Pictured is an aerial view of Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights. Photo courtesy of Loopnet

CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA (MPG) - Namdar Realty Group, the Great Neck, New York-based primary owner of Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights, recently sent a mass email to commercial real estate brokers asking them to find potential off-market buyers for the aging retail property which spans nearly 100 acres, according to the Sacramento Business Journal.

“We own the Sunrise Mall and are quietly exploring an off-market sale,” stated the email from Namdar Realty Chief Operating Officer Dan Dilmanian, which was shared with the Journal. “We’re not looking to mass-market the property or hire anyone exclusively, but we will pay a market fee to any broker who brings us a buyer.”

What actions can the city of Citrus Heights take to facilitate off-market commercial real estate brokers in the region to find an off-market buyer for Sunrise Mall through its own focused economic development marketing efforts?

Marisa Brown, city communications officer, provided a response on behalf of Economic Development and Community Engagement Director Meghan Huber.

City council members recently met with representatives of the Namdar Realty Group and then toured the Sunrise Mall property to share their concerns about its future.

“The city of Citrus Heights is actively promoting the Sunrise Tomorrow vision to developers with proven success in complex redevelopment,” Brown said. “While any sale would be a private transaction, the city plays a strategic role by highlighting the site’s unique entitlement advantages, such as by-right mixed-use zoning and completed environmental clearance - through targeted outreach and curated investment materials. Our economic development team remains fully engaged with the brokerage and development community to position (Sunrise Mall) for meaningful re-investment aligned with the adopted Specific Plan.”

While the Sunrise Mall is privately owned and divided among four separate property owners, Namdar Realty Group holds the majority ownership of the site which it purchased for $25.6 million in 2019.

Namdar owns a 25-acre parcel where the core mall building stands and two 12-acre parcels which are home to Goodyear Tires, and the buildings which formerly housed Macy’s Men’s and Macy’s Women’s.

JC Penney owns its own store building at the mall, while commercial real estate investor Ethan Conrad owns the former Sears store at the southern end of the mall property.

A separate 2.8-acre parcel at the prominent corner of Sunrise Boulevard and Greenback Lane, is owned by Antioch Street LP, has since been subdivided to allow for a future hotel, Brown said.

Are there possible financial incentives which the city might be able to offer to an off-market broker to encourage a quick sale to a developer who shares the city's Sunrise Tomorrow vision?

“While redevelopment of this scale is influenced by complex market factors, Citrus Heights is not standing still,” wrote Ash Feeney, Citrus Heights City Manager in a recently published letter to the local community.

The city is completing infrastructure planning, securing environmental clearance, approving a flexible parcel map, and streamlining zoning entitlements which make the site investment-ready, Feeney wrote.

“The city of Citrus Heights has also prepared a suite of potential incentives, including tools like Enhanced Infrastructure Financing Districts (EIFDs), to help catalyze implementation of the Sunrise Tomorrow vision,” Brown said.

An Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District (EIFD) is a type of special financing district that uses a portion of property tax increment revenues generated by community growth from a specifically defined area to finance public infrastructure and economic development projects of community-wide significance.

Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District legislation was codified by the State of California in 2014 as an improved replacement to Redevelopment Agencies, which were disbanded in 2012.

“Any incentive is subject to city council approval and structured to deliver measurable public value,” Brown said.

The Namdar Realty Group also owes the city of Citrus Heights more than $300,000 in code enforcement fines due to ongoing violations of municipal code violations. A formal Notice to Abate has been issued by the city and remains in effect.

“Regardless of occupancy, or ownership status, the city is committed to holding present and future owners of Sunrise Mall accountable and protecting the community’s way of life,” Feeney recently wrote.

What is the city of Citrus Heights planning to do to collect the outstanding code enforcement fines?

“We have been in direct communication with ownership, and while a final resolution has not yet been reached, the City is pursuing all appropriate legal remedies to ensure full accountability,” Brown said.  “We will continue enforcing our city municipal Code to safeguard public health and safety and to uphold the community’s expectations for responsible property stewardship.

Feeney wrote in his message to the public, “To any future buyer, Sunrise Tomorrow is the adopted and entitled vision for this site, which was recently reaffirmed with a full commitment to seeing it through. Any successful redevelopment will need to honor that vision and bring forward projects that align with the community’s expectations.”