Grossmont Center is an outdoor shopping mall in La Mesa, California, in the East County area of San Diego County. It sits at 5500 Grossmont Center Drive, near where Interstate 8 meets State Route 125.
The property covers 64 acres and has about 925,000 square feet of retail space. It serves as the main shopping destination for La Mesa and nearby East County communities.
Current major stores include Target, Walmart, Barnes and Noble, RH Outlet, and Reading Cinemas. The center opened on October 5, 1961.
At that time, it was only the third regional mall in San Diego County, and it has remained a key commercial hub in East County for more than 60 years.
Grossmont Center Opens to 50,000 People in a City of 30,000
On October 5, 1961, Boy Scout Troop 311 raised a flag in the central plaza of a brand-new shopping center in La Mesa, San Diego County.
Montgomery Ward's western regional manager, Elden Peterson, "broke" the ribbon at his store with a place kick of a football signed by the San Diego Chargers.
Actress June Wilkinson cut the ribbon at Harris & Frank. By the end of the day, roughly 50,000 people had walked the new outdoor mall - 20,000 more than the entire population of La Mesa at the time.
The $20 million project sat on 110 acres between U.S. Highway 80, Fletcher Parkway, Jackson Drive, and Grossmont Hospital.
Developer Roy Drachman, co-developer alongside the Del E. Webb Corporation, told the crowd it had ceased to be a construction project and should become "a living part of your community." Architect Welton Becket designed the complex.
The opening day lineup ran long: Montgomery Ward, Harris & Frank, Leed's Shoes, Anita's Frocks, Buddy's Barber Shop, Dryer's Furniture, GallenKamp Shoes, S.H. Kress & Co., Koven's Jewelers, Long Drugs, Security First National Bank, and F.W. Woolworth Co. were all open before sundown.
Marston's, the second anchor, held its opening for November 6.
Grossmont Center was only the third regional mall in San Diego County when it opened - not a neighborhood strip, not a later retrofit, but a full regional retail project built from scratch during the postwar suburban boom.
How Grossmont Center Shifted La Mesa's Commercial Center Eastward
Marston's had been searching for its first branch location since 1956.
Its store at Grossmont Center opened in 1961 with detailed design features, including 3,200 feet of moldings, gold leaf lettering, murals created by five artists, and a Gothic-style canopy at the entrance.
Just before the opening, the company was sold to Broadway-Hale Stores. The location continued to operate under the Marston's name until 1964, when it was rebranded as The Broadway.
The history of that department store reflects larger changes in California retail after World War II.
The Broadway chain was eventually acquired by Federated Department Stores in 1995, and many of its stores were rebranded as Macy's in 1996.
According to La Mesa's cultural-resources study, Grossmont Center had an immediate effect on the city's commercial patterns.
It drew customers and retail activity away from the traditional downtown area, shifting business about two miles east to the new shopping center.
While downtown later saw a return of businesses and activity, the initial shift was both noticeable and significant.
The mall continued to expand in its early years. By 1965, it included a 1,000-seat movie theater. See's Candies opened around the same time and has stayed in the same storefront through 2026.
Members of the Elliott Cushman family, whose property influenced the site's development, attended the opening ceremony.
The event also referenced the earlier ranch operated on the land by Edgar Levi.
Grossmont Center Expands: Buffum's, Bullock's, and the Anchor Shuffle
The Buffum's department store chain arrived in 1979 as a third anchor in a newly constructed wing.
By May 1978, the center was already growing with the addition of 15 new stores and Buffum's coming soon.
Bullock's joined in 1983 as a fourth anchor, and a new parking deck went up at the same time.
The four-anchor configuration didn't hold. Buffum's closed in 1991. Oshman's SuperSports USA replaced it in 1991.
Gart Sports bought out Oshman's in 2001, and Sports Authority later took over. Bullock's closed in 1993, the same year Woolworth shuttered.
Target opened in the former Bullock's box in 1995. Barnes & Noble replaced Woolworth in November 1997.
A Cost Plus World Market was added during the mid-1990s reshuffling, and the food court was expanded after earlier changes.
The mall's movie theater complex closed in 1992, expanded, and reopened on May 26, 1995.
Montgomery Ward, one of the two original anchors present on opening day in 1961, closed after the chain's bankruptcy in 2001.
Walmart opened in that space in 2004. Sports Authority went bankrupt in 2016 and left the mall. Restoration Hardware Outlet moved into the former Sports Authority space in September 2016.
By that point, every anchor from the 1961 opening had either been replaced or rebranded beyond recognition. The boxes remained. The names on them changed entirely.
Chuck E. Cheese at Grossmont Center for More Than 30 Years
On August 2, 1993, Chuck E. Cheese opened at Grossmont Center after relocating from a Pizza Time Theatre in nearby El Cajon.
It operated at the same La Mesa address for more than three decades. The lease expired, and the location closed on December 29, 2024.
During that period, Grossmont Center offered more than typical mall retail. In the 1990s and 2000s, it combined department stores and shoe chains with other kinds of destinations.
These included a children's entertainment venue, a bookstore, a large sporting goods store, and a movie theater, all on the same campus.
The mix of tenants changed, but visitors continued to come.
A new Chuck E. Cheese had already opened in Santee on September 18, 2023, roughly 15 minutes away, more than a year before the Grossmont Center location closed.
The Cushman Family and the Question of What Comes Next
Grossmont Center was owned by a single family for decades. In January 2015, Stephen Cushman told the La Mesa City Council that the 50-year ground lease had expired on January 10 of that year.
That shift meant the family was no longer acting as passive owners. By then, more than 95 percent of retail leases had been renewed.
The family was already considering long-term changes, including housing built above retail and a hotel with a couple of hundred rooms.
He also pointed out that a closing Zales location would be converted into guest services and a community room.
This was an early sign that the property was beginning to move away from a purely mid-century retail setup, even before ownership began to change.
In June 2021, Federal Realty Investment Trust, a publicly traded REIT, acquired a 60 percent interest in the 64-acre site.
The transaction valued the property at $175 million. At the time, 99 percent of the retail space was leased.
Federal Realty indicated that once it gained full control in 2025, it would have a blank canvas for redevelopment.
La Mesa's 2021 draft Housing Element listed Grossmont Center as a location with capacity for 1,668 housing units.
That total included 1,081 units for lower-income residents and 587 for above-moderate-income residents. The owner had expressed interest in pursuing a mixed-use redevelopment plan.
Phase 1 Approved: Grossmont Center Starts Physical Transformation
On July 8, 2025, the La Mesa City Council approved Phase 1 of a multi-phase renovation after a Design Review Board decision.
The plan covers storefront updates between Target and Walmart and a rebuilt central plaza with seating, shade structures, a fountain, and gathering space.
It also includes 30 new trees, native planting, ADA upgrades, and security bollards. Later phases will address the Macy's building and the south and southeast sections between Macy's and Walmart.
Construction began on January 5, 2026. DLR Group projects the completion of the full program in summer 2028.
By January 2026, former retail spaces were used by churches, senior centers, a playground, two dance studios, a women's co-working space with child care, a model train display, and a youth theater.
TJ Maxx and Ulta Beauty opened in March 2026. Hooley's Public House closed at the end of March 2026 after 17 years, and its building is planned for demolition.
Macy's announced on January 9, 2026, that it would close its Grossmont Center store as part of a plan to shut 14 locations, with most expected to close by the end of Q1 2026.
Developers say the space will be replaced with new retail, with an announcement expected in summer or fall 2026.
