JCPenney to Fold Anchor Store at San Bruno Mall

One of the last JCPenney stores in the Bay Area will close its doors at a mall in San Bruno, which could be replaced by biotech labs.

The Texas-based department store chain is set to shut the retail outlet in the Shops at Tanforan mall, at 1122 El Camino Real, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. The closing date is May 25.

“The decision to close a store is never an easy one,” JCPenney said in a statement. “We are grateful to our dedicated associates and the loyal customers who have shopped at our San Bruno location.”

The JCPenney store opened in 1971 as one of two anchor stores at the then Tanforan Park Shopping Center, which replaced a historic race track used as an internment camp for Japanese Americans during World War II.

The closure of the 275,400-square-foot anchor store may accelerate the redevelopment of the 54-year-old indoor mall.

In early 2022, Pasadena-based Alexandria Real Estate Equities bought the nearly 970,000-square-foot Shops at Tanforan at 1150 El Camino Real for $328 million, or $338 per square foot, according to the San Jose Mercury News.

The purchase, which included the JCPenney and a shuttered Sears anchor store, set the stage for a planned 2 million-square-foot biotech “mega campus.”

Alexandria planned to turn the former mall into a hub for biotech and tech tenants, while the city of San Bruno expected the research offices to be joined by 1,000 homes.

But the nation’s largest life sciences developer has yet to break ground. It’s not clear if Alexandria ever submitted plans for redevelopment, or what the real estate investment trust now plans for the site.

The life science sector is coming out of a four-year slump, with only three properties trading hands nationwide in the first nine months of last year.

In the quarter ending in June, the Bay Area’s once-booming 41.5 million-square-foot life sciences market was 24.6 percent vacant, according to CBRE.

While life sciences headed into doldrums, JCPenney was struggling to compete with online retailers and discount chains. In 2020, the company filed for bankruptcy.

The once mighty retail chain was bought by Simon Property Group and Brookfield Asset Management for $800 million. JCPenney now has around 650 remaining stores.

This month, JCPenney merged with New York-based Sparc Group, parent company of fashion retailer Forever 21, and such brands as Aéropostale, Brooks Brothers, Eddie Bauer, Lucky Brand and Nautica, according to USA Today. The new company is now called Catalyst Brands, based in Plano, Texas.

Catalyst Brands aims to generate more than $9 billion in revenue, managing 1,800 stores nationwide and injecting the new venture with $1 billion in liquidity to support future growth. The merger is backed by major investors, including Simon Property, Brookfield and Authentic Brands Group.

— Dana Bartholomew