Plans for Stoneridge Mall in Pleasanton remain stalled

Across the Bay Area, cities are searching for places to build more homes. And old shopping malls, with their vast parking lots, are being seen as a prime housing opportunity. That includes Stoneridge Mall in Pleasanton.

But city officials have been frustrated by their efforts to get the property's owners to play nice together.

"The idea here is to get the ball rolling. It's not rolling right now. Nothing has happened," said Pleasanton City Manager Gerry Beaudin. "These groups of owners have not cooperated with one another."

At a meeting in June, the Pleasanton City Council discussed why it's taking so long for anything to be done to redevelop and revitalize the Stoneridge Mall. It's still operating, but is not nearly as successful as it once was, and the city has been encouraging them for years to make changes.

The problem is the property has four separate owners and they all must agree for anything to get done.

"They're arguing at a time when we need them to be planning and working on behalf of the greater good for this site and for the community, and frankly, for themselves," said Beaudin.  "We haven't seen any movement."

"It has been challenging, with four different property owners, to get on the same page," said Councilmember Valerie Arkin.

She points to a redeveloped mall in Glendale called "The Americana," as a model. It added lots of new housing and outdoor space and has been wildly successful.

"There is value for the property owners to have a project here that is successful," said Arkin.  "And with housing and a revitalized mall, that's a benefit to them as well."

At Stoneridge, a 360-unit housing complex was fully approved last year to be built at the southeast corner of the mall's parking lot. But nothing has been done and the property owners now say it's "on pause."

The city acknowledges that, with higher interest rates and material costs, this is a difficult time to build. But they said it's the perfect time to begin the planning and permitting process, so the full project is ready to go when market conditions improve.

The council is asking the owners to each put up $50,000 just to get things started. But Jerry Hunt, whose company owns the JC Penney property, didn't sound very hopeful.

"We want to collaborate with the ownership group," he told the council in June. "But to ask us to advance any kind of money on some vague idea is like advancing money for marriage counseling when your spouse won't go."

The city has already granted six extensions to the project, and they said they'll give the owners six more months to get something done before they pull the plug on their efforts.

"This is coming to an end," said Beaudin. "And there will be action or there will not be this opportunity, which is going to frustrate everyone."