Westfield Plaza Bonita - History

History

The mall opened in 1981 as the first fully indoor mall in the South Bay Area anchored by JC Penney, Mervyn's, Montgomery Ward, and May Company. The original design included large sky lights, orange and silver ceiling banners, muted browns, wooden fixtures and railings, smooth surface concrete planters with wood benches, musky brown tiles, and lush greens throughout. The mall would be characterized as having an "autumn" tone. Lining the first floor were several full glass-counter kiosks for smaller or seasonal retailers which in time were joined with additional "cart kiosks". The entire complex was celebrated in the center by a two story onyx-glass water fountain where patrons could sit around the water works. At one point it was also the location for the mall's kids club. This original motif stayed with the mall until mid-2002.

Before the purchase of the property by Westfield, the mall featured its own individual identity featuring a rather bold all-lower cased sans-serif font as well as a tri-color red and orange rainbow-like logo. While most of the original logos were taken down over time, specifically during the remodel, one prominent remainder of the mall's past is visible to patrons as they enter the property on Plaza Bonita Road, large concrete letters of the namesake mall are still embedded into the roadside.

The mall has always featured a variety of local stores as well as other staples of major American malls such as the Foot Locker chain, Hallmark, Express, Hollister Co., and Hot Topic. The mall has featured such now defunct chains as Waldenbooks, Garden Botanika, and was one of four original locations of the concept Sesame Street General Store.

During the 1990s, the mall erected a large marquee sign that was visible from the 805 Freeway. However, local architecture critics were less than pleased, with the San Diego Union-Tribune awarding it its "Onion" Award for its poor choice. However in the years since, the sign was modified with several of the design elements removed apart from the electronic marquee board.

Westfield America, Inc., a precursor to The Westfield Group acquired the shopping center in 1994, and renamed it "Westfield Shopping town Plaza Bonita" in 1998, dropping the "Shoppingtown" name in June 2005.

In mid-2002, Westfield America, embarked on a full renovation project to modernize the mall and bring a more youthful attitude to the center. The new look is the Westfield signature look, found in most Westfield malls. The entire center was repainted in lighter colors, glass railings replaced the metal and wood railings, most of the lush plants were removed, new faux-marble floors were installed, and the food court lost its center platform in lieu of a single dining floor. Many criticized the look as generic and sterile, but in turn did bring the mall up to date. The same year, an Outback Steakhouse, opened in an underused portion of the northwest parking lot. It was the second full service restaurant to open at the mall after Applebee's in 1993.

In mid-2006, the former Wards store, which had been the location of seasonal retailers (Halloween costumers and art shows) was stripped and gutted and a new plan was announced to the public that the South end of the mall would be demolished and rebuilt. Westfield Plaza Bonita underwent a full renovation from 2006 until 2008. In 2006, Mervyn's closed its mall location, in lieu of a standalone location elsewhere in National City. The former Mervyn's location became a temporary outlet for faux-French furniture, with no planned retailers opening in the near future. Numerous new stores and entertainment options were opened, most prominently were Target, AMC Theatres, and Borders bookstore. To accommodate the expected influx of new patrons to the area, a new parking garage, the first in the mall's history, was opened. In addition, numerous new retail stores and outdoor restaurants were opened.

The first part of the expansion opened in March 2008, with several other stores opening during the summer including the Target in July 2008, with a final completion date of Fall 2008. However, because of an on-going recession in the United States tied to the housing market crunch in San Diego County, several stores were slow to open and projected numbers were not as high as originally predicted, but the mall operator plans to see brisk business with the Holiday 2008 shopping season. On February 16, 2011, the Borders store was closed, due to Chapter 11 bankruptcy and Liquidation.