Demolition begins on former Sears at Merced mall. See which new stores are on the way

Construction resumed recently at the Merced mall, opening the way for other stores including Burlington, Ulta and Petco.

By some accounts, construction has started, and stopped, at the mall several times over the past few years.

“They come and they go,” Juan Riva, who has shopped at the mall for years, said of the construction projects. Riva is a carpenter who purchased Craftsman tools at Sears before the company declared bankruptcy and the store closed in 2018. “I’d like to know if they’re going to finish this time.”

The old Sears at the west end of the mall is undergoing demolition, said Richard Martinez, superintendent for Paden & Bletscher Construction, the Fresno-based company leading the renovation project.

Sage Investco, the new owners of the building, launched construction on Dec. 16, said Frank Quintero, the director of economic development for the City of Merced.

A timeline for the Sears Renovation Project, which also will make way for Five Below, Rack Room Shoes, and Mattress Firm stores is not definitive but could take up to a year, Martinez said. City officials confirmed the target date for completion of the project is in late 2025.

This is just one of other changes to the mall this year. Both, Marketplace at Merced and the former Sears building, operate under separate ownership.

In June, Ethan Conrad Properties announced that it had purchased the mall, and changed the center’s name to Marketplace at Merced. All physical storefront signs promoting the “Merced Mall” remain intact because the owners have yet to submit a formal application to begin the name change process.

Seritage Growth Properties, previous owners of the building, started renovations in 2019. “Construction stopped in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID pandemic,” Quintero said. He said labor shortages and cost of materials further delayed the project under Seritage’s leadership.

“Updates will be provided by the Office of Economic Development on social media and at Council meetings,” Quintero said.

This story was originally published December 23, 2024 at 6:00 AM.