Sign at San Antonio Center

San Antonio Shopping Center is an outdoor shopping mall located on El Camino Real at San Antonio Road in Mountain View, California. It is one of the biggest shopping malls in Mountain View, and its proximity to Los Altos and Palo Alto also attracts shoppers from the nearby towns. The mall's anchor stores include 24 Hour Fitness, Ross Dress For Less, Safeway, Trader Joe's, and Wal-Mart. Sears was an anchor until July 2011. The building that housed Sears was demolished to make way for Safeway.

The shopping center is easily accessible through public transportation: it serves as a major stop for VTA bus lines, and Caltrain's San Antonio train station is within walking distance. Additionally, Stanford's free shuttle service Marguerite operates a shuttle to San Antonio Shopping Center on weekday afternoons and evenings, as well as during the weekend.

History [edit]

Starting in the 1950s, the center was an open-air shopping mall, originally featuring Rhodes and Sears, with Mervyns coming later. Over time, the mall was expanded, with Rhodes also converting to JCPenney and a Best catalog showroom. Most of the mall was demolished and partially reconfigured circa 1995 ^[1] (except for the Sears wing and Mervyn's) to make way for Wal-Mart and the area which now features Trader Joe's. This section was also remodeled with new signage and decor.

Sears had announced that they did not intend to renew their lease when it expired in March, 2007,^[2] and liquidated its inventory^{[citation needed]}. Home Depot expressed interest in leasing the Sears space, but at the last-minute Sears re-signed their lease for another 3 years.^[3]

Now, a new mall will soon be replacing the Sears store and many others as part as a more pedestrian-friendly redevelopment plan,^[4] which will also include housing. Ground was broken in August 2011 with completion slated for Summer of 2013.^[5] Many of the newer anchors in the mid '90s remodel be likely reworked into the new project, such as Trader Joe's, Kohl's and Ross.

Notes [edit]

External links [edit]

• San Antonio Center
• The Village at San Antonio Center - the new construction project

Coordinates: 37°24′10″N 122°6′31″W / 37.40278°N 122.10861°W / 37.40278; -122.10861