Westfield America, Inc., a precursor to Westfield Group, acquired the shopping center in 1998, and renamed it Westfield Shoppingtown Parkway, but dropped the "Shoppingtown" part of the name in June 2005. In 2013, Starwood Retail Partners obtained the mall, renaming the mall to its current name, Parkway Plaza.
Opening
Parkway Plaza was the second indoor shopping center to be built in San Diego County, opening in the early 1970s, shortly after Plaza Camino Real in Carlsbad. Constructing an indoor mall was ideal for the area, as El Cajon, its location, is notably hot during summers. Since opening the mall, Parkway Plaza has expanded as necessary. Sears Roebuck opened first, on the west edge of the property, around 1969-1970 as a freestanding anchor. The mall was built shortly thereafter, attaching to its east side. May Company originally anchored the mall's East end and a large Woolworth's maintained the middle anchor position on the south side. A 3-screen movie triplex was located on the south side of the mall as was a Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour, near May Co. The grand entrance on the north side featured an iconic-contemporary geometric roof, the surface of which has been altered over the years and did not originally feature branding. A simple illuminated red sign that stated "Parkway Plaza", along with a unique logo, was displayed on the brickwork to the right of the entrance. Initially, with the exception of Farrell's and the theaters, small-shop storefronts were not featured anywhere on the exterior of the mall; only large sloping planters that served to hide the loading docks of the various shops. The interior featured skylights and a 1970s contemporary decor, with numerous built-in planters and seating throughout. The outlying wing of the shopping center, on the east edge of the property, was anchored by a Food Basket grocery store and Shakey's Pizza. Food Basket was eventually rebranded as Lucky. This wing was rebuilt and now includes a Best Buy and Office Depot. Mervyn's opened sometime in the 1980s. JCPenney opened in November 1990. May Co. became Robinsons-May in 1993. Woolworth's eventually became Sports Chalet. Sport's Chalet closed in 1998 and it became Regal Cinemas in 1999. Walmart opened in October 2004. It was the second two level Walmart to open after the one in Grossmont Center. In September 2006, The Robinsons-May was rebranded into a Macy's. In 2008, Mervyn's announces their store closures for all locations due to bankruptcy. Mervyn's closed in January 2009. In 2011, the upper level of the former Mervyn's became a Church Fitness which opened in July of that year and Dick's Sporting Goods opened in October of that year on the lower level part of the former Mervyn's. In 2015, Sears Holdingsspun off 235 of its retail properties, including the Sears at Parkway Plaza, into Seritage Growth Properties. On April 23, 2018, it was announced that Sears would be closing its Parkway Plaza location as part of a plan to close 42 stores nationwide. The store closed in July 2018. Portions of the former Sears are expected to become Ashley HomeStore, Bob's Discount Furniture, Burlington, and Extra Space Storage.. Bob's Discount Furniture opened in July 2019. Burlington opened in March 2020.
Carousel
In 1991, a 1926 Allan Herschell carousel was placed inside the mall, it ran until 2003, then it got relocated to Elyria, Ohio. In 2004, a two-story carousel replaced the 1926 Allan Herschell carousel. In January 2016, the double-decker carousel moved to Wichita, Kansas. On January 31, 2016, it has been rumored that the 1926 Allan Herschell carousel was returning to Parkway Plaza.
