Bryan C.
Yelp
What is wrong with this mall? And what could fix it? That is the question I've been pondering quite a few times whenever I come here, and there are so few people milling about that it makes me feel uncomfortable. I went here today and saw that they lost REI. Uh... My favorite store in the mall. And others. They've lost a few others. Will they lose so many more that the mall becomes pointless and withers away? In an article about the situation, officials pointed out that they have 90% occupancy, which is better than the national average. But in terms of age and presumably some of the demographics, this thing should be significantly better than average. I mean, today it was so dead that when I went into Nestle Tollhouse, the girl just kept talking to some guy making a delivery and I waited 3 minutes despite being the only person in the vicinity, not just the store.
When a brand new mall is built that admittedly looks very nice, but just isn't working out, there could be any number of reasons why.
Did they open this mall too soon? Possibly. There is a large new project coming in next door to the south (millenia) and others still in progress that will add many thousands of people to the area. Will those people fill this place up? Probably not all by themselves.
Toll Road. Easiest way to get here is the toll road. But people hate tolls. Alternatives include roads that become very busy during rush hour traffic. When do people like to shop? Rush hour, a lot of the time. It's kind of a bitch to get here, and most malls do rely upon more of a 5-10 mile radius than those just in the immediate vicinity.
Big, but not that many stores. Walking this thing is nice, and well... You're kind of alone, so that's good I suppose. It's around 1730 feet from end to end, whereas Plaza Bonita is more like 1950 feet from end to end. Except Plaza Bonita has multiple levels and a higher concentration of stores along the way, and more types of stores. And why does the Chula Vista Police department have a storefront here, which is near the center of the project presumably in at least a B grade location and it's not only uninteresting but always closed. There's also a Chula Vista mini library or hangout joint. Why? Why not maximize the existing central retail spaces for income?
The Heat. It's almost as far east as El Cajon here, and probably about as far as La Mesa. They have an outdoor mall in La Mesa, so that shouldn't be a problem, except La Mesa is smack dab in the middle of East County, and right off a major freeway that charges no tolls. Also, the outdoor mall in La Mesa has an indoor food court. So a lot of times that I've been here it's freaking hot, there's not a whole lot of shade, and with the stores being spaced so far apart, who is just going to walk around?
Appeal of approach. When you drive up, a lot of times you think, hey, I'm going to try and get one of those parking spaces on the attractive interior of the mall. Rarely are spaces available, even in a mall that a lot of times is pretty dead. So then, after you've driven from Eastlake Ave. to the back of the mall where REI used to be, you have to peel left or right and hopefully remember where the store you want to go is located. You've taken 3-5 minutes just driving through most likely, and now you need to figure out where you want to park along the exterior which is like most malls. When you walk up, it feels like you've parked behind a strip mall with employees taking smoke breaks and truck loading areas. By the time you're in the main shopping area, a lot of times you've been on site for 10 minutes. Ten minutes of bad experiences and now you're ready to shop!
I really like this place, I really hope it succeeds because the food options in particular within Chula Vista are already awful including this place which has some o.k. options, and I love having a Barnes and Noble (didn't go near it today, hope it's not closed). If I were in charge, I think I would actually try and make the interior less auto focused so people don't get the wise idea to try and park there. Reduce the number of spaces greatly, maybe limiting it to disabled parking, and allow street vendors and food trucks to rent spaces. Create significantly more shade and some areas to sit down and relax, taking in the attractive central drag. From the parking areas which are now where everybody will be parking, spend a small amount of money wisely to make the walk-up more attractive, how you do this is not my forte.
Maybe look at more events for the place in addition to the Farmer's markets which I've heard are pretty good but never been to. Maybe a once-a-month car show where they close down all the interior parking and let people cruise the main drag showing off their cars? Who knows... It really bugs me watching things not work out and I hope it works out for Otay Ranch Town Center.