CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA (MPG) - Planned construction of a new See’s Candies megastore at 5499 Sunrise Boulevard in Citrus Heights, formerly home to a 10,621-square-foot Patelco Credit Union branch should move forward in early 2023 when revised drawings for a new interior floor plan are finalized and then submitted to the City of Citrus Heights for review, said the architect, Jeff Brandon, partner of Schuss Clark Brandon Architects in San Diego.

A building permit application by San Diego-based Schuss Clark Brandon Architects Inc. for interior improvements was originally filed on August 11, 2020, on behalf of their client, See’s Candies, headquartered in South San Francisco, and described as “tenant improvements to an existing building.”

Schuss Clark Brandon has designed several ground-up retail centers and tenant improvement spaces, according to its website.

The permit application was returned to Schuss Clark Brandon on August 16^th by the Citrus Heights building department with comment for further review.

“We’re in the process of finalizing our architectural drawings which include these and other changes soon,” Brandon said.

The interior construction permit process is separate from overall exterior grounds improvements which are planned by the landlord-tenant, Citivest Commercial and Residential Real Estate of Newport Beach, Calif. and Tallen Capital Partners, LLC, of Del Mar.

Tallen Capital Partners has leased the entire building to Berkshire Hathaway owned See’s Candies under a new 15-year lease agreement.

“By aggressively pursuing the leasing of this asset with our national, regional and local tenant and broker relationships, in record time, we procured one of the finest retailers in the country to occupy the building,” said chairman and CEO, Terrence Tallen in remarks describing the project on its website. A representative for Tallen Capital Partners did not respond to a request for additional comment.

According to Tallen’s project description, the new Citrus Heights See’s Candies will consolidate three other locations within its trade area for its first of a kind combination facility which include a traditional See’s Candies retail store, their corporate sales facility (business to business unit) and their regional offices.

In recent weeks, work crews have been visible conducting second floor demolitions and filling dumpsters in the rear parking lot with debris.

Susan McLendon, development services technician for the city building department said the City of Citrus Heights then had some specific concerns which the city wanted Schuss Clark Brandon to address and said she looked forward to their reply.

Separate physical exterior improvements by the landlord-tenant Tallen Capital Partners to existing landscaping are planned. The former drive-up banking lanes are shown removed on an exterior rendering of the project posted on the Tallen Capital Partners website.

McClendon said the Citrus Heights city building department hasn’t yet received plans for the exterior phase of the project which will be reviewed by the city engineer before approval.

Patelco Credit Union in Citrus Heights closed its two-story branch office at 5499 Sunrise Boulevard at the corner of Uplands Way last July and has since moved to a new location in the Marketplace at Birdcage, 6100 Birdcage Lane, Suite 125.

Susan Portman, corporate director of public relations at See’s Candies corporate office did not respond to a request for further comment concerning the planned Citrus Heights new location.

See’s Candies was founded by Charles See, his wife Florence, and his mother Mary in Los Angeles, California in 1921. Its retail shop locations typically feature a candy counter where customers can either create their own custom-mixed box of chocolates and candies to order or purchase boxed chocolates, truffles, nuts and chews, lollipops, and sugar-free candy.