted to get the parcels corrected so we could finance that parcel.”
It’s part of a long-term plan to turn the property into an open mall. Paynter abandoned the original enclosed design in 2023, and the interior portion of the mall was finally closed that year.
All the current tenets occupy outward facing storefronts, including the recent additions, like Saphora, Sprouts Farmers Market, Barnes and Noble, and Sketchers Warehouse Outlet. Payner is also rebranding the mall as it’s transformed. While many will always remember the property as the Sequoia Mall, officially it’s now the Boulevard at Sequoia.
The Rise, Fall and Rise of Sequoia Mall
The Sequoia Mall was once the favorite shopping location for many Visalians, and it drew a big customer base from surrounding communities, especially in the decade after it opened its doors in 1974. By 2013, when it was purchased by Paynter Realty, the property was listed as “distressed” by the commercial real estate tracker CoStar. The mall was a high-vacancy property – 60% empty storefronts – available at a price far lower than its assessed value. Its price tag was lower than the remaining mortgage on the property, a bargain-priced “short sale” in real estate jargon.
At the time of purchase, the county assessor’s office estimated the property’s value at $17 million. Tustin-based Paynter Realty paid just $10.7 million for the dead mall.
Only it wasn’t quite dead. Not yet. But it certainly was close.
Mervin’s Department Store, the main anchor store at the mall, went belly up in 2008, declaring bankruptcy and closing all its stores across the country, including in Visalia. An exit by Borders Books followed in 2011, with that company also declaring itself bankrupt. Along the way, classic mall shops like Kaybee Toys, Miller’s Outpost, Lerners and Orange Julius also shuttered their Visalia locations.
In 1998, the mall had changed hands for the first time, and it got its first and only interior renovation in 1999, perhaps too little and too late. The mall was sold again in 2003, with the new ownership paying $27.4 million for the property. It went on the market again four years later, and was purchased by the Schottenstein Property Group.
Schottenstein, too, held the property for four years, and during that period the vacancy rate continued to climb. In 2007, Schottenstein sold the mall to Kimco Realty Corporation with an asking price of $30 million. Kimco had little success. Apparently on the brink of foreclosure, the property went on the market again in 2013, getting the attention of Paynter Realty.
By the time Paynter Realty took possession, Sears Department Store was the last remaining major retailer from the mall’s glory days. In 1996, Mann Theaters had moved its Cinema I-II-III from the back of the mall’s parking lot to its interior and expanded to a six-screen complex inside the mall next to the Ross Department Store (another major anchor retailer that would eventually abandon the location). But the theater stayed, purchased by Signature Theaters in 2002 and by the Regal Entertainment Group in 2004, and expanded to 12 screens.
But the decline wasn’t quite over yet. Transformco, the owner of Sears and Kmart stores, was also in financial trouble by the late 2010s. Transformco eventually threw in the towel, selling 96 of its less viable retail locations, including those in Visalia. Liquidation of the Sears stock began in 2019, and by February, the store’s 80-year run in Visalia was over and done.
Fortunately, Paynter Realty saw the writing on the wall and purchased the Sears property, which was divided from the rest of the mall property, in 2018.
Where There’s Life, There’s Hope
Even through the period of its deepening decline, the mall was still attractive to certain retailers. In 2011, Hobby Lobby, despite ownership’s concerns about meeting California regulations, took over the former Mervin’s spot. It was the first location for the crafting goods store in the state, and, according to multiple online sources, the Visalia store broke company sales records.
There was also another major retailer still doing business at the mall, at least technically. In 1995, Marshall’s Department Store and Bed, Bath and Beyond opened in the Tower Plaza, an adjoining property integrated into the mall’s overall scheme and also owned by Paynter Realty. While Bed, Bath and Beyond has since shuttered, Marshall’s remains.
Marshall’s, Hobby Lobby and the Regal Cinema were the last three big boxes standing.
Yet Sanders said the company was still certain about the potential of the mall property and remains confident. But that doesn’t mean they’re ready to show their hand, though Sanders is definitely upbeat about the property’s future.
“I’m not trying to promote anything until it’s time to promote it,” he said. “There’s a lot of neat things to talk about in terms of what’s happened so far. The real estate has proven its worth. The first rule is ‘location, location, location,’ and it’s proven that with Sprouts and Borders.”
What’s Coming Next for Sequoia?
Now, 13 years after Paynter took ownership and three years after the decision to reorganize as the Boulevard at Sequoia, the once dead mall is rising back to its feet, and it could be that the revitalization is just getting into full swing. The addition of Sprouts in the former Sears space, the opening of a Barnes and Noble bookstore in the same storefront where Borders Books once operated, and the arrival of big brand names like Nordstrom’s and Sketchers all seem to herald better days ahead.
But Sanders still won’t say what other plans might be in the works.
“What you see is what we’re doing,” he said. “It’s a real success story, and now we’re bringing Crunch Fitness. And now Sierra TGX. This is only their second location in California.”
Sierra offers a wide variety of outdoor and sporting goods at what it promises are lower prices than other outlets offer. Sanders describes it as “a discount version of REI or one of those outdoor sporting goods companies.”
“They have not done a ton of marketing there,” he said. “It’s fully open and worth a visit.”
The sales pitch for the Boulevard at Sequoia listed by Crexi promises new building construction and a “state-of-the-art cinema” to come in the near future. What other retailers and changes the future holds not even the people at Paynter Realty know for sure.
“Everyone I talk to says that it was the mall. We’re trying to figure it out,” Sanders said. “It’s a strong intersection for the trade area.”
The company, he said, has an affinity for the area and is fully committed to the ongoing project.
“We love Visalia and really care about the community,” Sanders said.
And he let slip one more secret. There is no plan yet for the small, oddly shaped parcel next to the Shady Lane entrance and in front of the future home of Crunch Fitness.
“It’s for a drive-thru,” Sanders said. “We aren’t planning anything right now. It’s just for the future so we’re ready to roll if something comes along.”