Apple exiting Escondido’s North County mall
- Apple plans to close or move its store at Escondido’s North County mall, affecting local retail. - The decision signals changing retail dynamics for the mall and could impact foot traffic and tenants. - Patch's coverage explains the retailer's reasons and mall reaction; full story here (patch.com).
Apple will close its North County store in Escondido in June, pulling one of the mall’s highest-profile tenants out of the building. (nbcsandiego.com) Apple said the Escondido store is one of three U.S. locations it will shut this June, alongside stores in Trumbull, Connecticut, and Towson, Maryland. The company said the three stores are in malls with “declining conditions” after other retailers left. (patch.com) Employees at the Escondido store will keep their jobs and transfer to nearby Apple stores, according to Apple’s statement. San Diego County will still have four Apple stores open: Carlsbad, Fashion Valley, Otay Ranch, and University Town Center. (nbcsandiego.com) The closure lands at a mall that has already been trying to remake itself. Escondido planning commissioners spent part of a December 2023 meeting discussing housing at the site, with commissioners saying the property needs new uses to support retail. (thecoastnews.com) North County Mall changed hands on February 1, 2023, when Bridge Group Investments and Steerpoint Capital bought the leasehold from Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield and dropped the Westfield name. The city said at the time that it expected the new owners to bring new investment and retail opportunities to the property. (times-advocate.com) The mall opened in February 1986, and some of its old anchor spaces have stayed empty after department-store exits. The Coast News reported in January 2024 that only Macy’s and JCPenney remained from the original anchor lineup after Sears and Nordstrom closed in 2020. (thecoastnews.com) The property’s ownership structure also complicates any reset. Local reports have said the City of Escondido owns most of the land under the mall, and planning commissioners were told that adding housing would require voter approval. (times-advocate.com) Apple’s exit adds another vacancy to a center that new owners had pitched as a revival project in 2023. In Escondido, the next step is not an Apple reopening at North County Mall, but a June shutdown and another search for what can still draw people there. (patch.com)
