Sears to close as Hillsdale revamp proceeds: San Mateo Planning Commission to consider future of shopping center

The Planning Commission meets Feb. 9 to review Bohannon’s formal plans to transform the Sears building and surface parking lot into a landscaped plaza, underground fitness center, luxury Cinepolis movie theater, smaller retail and restaurant space, as well as a two-story bowling alley lounge and restaurant.

“The center has continually evolved over the course of the last 60 years,” Bohannon CEO Bob Webster said during a Planning Commission meeting last year. “This is consistent with what is happening in similar shopping centers across the country as department stores are gradually disappearing from our landscape. … The new trend is to provide experiences the Internet cannot offer.”

Bohannon shifted away from continuing with another department store at its “North Block,” opting to ditch its former plans to include a Target at the 12.5-acre site at the corner of El Camino Real and 31st Avenue. Sears Holdings has been affected by the change in consumer demographics announcing it would close numerous Sears and Kmart stores across the country.

“Store closures are part of a series of actions we’re taking to reduce ongoing expenses, adjust our asset base and accelerate the transformation of our business model,” Sears Corporate Communications Director Howard Riefs said in an email.

The San Mateo locale will keep regular hours until it closes and of its 111 employees, those who are eligible will receive severance and have the opportunity to apply for open positions at other Sears or Kmart stores, Riefs said.

It’s the second time in as many years the national company has closed facilities in San Mateo with new redevelopments slated to take their place. The Kmart on South Delaware Street closed in late October 2014, just as the massive Station Park Green mixed-use housing project proceeded through the city’s planning process.

That entire 12-acre site is now almost completely unrecognizable as crews prep work on the 599-unit transit-oriented development near the Hayward Park Caltrain Station.

The Hillsdale North Block redevelopment is also making strides toward solidifying its plans having received general community support during a hearing on its pre-application last year. The Planning Commission must review the formal plans, which include maintaining the current Outback Restaurant and Bohannon Development Company offices, before the company can proceed.

The City Council must also vote on whether to approve the plans at a later meeting, said San Mateo Planner Tricia Schimpp. The proposal, which once included only remodeling the current Sears building to allow for a Target, has improved throughout the years, Schimpp said.

“It allows for a greater flexibility of overall site design, which has involved into a much better plan. It actually meets more of the city’s master plan goals like the El Camino Real Master Plan and the Hillsdale Area Master Plan,” Schimpp said. “It’s bringing in more transit-oriented types of uses with the entertainment and dining and retail uses. Right now, they don’t have a large anchor retail tenant [proposed] in the north block, instead there will be a mixture of dining and shopping and entertainment.”

The Planning Commission meeting begins 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 9, at City Hall, 330 W. 20th Ave. Visit the What’s Happening in Development page at cityofsanmateo.org for more information.

samantha@smdailyjournal.com

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