After an update to the City’s General Plan that allowed up to 300,000 square feet of additional retail, Macerich was faced with the challenge of expanding this beloved and successful shopping district. Located in a compact suburban downtown, any expansion would have to be vertical. The City of Walnut Creek is one of the few areas where two-level retail has proved successful, and as a result about 100,000 sf of single level retail buildings were replaced with over 200,000 sf of two-level retail, office, and fitness space, connected to new and existing multi-level parking garages.
The expansion knit the mall into the adjacent downtown by creating
pedestrian pathways and green spaces. Within the first quarter,
Broadway Plaza posted sales per square foot of approximately $2,023, up from the $1,646 reported for the same period the previous year.