In early 1958, May Centers proposed rezoning in the then sparsely-populated Mission Valley area of San Diego to build a shopping mall. In June 1958, the San Diego City Council unanimously voted in favor of rezoning the for the May plan. By 1959, the mall was under construction, and completed in late 1960, with a grand opening on February 20, 1961. Designed by the San Diego-based architectural firm Deems-Lewis, the mall contained two large anchor spaces, occupied by Montgomery Ward, and May Company, 70 inline stores, as well as a large central courtyard. Due to its location in the floodplain of the San Diego River, the mall was designed with the stores on the level above the parking garage. Presumably, in the event of a flood, only the parking garage would be flooded, with the retail level untouched. It was San Diego's second mall, following the opening of the College Grove Center in 1960. National General Theatres Valley Circle Theater, part of the Mission Valley West strip center, opened December 23, 1966. The mall underwent its first expansion in 1975, with the completion of a new 3-story Bullock's. In 1983, the mall underwent a significant remodel, with a new northeast wing built, which also added a two-story Saks Fifth Avenue. This helped mitigate the effect of a Mexican economic crisis and peso devaluation, as Mexican customers, who were estimated to make up about 15% of sales, were able to obtain fewer dollars with their pesos and thus had less to spend. In 1994, Westfield Group acquired the mall. Along with this acquisition, another major renovation of the mall was undertaken, with a new AMC Theatres 20-screen multiplex built atop the south parking lot. The renovation project also retrofitted several new stores in existing space in the northeast wing, including Michaels, Nordstrom Rack, Loehmann's, and Bed Bath & Beyond. Additionally, a large center courtyard, originally constructed as a children's playground, was covered over to provide space for a Ruby's Diner. Around this time, Macy's acquired the Bullock's chain of department stores, which led to a rebranding of the Bullock's as a Macy's. Borders Books & Music, Marshalls, DSW, The Good Guys, and Old Navy were added in 1995 in the adjacent power center. The Good Guys closed in 2005, and it replaced by Golfsmith a year later. Borders Books & Music converted into Giant Book Sale until 2012. Trader Joe's and Ulta Beauty opened up in the former Borders Books & Music in 2013. In 2017, Golfsmith was converted into a Golf Galaxy store. In 2001, one of the mall's original tenants, Montgomery Ward, was shuttered when the chain went bankrupt. A year later, Target opened in the former Ward's space. In 2006, Macy's completed its acquisition of May Company, and the former Robinsons-May space was subsequently rebranded as a Macy's. In March 2017, the Macy's closed as the chain closed 68 stores across the country.. Anchor stores
Architecture of the former May Company building
The original modernist May Company building was designed in 1959 by William S. Lewis, Jr. for LA-based AC Martin, Frank L. Hope & Associates backstopped the project locally. It opened in 1961. It has been described by San Diego architectural photographer and historian Darren Bradley as an architectural icon, a "jewel box with a unique texture … striking architecture … the cladding all the way around the building … a modernist design that plays with light and shadow … designed to grab attention." This was part of a modernist landscape established in the area in the 1960s. As of January 2017, Westfield was considering a number of different plans for the use of the building. A 2015 study by the City of San Diego concluded that the building meets several criteria for qualification for the San Diego Resources register: an example of community development and of an identifiable architectural style. However the report stated that the building did not qualify because of the lack of integrity of the original construction, due to replacement of some original tiles, altered walls, covering up of the building by new retail space set in front of it, removal of original pop-out display windows and "May Co." signage, and demolition of the 1958 canopy and columns, thus all together the alteration of more than 50% of the surface area of the original building exterior. It also did not qualify because it is not the "identifiable work" of a "listed Master Architect".
Future plans
In August 2008, Westfield Group filed an application for a major renovation to the Westfield Mission Valley shopping center. The project envisioned a expansion of retail space for stores, of commercial space, adjacent condominiums and parking. Real estate industry experts expect the project to be long-term, and development to last five to ten years. By 2018, however, no renovations had been done to Westfield Mission Valley Shopping Center.
