Westfield Galleria at Roseville

Westfield Galleria at Roseville

Location	Roseville, California, United States
Address	1151 Galleria Blvd, Roseville, CA 95678
Opening date	Aug 25, 2000
Management	Westfield Corporation
Owner	Westfield Corporation
No. of stores and services	206
No. of anchor tenants	4
Total retail floor area	1,336,009 (owned by Westfield. Anchors not included)
No. of floors	2
Parking	6,400
Website	Official Website

Westfield Galleria at Roseville (formerly called Galleria at Roseville) is an upscale shopping mall in Roseville, California, United States. Owned by the Westfield Corporation, it is located at the corner of Galleria Boulevard and Roseville Parkway at the junction of State Route 65 and Interstate 80.

Sign on an ornate stele announces the Galleria's location to a nearby intersection.

Carousel located inside the Galleria.

Anchor stores

The tenants, who own their own properties, are not included in the official square footage provided by Westfield.

• Macy's (220,000 sq ft.) - opened 2000, expanded and remodeled in 2009, remodeled in 2011.
• JCPenney (165,825 sq ft.) - opened 2000, expanded and remodeled in 2009.
• Nordstrom (144,000 sq ft.) - opened 2000, remodeled in 2012.
• Sears (122,599 sq ft.) - opened 2000.

Shops and restaurants

The Galleria at Roseville features the only Sacramento-area locations for luxury retailers Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Tiffany & Co., Omega, Kate Spade New York, and BOSS Hugo Boss.

Other tenants in the center include Apple, Disney Store, LUSH Cosmetics, Guess, Oakley, and Banana Republic. The mall also features a food court with McDonald's, Panda Express, Rubio's Fresh Mexican Grill, and Jamba Juice as well as a Ruth's Chris Steak House, The Cheesecake Factory, and an Il Fornaio Italian Restaurant.

History

An early plan considering building a mall in the neighboring city of Rocklin. After a long and tedious process, the Rocklin plans were scrapped and were submitted to Roseville. On July 25, 1995, a phased mall with three anchors was approved. On June 25, 1998, after stronger than anticipated demand, a single phase mall with four anchors was approved after Nordstrom committed to building a store as the fourth anchor. The $100 million Galleria at Roseville was built and opened in 2000 by Urban Retail Properties, Inc., anchored by Macy's, Nordstrom, JCPenney, and Sears.

In 2000, Urban was acquired by Rodamco North America, N.V, a Netherlands-based real estate investment company. The center was subsequently sold to the Westfield Group in 2002 with the dissolution of Rodamco. At that time, the center was renamed "Westfield Shoppingtown Galleria at Roseville." Westfield dropped the "shoppingtown" part from its U.S. centers, and now the name is "Westfield Galleria at Roseville." Locals refer to it just as "The Galleria" or "Roseville Galleria" or "The Mall".

Expansion

In April 2004, Westfield submitted plans to expand the 4 year old mall which was a victim of its own success. The Galleria had been losing out on new store concepts as the center remained nearly 100% occupied since its opening. After many changes to the original plan, the expansion was approved to consist of: expansion of Macy's, JCPenney, and Sears, space for 100 new stores, 2 parking garages, a new 50% bigger dining terrace consisting of 820 seats, relocation of Crate & Barrel, and numerous changes to the Promenade. Originally, the $150 million plan was scheduled to be completed by the end of 2009 at a final cost of $270 million.

In the summer of 2007, the Plateau Deck was completed and Westfield completed roadway improvements at the Galleria Blvd. offramp from southbound State Route 65, installed a roundabout at the Antelope Creek entrance, installed dual left turn lanes into the mall at the Reserve Drive and West Drive entrances from Roseville Parkway, and made many other changes to the Ring Road on the mall property to improve traffic flow around the new parking structures. Other changes occurred throughout the mall area, including the closure of the Borders bookstore in the mall's promenade in 2008, and the addition of The Cheesecake Factory on a portion of the parking lot.

On November 13, 2008, the $190 million phase 1 of the $270 million expansion opened to 42 new and relocated stores as well as the Cliff Deck. In the Fall of 2008, Westfield Galleria at Roseville surpassed Arden Fair Mall as the largest mall in the Sacramento metropolitan area both in size and number of stores. Joining the mall's outdoor promenade the following year were Urban Outfitters and XXI Forever, which replaced the mall's former Borders and Copeland Sports locations.

2010 Fire

Aerial view of fire damage.

Aerial view of damage.

On October 21, 2010, at around 10:30 am, a major fire occurred in the Galleria. The fire was started in the GameStop store and was caused by arson. The suspect had a backpack (filled with unknown items) and claimed to have a handgun when he entered the store. The suspect claimed that his "sister had been kidnapped by aliens", then told employees to exit the GameStop, at which point, he barricaded himself in the GameStop and set fire to the merchandise. SWAT, firemen and the police arrived after a call, and a standoff occurred outside the GameStop while the mall was evacuated. The suspect, Alexander Piggee, 23 years old at the time, was caught and arrested. The bomb squad had tried to search the backpack, but their attempt was stopped when the fire unexpectedly erupted again, after having been quieted down by the sprinklers. The fire caused significant damage to part of the mall, but was brought under control after approximately four hours. It has been reported that the night before he had set a fire in an Antelope Wal-Mart and police were already searching for him. Piggee had also set fire to his grandmother's house the week before the incident at the Galleria Mall. No injuries were reported during these incidents.

Extra firefighters from nearby communities were called in to help fight the fire. A total of 20 stores were destroyed by the fire, including the Gamestop, Anchor Blue, FYE, American Eagle Outfitters, and PacSun. A section of the roof also collapsed into the fire area. Damage is estimated by ATF officials at around $55 million. Though the majority of the building was left intact after the fire, the mall was closed for a week. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in Placer County the day after the fire. Roseville city officials have said that as many as 40 stores in the undamaged sections of the mall reopened on Thursday, October 28. Another 80 Stores, including Macy's were re-opened by Thanksgiving and the 40 stores near the fire area plan to be reopened after the first of the year. On October 28 the undamaged part of the mall re-opened, and two days later a party was held at the mall to celebrate the reopening, as well as Halloween and to get support in the rebuilding of the mall. On October 6, 2011, the mall unveiled a renovation that included new lighting, new ceiling decor, new carpet and railings, and officially reopened the Macy's wing with a mix of new tenants and returning stores.

Alexander Piggee subsequently pleaded guilty to setting the fire, and Federal Judge John Mendez sentenced Piggee to 15 years, after which he will be on probation for 6 years. Both defense and prosecution attorneys had requested a sentence of 10 years, but Mendez issued a substantially longer sentence, calling Piggee a threat to public safety.

See also

• Westfield Corporation

External links

• Westfield Galleria at Roseville Official Site
• Westfield Galleria at Roseville Development Website
• City of Roseville