The JCPenney department store anchoring Fashion Valley mall could soon be torn down, along with a neighboring Firestone Tire building and a vacant strip mall, to make way for 410 housing units, restaurants and retail space. Simon Property Group, the mall's owner, laid out the revived proposal during a Wednesday meeting of the Mission Valley Planning Group.
The plan calls for replacing the JCPenney building with four smaller two-story buildings arranged around a large courtyard, according to Times of San Diego. A separate five-story structure containing the 410 housing units would rise northwest of the department store and parking lot, wrapping around the Nordstrom parking garage, with unit types ranging from studios to three-bedrooms.
Simon representative Stephen Shea told the planning group the company would set aside 10% of those units as affordable housing and provide 1.5 parking spaces per unit, per the same report. Shea said the buildings would focus on adding dining options for both shoppers and the surrounding community, with the developer weighing a mix of quick-service spots such as sushi and cantinas alongside larger tenants and sit-down restaurants.
No Restaurants Signed On Yet
Despite the dining-focused pitch, Shea said no specific restaurants have committed to the project, explaining it was too early in the process for tenants to sign on. That uncertainty didn't stop Mission Valley Planning Group board members and members of the public from raising pointed questions during the meeting.
Attendees voiced concerns about traffic around the mall and a lack of parking, the planning group's discussion showed. Shea pushed back on those worries, telling the group the residential units would have sufficient parking and that the proposed retail and dining additions would not reduce existing parking at the mall.
A Much Smaller Vision Than 2024
This isn't Simon's first swing at reimagining the JCPenney site. The company first proposed residential housing there in May 2024, teaming up with apartment landlord AMLI on a plan for 850 luxury units — more than double what's now on the table.
That earlier pitch, detailed by the San Diego Union-Tribune, also envisioned 100,000 square feet of new shops and eateries along with an open-air plaza. Real estate analyst Gary London told the paper at the time that the shift from retail to housing fit a broader pattern, saying, “This is very much in line with what shopping center owners and acquirers in the nation are doing.”
Simon has pursued similar mixed-use conversions elsewhere. The company filed plans to redevelop the shuttered Sears site at Town Center at Boca Raton in Florida with a hotel, multifamily housing and retail, according to The Real Deal.
What Happens Next
The proposal remains under review by the City of San Diego and requires a Neighborhood Development Permit, the planning group's discussion indicated. A public hearing will be held following the city's preliminary review of the project, though a timeline for that hearing has not been announced.
A City of San Diego Design Advisory Board agenda from January 2025 previously listed a Fashion Valley mixed-use project under a Neighborhood Use Permit process, with a recommendation heading to city staff. That earlier agenda entry doesn't reflect the scaled-back proposal presented this week or establish where the project currently stands in the permitting process.
