CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA (MPG) - Construction crews of Moorefield Construction, a family-owned general contractor, with offices in Sacramento and Santa Ana, have been busy this summer gutting and rebuilding the exteriors walls of multiple free standing commercial spaces within Sunrise Village Plaza in Citrus Heights.

New exterior plywood walls reach into the sky within the retail center. Some retail stores, located along Madison Avenue, including a Little Caesar’s pizza, a coin-op laundry and a liquor store remain open as construction continues.

Expected completion is in February 2023, said Larry Moorefield, who provided an overview of the ongoing construction project in a telephone interview.

Sunrise Village Plaza, owned by the San Francisco-based Merlone-Geier investment company is undergoing a $15-20 million remodeling and expansion project which also includes new landscaping and upgraded signage.

Moorefield recalled fond memories of the Sunrise Village Shopping Plaza and past meals at the former Benihana Japanese restaurant which operated there.

“Sunrise Village was in need of a serious refresh, and I think the people of Citrus Heights will enjoy its fresh new look once it’s done,” he said.

Green perimeter fencing around the job site diverts parking lot traffic around Jo-Anne Fabrics behind Olive Garden towards Rite Aid.

“We’re completing the gutting and reconstruction of all the existing commercial spaces within the Sunrise Village Shopping Center and then building new space for two new anchor tenants, City Sports, a new fitness gym, and a grocery store.”

Two large components of the project involve the building of an approximately 38,000-square foot commercial space between the existing Rite Aid drug store and new 36,182-square-foot City Sports Club. The name of the new retail grocer has not yet been disclosed.

In the vacant space where Tuesday Morning and Jo-Anne Fabrics previously stood before relocating, steel roofing has been removed, and new concrete block walls are going up.

Concrete flooring was taken up, crushed and then recycled on site, creating large sand piles which are visible from Sunrise Boulevard.

Moorefield Construction has completed similar construction projects before, stripping away the physically dated exteriors of once-busy shopping centers to the bare bones, and then starting over, Larry Moorefield said.

Sloped blue roofing tile of all its recognizable separate buildings was stripped off, Moorfield said. Original store window glazing was kept in place.

New framing construction of two separate buildings which face Madison Avenue, and a strip of suites situated to the right of the Rite Aid drug store are now enclosed offering shade to future customers.

Exterior demolition of a 5,274-square foot shuttered restaurant which faces Uplands Way has also begun.

The public can view the developer’s general project brochure at: merlonegeier.propertycapsule.com/p/commercial-real-estate-listings/Citrus+Heights-CA-95610/sunrisevillage