New ‘El Super’ market and additional stores planned for old Sears building at Santa Maria Town Center mall

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - Construction of a new market and retail space is being planned for the former Sears building located at the Santa Maria Town Center mall.

"We will be seeing a new project going into the former Sears," said Chenin Dow, Santa Maria Community Development Director. "There will be a new El Super, which is a supermarket chain similar to Vallarta and other chains of that ilk. It has some unique features as well. It's going to have the supermarket on the ground floor, and then there will be four additional tenants on the top floor that are soon to be announced."

As planned, the proposed development would dramatically remake and revitalize the now-boarded up building.

"There will be a promenade there with outdoor dining and other opportunities," said Dow, speaking about the second story of the project. "Within the supermarket itself, there will also be a restaurant where you can get ready made food, so there will be great new opportunities within the downtown area that'll be walkable to all the new apartment complexes that are coming in."

According to its website, El Super is part of Chedraui USA, Inc., which operates 123 stores under the El Super Markets and Fiesta Mart banners. Chedraui USA, Inc is a subsidiary of Grupo Commercial Chedraui, the third-largest retailer in Mexico.

There are dozens of El Super markets across five states, California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, with the closest location to Santa Maria in Oxnard.

The two-story building the company has targeted for the proposed Santa Maria location has sat vacant since Sears closed in February 2020.

The closure has created a large void for the mall, leaving it without a significant anchor tenant in the massive space that is located in the northeast corner of the mall.

"Right now, this location in the mall is really rundown because it's been vacant for a number of years," said Micheal Boyer, Santa Maria Valley Chamber President/CEO. "We're really excited about it coming to town and we're really excited about supporting new economic development within the downtown core area. This is a great thing for all residents of Santa Maria, as well as the business community in Santa Maria."

Boyer pointed out having the new market, as well as the additional businesses, will be a perfect fit with the city's long-desired downtown revitalization plans.

Those efforts are about to kick into gear with the start of construction of several planned high-rise housing developments located around the busy intersection of Broadway and Main Street.

"It's all about the downtown revitalization," said Boyer. "It's a highly needed amenity. Residents really are in need of better shopping in that area, and there's no real local grocery store shopping in that specific region, so it's going to be really good for the residents."

The project is now going through the approval process with the City of Santa Maria and is close to earning all of the necessary check marks before construction can begin.

"The project has been approved by the Downtown Revitalization Committee," said Dow. "Next, it will go to the Planning Commission hearing on April 2nd for approval, and if approved at that time, it will proceed to the City Council for that final approval. We anticipate that happening at the second council meeting in April."

Dow indicated should the project earn approval, construction would likely start this coming fall with an expected completion to take place sometime in 2026.

Santa Maria leaders believe the new market and upstairs retail space will help drive business into the mall, which is owned and operated by a separate company, Spinoso Real Estate Group.

"This adaptive reuse is a great use of what has been a vacant big box store for a number of years," said Dow. "The mall is a key component of the downtown revitalization efforts as well, and to see new uses coming in there is a huge priority for both the city and Spinoso. We're excited to bring these new entrepreneurial opportunities and quality of life amenities to the City of Santa Maria."

Inquires for additional information about the development to the El Super corporate office, as well as the project developer, were not returned Wednesday.