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

CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA (MPG) - This summer, Citrus Heights city officials increased pressure on Namdar Realty, owners of a substantial portion of Sunrise Mall, to take a more active role in the property’s maintenance and upkeep, assessing more than $500,000 in code enforcement and public nuisance penalties and filing a lawsuit on July 15 in Sacramento County Superior Court.

A hearing date on the suit has not been set, according to a clerical representative of the Sacramento County Superior Court.

On Aug. 28, the city also announced that it has begun a pre-condemnation appraisal for Sunrise Mall, a step that is often a precursor to an eminent domain action.

A formal decision to purchase Sunrise Mall would have to come before the City Council as a normal agenda item, which would include the opportunity for public comment, according to the city.

Notice of its intent to conduct a pre-condemnation appraisal, according to a city press release, “is one of several tools the city is using to plan for the mall’s transformation into a more thriving, prosperous economic engine for the city,” said City Manager Ash Feeney.

Marisa Brown, city communications officer, declined to comment as to who will conduct the appraisal, what the cost of that appraisal will be and a timeline when the completion of that evaluation will be completed to be presented to the Citrus Heights City Council for consideration.

The city does continues to regularly meet with representatives of the Namdar Realty Group to discuss the operations of Sunrise Mall, generally twice each month, she said.

A pre-condemnation appraisal is an independent assessment of the fair market value of a property, according to the city. Such a step would be necessary for a municipal jurisdiction to pursue eminent domain proceedings.

Under eminent domain, a government agency such as a city can exercise its ability to acquire a property from another owner at a fair-market price, citing an “overwhelming need.”

“It is well known the City is considering many options related to Sunrise Mall, and potential acquisition is in the universe of those options,” Meghan Huber, the city’s economic development and community engagement director, said in a recent email.

The Citrus Heights City Council held a closed session meeting last month to discuss real estate negotiations with the Namdar Realty Group involving three property parcels, according to an agenda packet released by the city prior to the meeting.

Limited information was then posted in the agenda, which cites Gov. Code Section 54956.8, allowing for closed session negotiations “prior to the purchase, sale, exchange, or lease of real property by or for the local agency to grant authority to its negotiator regarding the price and terms of payment for the purchase, sale, exchange, or lease.”

The agenda listed the negotiating parties as Namdar Realty Group and negotiators for the city were listed as Citrus Heights City Manager Ash Feeney and city attorney Ryan Jones, with “price, terms of payment, or both” to be negotiated.

The agenda also specified the parcels under negotiation as being APNs 243-0192-015, 243-0192-017, and 243-0192-012, which constitute the Sunrise Mall, of which Namdar Realty Group is the majority owner.

Parcel number 243-0192-015-0000 was once home to Macy’s Men’s, parcel number 243-0192 is home to the main structure of Sunrise Mall, and Parcel number 243-0192-012 was home to Macy’s Women’s, and houses a significant chunk of parking located in the southeastern corner of the mall property.

The southern end of Sunrise Mall, which includes the former Sears anchor store building, is owned by real estate investor Ethan Conrad, who initially attempted to buy Namdar’s portion of the mall but has since listed his portion of the property for sale.

JC Penney, the only remaining anchor store on the property, owns its own store building and parking.

After completing a comprehensive inspection of the interior and exterior of the mall with the help of Sacramento County and Metro Fire District officials, the city of Citrus Heights issued Namdar a Notice to Abate in June but has since said Namdar has not to date corrected any of the multiple major health and safety violations. Due to the alleged ongoing neglect, the city then filed a lawsuit against Namdar on July 15.

The suit alleges Namdar Realty has allowed Sunrise Mall to become a public nuisance, noting that since 2022, the property has generated hundreds of criminal cases and thousands of calls involving police responses, according to the city.

Citrus Heights law firm Jones Mayer, performing service as the city’s attorney, filed the suit. A message for comment regarding the specifics of the suit wasn’t returned by press time.

“There has been a lawsuit filed against Namdar for the nuisance abatement,” Feeney said in earlier press accounts. “They have a Notice to Abate, and (the violations) haven’t been fully abated yet.”

Feeney declined to comment further, citing it being a legal matter.

The complaint filed by the city alleges that Namdar Realty is “directly responsible” for continued violations of the law, including omissions, failure to maintain, and reckless disregard for nuisance conditions.

The suit lists offending conditions of the property which it says are “hazardous” to the public, including mold, pest infestations, fire hazards, structural deterioration, accumulated debris, unsanitary conditions, blight, criminal activity, and “other dangerous or substandard conditions.”

In the inspection warrant served in mid-May, city and county officials found evidence of homelessness activity to be prevalent throughout, including the unhoused living inside an abandoned movie theater which closed in 2021, and unhoused living in and engaging in “illicit” activity inside an abandoned freestanding restaurant space once home to Elephant Bar.

According to the lawsuit, due to the size of the Sunrise Mall property, “only a portion” of the property was inspected over the three-day period. The defendants in the suit were provided a copy of the list of violations, as well as a copy of the inspection report on June 11.

The city declined to comment whether additional portions of the Sunrise Mall that were not included in the initial three-day inspection period would be further examined for code enforcement compliance.

According to the city,“Since then, City leaders have consistently pushed for progress, advocating for investment and action while raising maintenance and safety concerns with property ownership. In response to continued community complaints, City staff inspected the Namdar-owned portion of the property in May 2025, resulting in extensive violations and a Notice to Abate issued the following month (in June).”

The lawsuit filed by the city seeks $565,000 in outstanding fines, and the immediate abatement of fire, health and safety and code violations, including structural, fire system, electrical, plumbing, and landscaping violations, and the recovery of costs associated with attorney fees, police services, and code enforcement, and inspection.

A request for comment sent to a public relations agency working on behalf of Namdar Realty as to whether Namdar has filed a response to the city’s lawsuit and its Notice to Abate wasn’t returned as of press time.

“The city has been laying the groundwork for Sunrise Mall’s revitalization for years. In 2021, after extensive public engagement, the city developed and adopted the Sunrise Tomorrow Specific Plan, a community-driven blueprint to transform the 100-acre property into a thriving mixed-use destination,” Feeney said. “The city continues to work toward resolving these issues while keeping its focus firmly on long-term redevelopment goals.”

For additional information and updates regarding the city’s Sunrise Tomorrow redevelopment plan, visit www.sunrisetomorrow.net.