Launch (1969) Fashion Valley, developed by
Ernest W. Hahn at a cost of $50 million, opened on October 12, 1969, (after a soft launch on September 8) on a site, part of which had held the baseball stadium
Westgate Park. Aiming to be the leading shopping center in the
San Diego region, it opened with 3 full-line department store anchors: •
J. W. Robinson's — architects
William Pereira and Associates •
Buffum's — architects Killingsworth, Brady and Associates •
The Broadway — designed by
Charles Luckman and Associates and stated to have been the biggest Broadway opening of the 20 years up to that time. Broadway subsequently closed its
downtown San Diego store, the former
Marston's flagship. Within a year, the center would add a two-story
J. C. Penney (, opened Fall 1970), a
Joseph Magnin specialty department store and a
Woolworth discount store or
five and dime (opened March 1970). At opening, the center had around of gross leasable area, parking for 6,000 cars, and a Spanish architectural theme, with quarry and red Spanish-style tile and a -high tower by sculptor Jerry Mahoney. Since its opening, the mall has undergone several expansions and changes.
1980s The first major renovation was in August 1981, adding
Nordstrom and
Neiman Marcus, establishing Fashion Valley as the fashion leader in the valley. The
Joseph Magnin chain went out of business in 1984.
1990s In 1991, Buffum's closed, and their location was reopened in 1992 by upscale specialty
San Francisco department store
I. Magnin. However, the upscale company eventually closed all stores in the mid-90s, and the Fashion Valley location was replaced by
Saks Fifth Avenue in 1995. Robinson's became a
Robinsons-May in 1993, while The Broadway was purchased by
Macy's in 1996, rebranding it as a Macy's store with fashion departments only (the chain's home and furniture departments are found at
Westfield Mission Valley's location, formerly
Bullock's). In October 1997,
Gene Kemp led a $110 million renovation project, enlarging the Macy's, Nordstrom, and Robinsons-May stores. It increased the mall size to and 200 stores, and added 5 parking structures to accommodate 8,000 cars. In 2001, the owner of the property,
Lend Lease Prime Property Fund, sold a 50% shareholding to Simon Property Group who manage the property.
2000s Due to the merger of
May Department Stores and
Federated Department Stores in 2006, Robinsons-May closed their store in March of that year, and the location was replaced by San Diego's first
Bloomingdale's on November 18, 2006.
2010s In 2010,
Forever 21 opened to replace Saks Fifth Avenue. In 2019, the
Simon Property Group announced another renovation inspired by "San Diego's relaxed lifestyle" that would add public spaces, landscaping, a broader selection of dining, outdoor "lounges", and water features. This would be the largest renovation done to the center since the 1990s. RDC provided architectural design services. Renovations were estimated to be completed by November 2021, but due to the
COVID-19 lockdown, renovations are yet to be completed as of Winter 2023. On May 20, 2024, it was announced that the JCPenney location would be replaced with luxury apartments and JCPenney is slated to close its Fashion Valley location in Fall 2025. In March 2025, Forever 21 closed permanently. ==Anchors==