Anaheim Town Square

Anaheim Town Square is a community shopping center in Anaheim, California, at the intersection historically known as Anaheim-Olive Road and Placentia Avenue. The roads were later renamed Lincoln Avenue and State College Boulevard, respectively. The property is the largest shopping center in East Anaheim and has developed through several generations of retail formats, tenant changes, and expansions. Construction began in 1953 on a 16.75-acre site. The original center contained approximately 140,000 square feet of retail space, with Alpha Beta opening as its initial supermarket anchor in March 1954. Other early occupants included a Woolworth variety store. A Sav-on Drug Store opened at the center in July 1957, followed by a 17,500-square-foot W. T. Grant variety store in February 1958. These early tenants reflected the postwar American shopping-center model, combining food, general merchandise, drugstore, and convenience-oriented retail in a suburban automobile-accessible setting. The property expanded substantially during the 1960s. In 1968, the center grew to approximately 302,600 square feet and added a 40,000-square-foot Boston Stores junior department-store branch. W. T. Grant moved into a new 86,800-square-foot building, more than quadrupling its previous footprint. Both major buildings were designed by Burke, Nicolai and Archuleta. The expansion also brought a Jolly Roger restaurant and a Commercial National Bank branch. By 1968, reported sales volume had reached $20 million, and by 1970 the center had 42 stores and parking for approximately 2,000 cars. The supermarket anchor had changed from Alpha Beta to Thriftimart by that time. The center continued to change as American department-store and discount retailing evolved. The Boston Store branch was rebuilt in 1984. The property later operated under names including East Anaheim Center and East Anaheim Plaza before becoming known as Anaheim Town Square. A major recent tenant transition occurred in the mid-2010s, when Kmart closed in 2017 and was replaced by a 40,000-square-foot small-format Target store. By 2019, the center had approximately 372,185 square feet of gross leasable area. Its tenant mix included Target, Northgate Market, Ross Dress for Less, Goodwill, Pep Boys, a United States Post Office, 99 Cents Only Stores, and Five Below. Northgate Market's Hispanic-focused grocery offer aligned with the surrounding demographic profile: in 2018, approximately 69 percent of residents within a one-mile radius were Hispanic. The center therefore combines grocery, discount, apparel, automotive, charitable resale, postal, and general-merchandise services rather than operating as a luxury mall or enclosed regional shopping center.

Anaheim Town Square originated as East Anaheim Shopping Center, a postwar community retail project developed at the junction of Anaheim-Olive Road and Placentia Avenue. The roads were subsequently renamed Lincoln Avenue and State College Boulevard. Construction began in 1953 on a 16.75-acre parcel, with an initial 140,000 square feet of retail space. Alpha Beta opened in March 1954 as the first major supermarket tenant. Woolworth followed shortly afterward, establishing a basic retail mix centered on food, variety merchandise, and everyday shopping needs. The tenant roster expanded during the late 1950s. Sav-on Drug Store opened at unit 2120 on July 11, 1957. W. T. Grant added a 17,500-square-foot variety store on February 27, 1958. These arrivals made the center more useful as a consolidated shopping destination for East Anaheim households and reflected the growth of automobile-oriented suburban retail in Southern California. A major redevelopment took place in 1968. The center's area increased to approximately 302,600 square feet, and a 40,000-square-foot Boston Stores junior department-store branch opened on November 14. W. T. Grant moved to a newly built 86,800-square-foot location that opened on October 24, more than four times the size of its previous store. Burke, Nicolai and Archuleta designed both buildings. The project also added a Jolly Roger restaurant and a Commercial National Bank branch. The center reported $20 million in sales volume in 1968. By 1970 it contained 42 stores, offered parking for about 2,000 cars, and had replaced Alpha Beta with Thriftimart as its supermarket anchor. The property continued to experience the normal succession of retail formats and names associated with long-lived shopping centers. It was known at different times as East Anaheim Center and East Anaheim Plaza. The Boston Store branch was rebuilt in 1984. Later, the center adopted the Anaheim Town Square name. Another important transition came in 2017, when Kmart closed and its space was replaced by a 40,000-square-foot small-format Target. By 2019, the center had grown to approximately 372,185 square feet of gross leasable area. The listed tenant mix included Target, Northgate Market, Ross Dress for Less, Goodwill, Pep Boys, a United States Post Office, 99 Cents Only Stores, and Five Below. Northgate Market provided a Hispanic-oriented grocery offer that corresponded with the area's demographic profile; approximately 69 percent of the population within one mile was Hispanic in 2018. Anaheim Town Square's history is therefore defined less by a single signature retailer than by its continuing role as an accessible, value-focused neighborhood and community shopping center.

1. 2019Tenant mix documented at current scale

   The center was reported at approximately 372,185 square feet of gross leasable area, with a mix of grocery, discount, apparel, automotive, postal, and general-merchandise tenants.

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2. 2017Kmart replaced by Target

   Kmart closed in the middle of the year and was replaced by a 40,000-square-foot small-format Target store.

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3. 1984Boston Store branch rebuilt

   The Boston Store branch at the center was rebuilt.

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4. 1970Center reaches 42 stores

   The center was reported to have 42 stores, parking for approximately 2,000 cars, and Thriftimart as its supermarket anchor.

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5. 1968Major expansion completed

   The center expanded to approximately 302,600 square feet, adding Boston Stores, a larger W. T. Grant building, a restaurant, and a bank branch.

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6. 1958W. T. Grant joins the center

   A 17,500-square-foot W. T. Grant variety store opened on February 27.

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7. 1957Sav-on Drug Store opens

   A Sav-on Drug Store opened at unit 2120 on July 11.

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8. 1954Alpha Beta opens

   Alpha Beta opened in March as the center's initial supermarket anchor.

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9. 1953Construction begins

   Construction started on the original East Anaheim Shopping Center site, planned with approximately 140,000 square feet of retail space on 16.75 acres.

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A large, value-oriented community shopping center serving East Anaheim, with a tenant mix focused on groceries, discount merchandise, apparel, automotive services, postal services, and everyday household needs.

• Community shopping-center retailShopping center1953

  Anaheim Town Square provides a multi-tenant retail environment rather than a single branded product line. Its community-center format brings together food retail, apparel, discount merchandise, automotive services, charitable resale, postal services, and convenience-oriented stores. The property has historically adapted its tenant mix as supermarket, department-store, discount, and specialty-retail formats changed.

• Northgate MarketSupermarket

  Northgate Market is the center's Hispanic-focused supermarket offering as documented in the reference material. It supplies grocery and household products and serves the surrounding East Anaheim community, whose nearby population was reported as predominantly Hispanic in 2018.

• TargetGeneral merchandise2017

  The center's Target store is a small-format general-merchandise location occupying approximately 40,000 square feet. It replaced the former Kmart location in 2017 and broadened the center's discount-oriented everyday-shopping offer.

• Ross Dress for LessApparel retail

  Ross Dress for Less contributes off-price apparel and general merchandise to the center's value-oriented tenant mix.

• Pep BoysAutomotive retail and service

  Pep Boys provides automotive parts and related vehicle-service offerings, extending the center beyond conventional shopping and grocery uses.

• 2017Replace Kmart with small-format TargetGeneration change

  Kmart closed its location at the center amid changes in discount and department-store retailing.

  What changed. A small-format Target store of approximately 40,000 square feet replaced the former Kmart space.

  Aftermath. The replacement maintained a discount-oriented general-merchandise anchor while updating the center's tenant mix.

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• 1968Expand the center and add department-store scaleStrategy

  The original community center needed additional capacity and larger retail anchors as East Anaheim grew and suburban shopping formats expanded.

  What changed. The property expanded to approximately 302,600 square feet, added a Boston Stores branch, moved W. T. Grant into a much larger building, and added restaurant and banking uses.

  Aftermath. By 1970, the center had 42 stores and parking for about 2,000 cars. The reported 1968 sales volume was $20 million.

  Reported sales volume. $20 million (1968)

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• 2017Kmart location replaced by small-format Target

  Kmart closed at the center in the middle of 2017, and the space was replaced by a 40,000-square-foot small-format Target store.

  M&AProduct launch
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• 1968Anaheim Town Square expands to more than 300,000 square feet

  The shopping center underwent a major expansion that added a Boston Stores branch and a substantially larger W. T. Grant building, along with additional food-service and banking tenants.

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1. Anaheim Town Square