New Northgate mall plan: apartments, no Costco
Open-air shopping center, expanded theater proposed
A new plan to redevelop the Northgate mall in San Rafael calls for building 1,356 apartments, transforming the shopping center into an open-air complex and scrapping a proposal for a Costco store that drew backlash from neighbors.
Merlone Geier Partners, a San Francisco-based real estate investment firm that bought the mall in 2017, submitted the plan to San Rafael officials this week.
The project includes two construction phases. The first, which Merlone Geier aims to begin in 2025, involves demolishing portions of the indoor mall, in addition to the former Sears building and the HomeGoods store, which would be relocated. The company plans to renovate the mall’s movie theater and expand it by 20,000 square feet. The new cinema would reach 65,000 square feet and include an IMAX theater.
The first phase also calls for building four apartment buildings on the southern and eastern edges of the property with a combined 896 residences. Three of the buildings would be five stories tall and a fourth would be four stories. Some would include retail stores on the ground floor. Walking and biking paths would be built throughout the property and new standalone retail stores and restaurants would be built along Las Gallinas Avenue.
Merlone Geier aims to begin the second construction phase in 2040. It involves demolishing 645,312 square feet of commercial space, including the buildings that house Macy’s and Kohl’s if those businesses decide to end their leases at the mall.
The second phase also calls for building two fivestory apartment buildings with a combined 460 residences.
Merlone Geier hopes to revitalize the mall by building housing on the site, said David Geiser, the company’s managing director.
“The housing component offers that 24-hour-a-day
presence and activity that energizes a place that has lost its mojo, if you will,” Geiser said. “Housing really becomes the critical piece in Northgate’s evolution in that amenities will be close by. You’re walking, not driving, out of your residence to shop or catch a movie or grab a cup of coffee or dinner with friends.”
Between the first and second phase of the project, the mall would lose 509,000 square feet of commercial space, with 246,677 square feet remaining. The six apartment buildings would add 1,464,000 square feet of residential space.
The mall currently has 2,908 parking spaces. Under the new plan, it would have 2,311 parking spaces, including 1,789 public spaces not reserved for the apartment buildings.
The new plan represents a major shift from the company’s 2019 proposal to build a Costco store and a gas station at the site of the former Sears building, which drew widespread scrutiny from Terra Linda residents.
“We have heard from residents that they want a vibrant town center environment and much-needed housing as part of Northgate’s future,” said Stephen Logan, Merlone Geier’s vice president of development. “Our vision to bring people back to Northgate is to combine destination shopping, eating and entertainment with new, quality residences.”
David Smith, who lives near the mall, said the new plan is “a huge improvement over the Costco proposal.”
Smith co-founded the group Responsible Growth
Marin in 2019 to help organize people who opposed the plan for a Costco store. Merlone Geier presented the new plan to members of the group this week.
“We appreciate the work that they’ve done for this new proposal,” Smith said. “We see a lot that we like. We see some things we don’t like so much and we’re looking forward to continuing to work with them.”
Smith said he likes that Merlone Geier incorporated housing into the plan, but the number of proposed residences “seems lot.”
Merlone Geier is set to host two online meetings to discuss the proposal this spring. The first is scheduled for 6 p.m. on March 30 and the second for 6 p.m. on April 20. A link to register is at futurenorthgatemall.com.
San Rafael officials are reviewing Merlone Geier’s application for completeness, according to Community Development Director Paul Jensen. A public hearing on the proposal has not been scheduled.
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