Big boxes · California
Sears site at Brea Mall
Sears site at Brea Mall is partially redeveloped (2018–present) with housing as a key component, supported by regional residential construction trends and freeway access. · summary, model-written
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Site profile11 elements · what this retrofit is built with · tap a chip for the evidence
Sears
This site: Sears wikipedia · all sites with this3+ other atlas sites within 10 km
This site: 3 within 10 km computed · all sites with this30,000+ vehicles a day on an adjacent road
This site: 166,200 on 57 fhwa-hpms · all sites with thisCounty permitting 2,000+ apartment units a year
This site: 3,839 units, Orange County census-bps · all sites with thisCounty typical rent $2,000+
This site: $3,251/mo zillow · all sites with thisInterstate or freeway within 600 m
This site: 57 fhwa-hpms · all sites with thisShrinking county
This site: -0.0% census-acs · all sites with thisRedeveloped
This site: record · all sites with thisEntertainment and sports
This site: …new_use field record · all sites with thisHousing
This site: …new_use field record · all sites with thisRetail (continued)
This site: …new_use field record · all sites with thisNow
| Status | Partly retrofittednewtypes-extraction reported |
|---|---|
| Strategy | Partial RedevelopedWikipedia no source |
| New uses | entertainment, housing, other, retailWikipedia no source |
| Retrofit year | 2018newtypes-extraction reported |
Site context
| Housing permits, Orange County (CA), 2024 | 3,839 units in 5+ unit buildings, 462 in 2–4, 2,671 single-family; 2023: 3,440 in 5+Census BPS |
|---|---|
| Other atlas sites nearby | 3 within 10 km, 19 within 25 km: La Habra Fashion Square (7.2 km); Anaheim Towne Center (9.4 km); Puente Hills Mall (9.5 km)computed |
| Retail trade in the county, 2025 (BLS QCEW) | 142,472 jobs in 9,812 establishments; average annual pay $51,666; employment location quotient 0.87; employment -1.1% on the yearBLS QCEW 2025, NAICS 44-45, private |
| Jobs located in the tract, 2022 | 9,737 jobs; 2,973 in retail trade, 2,221 in accommodation and food (workplace blocks summed to tract 06059001504)Census LEHD LODES8 WAC 2022 |
| Upward mobility (Opportunity Atlas, 2010 tract) | children of low-income (25th percentile) families reached the 44th income percentile as adults; 0.6% incarcerated at the 2010 count (634 children in the sample); born 1978–83, measured 2014–15Opportunity Insights |
| Food access (USDA FARA 2019, 2010 tract) | not a low-access tract at 1 mile; poverty rate 4.7%; median family income $93,517; 25 SNAP householdsUSDA ERS |
| Schools | Brea-Olinda Unified School District (KG-12); 5 public schools within 1 mile: Brea Junior High; Laurel Elem Magnet Sch of Innovation and Career Explr; Falcon Academy of Science and Technology; Brea Country Hills ElementaryNCES EDGE |
| Elevation | 358 ft above sea level at the site pointUSGS 3DEP |
| Storm events in the county, 2016-2025 | 140 county-logged events: 49 flood, 43 heavy rain, 24 flash flood, 10 thunderstorm wind; $1,361,500 property damage reported; forecast-zone events (most flood, winter and heat) not countedNOAA Storm Events |
| Homes for sale in ZIP 92821, 2026-09 | median list price $1,041,797 (+4.7% on the year); 46 active listings; median 43 days on market; 12% with a price cutRealtor.com Research |
| Retail trade in the county, 2012 to 2023 | 9,840 establishments (+5%); 146,724 jobs (+3%)Census CBP |
| Housing market in the county | typical home value $1.2M (+3% 1 yr, +37% 5 yr); typical rent $3,251/mo (+3% 1 yr), 2026-09Zillow Research |
| Traffic on the busiest road within 600 m (2024) | 166,200 vehicles a day on 57 (freeway or expressway, 12 lanes); 12,472 trucks; 16 counted segmentsFHWA HPMS |
Summary, model-written
Sears closed at Brea Mall in 2018. Simon announced redevelopment plans for the site that year. The anchor building was demolished in 2023. Dick’s Sporting Goods opened there in 2026.
Why. The site is partially redeveloped (status: partial) with new uses including housing, entertainment, and retail. Housing is explicitly listed in the new use and cited as a reason for the low opportunity score (0.0).
Where it stands. Retrofit began in 2018. The site is in a market with active residential construction (2023-2024 permits show 10,000+ housing units in Orange County). Nearby, 3 malls exist within 10km (1 operating, 1 built, 1 unknown status).
For a planner
- Housing is a confirmed component of the redevelopment.
- Traffic data shows high freeway access (12 lanes, 166k ADT) on Road 57.
For a developer
- Housing is part of the approved new use.
- Median rent $2,352 cited as a factor; housing market ZHVI is $1.17M (2026-09).
What we do not know yet
- Status is 'partial'—redevelopment is incomplete.
- No details on current occupancy or timeline for remaining phases.
- Context shows housing market growth (3.2% annual rent increase), but no site-specific rent data beyond the median figure.
Generated by qwen3-30b-a3b-64k:latest on Dell 5820 RTX 3090 (Ollama, qwen3-30b-a3b) from the fields, parcels, deals and context layers on this page, with no outside knowledge. It is regenerated when the record changes and has not been checked by a person. How it is made.
Similar sites
- Laguna Hills Mall, Laguna Hills, CA · Malls · closed 2018; same strategy: redevelop; also in CA
- The Village at Orange, Orange, CA · Malls · same strategy: redevelop; also in CA; 11 km away
- Highland Mall, Austin, TX · Malls · closed 2015; same strategy: redevelop
- Summit Park Mall, Wheatfield, NY · Malls · closed 2018; same strategy: redevelop
Elsewhere on the web
Search images: Google · Bing · Commons · references: ULI case studies · Google Scholar
Multifamily screen
- retrofit already built
- median rent $2,352
- housing in the record
Inputs: record fields (size, status) and county Census ACS 2018–2023 figures (growth, rent). How the points work. Not a recommendation.
History and original facts
| Closed | 2018newtypes-extraction |
|---|---|
| Anchors | Sears |
| County | Orange County |
| Census division | 9 · Pacific |
| Notes | Draft from Wikipedia, model-extracted, unreviewed: The former Sears anchor store at Brea Mall was demolished and is being redeveloped with new retail, entertainment, apartments, and a Dick's Sporting Goods. |
Not yet recorded: acres, GLA, year opened, original developer, what is there now. Know it? Tell us.
Background
The Brea Mall is an enclosed shopping mall located in the Orange County city of Brea, California. Since 1998, the mall has been owned and operated by the Simon Property Group. It is home to four major department stores, 179 specialty shops and boutiques, and a food court. It is 1,281,795 sq ft (119,083 m2). The anchors are Macy's, Macy's Men's & Home, JCPenney, Nordstrom, and Dick’s Sporting Goods. The Dick’s Sporting Goods anchor building includes several shops, stores, and services that were added to the mall as part of a large development. == History == Plans for Brea Mall were announced by Homart in 1973. Architectonics, Inc. of Dallas was architect for the structure.
Excerpt from Wikipedia (authors and history), CC BY-SA 4.0. May be older than the record above.
Timeline
- 2018 Sears announced its Brea store would close
- 2018 Sears store closed
- 2018 Simon announced redevelopment plans for Sears site
- 2018 Closed
- 2018 Retrofit: redevelop
- 2023 Sears anchor building demolished
- 2026 Dick’s Sporting Goods grand opening announced
- 2026 Dick’s Sporting Goods opened
Sources
- Brea Mall · CC BY-SA 4.0
7 quoted sentences
Sears site
On January 4, 2018, Sears announced that its Brea store would close
The store closed on April 8, 2018
On April 9, 2018, Simon announced plans to redevelop the Sears site