by Rick Griffin
Westfield Parkway shopping center in El Cajon has announced several new tenants, including housewares seller HomeGoods, a discount home furnishings store owned by off-price giant TJX. HomeGoods is expected to open later this month, filling a 25,000-square-foot space previously occupied by a Borders bookstore, which closed last year when the bookseller went bankrupt.
Other new tenants include beauty products seller Ultra, children’s apparel store Sanrio, the Hello Kitty brand store, and Crazy 8, a brand created by Gymboree with apparel for girls and boys. Ultra is scheduled to open in the summer near Macy’s, occupying a 12,000-squrae-foot space. Ultra is a beauty superstore and salon that combines the mass product lines of Walmart with the prestige brands of Sephora.
This summer, women’s fashion retailer Charlotte Russe plans to open its first U.S. store featuring a new design prototype when it relocates from another location at the center. In addition, Papaya, which sells young women’s apparel and accessories, has an opening planned for the fall.
The tenant additions at Westfield Parkway follow several others that took place in the second half of 2011, including Crunch Fitness, Dick’s Sporting Goods, fashion jewelry seller Charming Charlie and an expansion by clothing retailer Forever 21.
Westfield Parkway, at 415 Parkway Plaza, is among seven San Diego County malls owned by Australia-based Westfield Group. Parkway is one of 11 major regional shopping centers in San Diego County. The mall, which is easily accessible from Interstate 8 and Highway 67, was built in 1972 and expanded in the 1980s. Westfield acquired it, along with most other county malls, in the late 1990s. It is 1.3 million square feet with anchor tenants JC Penney, Walmart, Macy’s and Sears, along with Best Buy.