Comments on: Sunrise Mall; Corpus Christi, Texas

By: dsrblue

dsrblue — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 05:04:48 +0000

I live in Corpus Christi, and I remember when Sunrise Mall was THE mall to be at. Citizens would refer to it as the “new mall” and Padre Staples at the “old mall”. If you were a teenager in the 80’s during the Breakfast Club era, Sunrise Mall was the place to be seen. It was big, bright, beautiful and bountiful. What killed it besides Frost Bros. and Joske’s leaving was the addition of the discount theater. That brought in a different clientele. Soon gangbangers were roaming the mall and that drove the shoppers away. Just the other day, a man was shot and killed in front of Burlington’s. All involved were gang members.

Now, La Palmera, which used to be Padre Staples, is getting a much needed renovation. What I liked about this mall is that it always stayed classy. The management did well. I cannot say the same for Sunrise… The renovations of La Palmera should be complete in Spring 2010.

Yeah Sunrise Mall had a great run, and to me, it’s the epitome of an 80’s mall. When you walk in, you can just feel it. In my mind and in my eyes, you can almost feel the essence of big-haired teenagers running around with the tunes of Journey and The Go Go’s trapped in their heads while wearing LA Gear tennis shoes. Just go and take a look and you’ll see what I mean.

Sunrise Mall is like a washed-up, once popular kid, trying to hold onto the glory days which have sadly passed on.

By: Jonah Norason (Pseudo3D)

Jonah Norason (Pseudo3D) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 19:53:07 +0000

@Larry, I know Foley’s wasn’t there (Foley’s had very distinctive designs and the Foley’s of PSM is 1980s…I’d know if Foley’s was at Sunrise). Let’s see…Mervyn’s looks like it was a later addition, Joske’s was closed since Dillard’s was at Sunrise (they kept Dillard’s). It looks like Sakowitz WAS briefly there in the late 1980s due to a merger with Frost Bros. (http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-6928442.html)

By: Larry

Larry — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 18:57:11 +0000

This mall was Corpus Christi’s attempt to go upscale, before Padre Staples remodeled. Padre-Staples had Beall’s, Woolworth’s, Dillard’s and Penney’s (not JCPenney, back then!) in a straight shot (I can see one end from the other) design. I remember thinking when Sunrise opened that Sunrise might put P-S out of business. P-S was an old 1960’s design: one level, straight as an arrow, with little going on inside (a larger version of Town & Country). Sunrise was multi-level, had more upscale shops, and a more interesting interior. How ironic that P-S (now with the more upscale sounding Palmera name) survived.

Sunrise was the victim of unfortunate timing, as the oil bust was coming (or had already arrived) when it opened. Frost Bros. (San Antonio’s answer to Dallas’ Neiman Marcus), Joske’s, Sakowitz (Houston’s answer to Dallas’ Neiman Marcus) were all here. I thought Foley’s (now macy’s) had a store here also before Padre-Staples was enlarged. At any rate, Joske’s sold out, Sakowitz and Frost folded completely, and this mall was DOA. Even if the anchors had survived, I’m not sure CC’s demographics could support all of that retail.

By: Billy

Billy — Tue, 26 May 2009 21:49:50 +0000

What an incredible opportunity! This mall has so much potential, especially with the renovations and new high end tenant mix the adjacent Palmera Mall is working to achieve. Sunirse will now be able to compete at a whole different level and bring in tenants that cant afford the Palmera rents or fit thier upscale profile. At the end of the day, Sunrise will be the winning mall in Corpus!

By: Rose

Rose — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 03:30:13 +0000

Wendy’s is Gone. $1.00 plus store is closing.Sears,Arcade, and Special Olympics is still open and the Dollar Cinema is still there.One of the nail salons is closing.Not much is open but I heard that things might get better . There are a few new stores one is a mini golf place and the other is Native American but I forgot the name of it.

By: Joseph

Joseph — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 03:09:48 +0000

I live in Corpus Christi and just visited the mall a few days ago just to make fun of the interior. The Dollar Movie there isn’t bad, it plays movies that played in regular theatres but just about a month or two later for a dollar. The Sears is still a pretty busy store, so are Stein Mart and Burlington. Honestly….they should close down the entire mall, it wouldn’t affect the businesses i just listed since they sort of work outside of the mall. But….the mall does have a decent and cheap arcade (won a portable tv there :] ) and they also added a glow in the dark putt putt course on the upstairs which I have yet to visit. They might as well close down the mall, the only reason I see good for it, is so that kids can run around and play extreme tag or hide-and-go-seek. Since Padre Staples Mall is looking to expanding, these malls are so close to each other, Padre Staples mall could build some kind of underground tunnel leading to this mall and use it for their mall! (Very impossible im sure, but hey atleast im thinking of some ideas…..since this damn town can’t agree on anything.)

By: Bryan M.

Bryan M. — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 20:33:44 +0000

I like Dead Malls. School doesn’t start for a week, so I took a trip to Sunrise for some pictures today. I had a good visit. I started to take pictures and was approached by two security guards who asked what I was doing. They took an interest in my “Dead Mall” research and said they’d like me to meet Lee Hassman, the new General Manager of the mall. I was led down some long, drab hallways and thought I was going to be killed, but I emerged at a nice office in the back with a receptionist. I was introduced to Mr. Hassman who is a self-described veteran of rehabilitating dead malls. He said to me “oh, this mall is far from dead” when I referred to Sunrise as a dead mall.

Hassman was remarkably gracious and had Sam Lopez, Director of Security, escort me through the mall and give me a guided tour of their progress. W-O-W, what a difference 4 months makes. Since being foreclosed on by IBC Bank, they’ve brought in an entirely new management team, headed by Hassman. The place is cleaned up like it had a bath. The 70’s style architecture remains in tact, just like in the movie Legend of Billie Jean. Literally, nothing has changed other than the place being cleaned thoroughly. They have a brand new A/C system that keeps this place at a good temperature. The fountains are working again (I have pics) and the escalators will be running within a month but are waiting on the contractor to begin work on them.

Lopez said they’re aggressively trying to find new tenants. Padre Staples (now La Palmera) is having major renovations and is raising everyone’s rent. There are a lot of cash-strapped retailers looking for alternatives and Sunrise is marketing themselves toward them. It was firmly stated that IBC Bank is not interested in selling the land to anyone wanting to tear it down. The building itself is worth more than they paid for it. It hasn’t been mentioned, but Sunrise actually is a much nicer facility (in terms of the building) than Padre Staples. Management is what made the difference. Hassman said they are “fully committed” to rehabilitating it and bringing it back to life.

The cleanliness, security, and the renewed functionality of the building is a good start, but they’ve got a long way to go to get it even close to fully occupied. They’ve got quite a few “non-traditional” tenants there and making it into a full-retail center will require throwing some of these people out. I’m sorry, but having a massive Texas Workforce Commission (the unemployment office) office located in a shopping mall is not something any mall should do. The previous owners were letting anyone move in without any regard for the image they were creating. Un-doing that damage is going to be a heck of a task.

All in all, the staff were very nice. I actually shook their hands and left smiling like I was some sort of hot-shot for talking to management. I’m glad to see anyone taking an interest in it and think with, a little patience, we could see this once beautiful mall achieve some success. They appear to have a cracker jack staff who are devoted to just that.

By: Thomas

Thomas — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 21:40:15 +0000

All of the major coorporations that originated in Corpus Christi are leaving. Often we hear that they “out grew” the city or they are moving to a “more central” location, but let’s face it. Corpus Christi is not an inviting place for businesses. We have the highest business taxes in the nation, a very un-motivated work force, and a city council that is wholeheartedly against any sort of development. This place is becoming sad. We need a change…

By: Shirley

Shirley — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 17:30:57 +0000

Padre Staples Mall was built first, I believe it opened in 1970. I was a sophomore in high school at that time and we would go to PS Mall to the PS Mall Drug Store Grill (where my best friend worked) then we’d visit the record store where another friend worked. Then we’d go shopping at Stuarts for clothes.
There was an HEB where Sunrise Mall is and it didn’t open to the concourse. It’s where Steinmart is now. It replaced an HEB that was previously located at Parkdale Plaza when Parkdale started to lose its luster. There was also an HEB at Town & Country which was actually the FIRST mall in CC, although it was very small.
The Orange Creations was Orange Julius and there was also one located at the PS Mall. The PS Mall was remodeled after a fire that actually killed a girl.

By: skip

skip — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 13:31:13 +0000

and WHATABURGER is no longer headquartered in Corpus. It too moves to San Antonio.

Sad to see a city like Corpus with so much potential not going anywhere.
Dying on the vine and people in Corpus don’t seem to realize they have been left behind.