 | |
 | |
 | |
| Location | University City,San Diego, California |
|---|---|
| Address | 4545 La Jolla Village Drive, San Diego, CA 92122 |
| Opening date | 1977 |
| Developer | The Hahn Company |
| Management | Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield |
| Owner | Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield |
| Stores and services | 199 (as of 2025) |
| Anchor tenants | 9[1] |
| Floor area | 1,066,842 ft²[1] |
| Floors | 2 (3 in Macy's) |
| Public transit | UTC Transit Center |
| Website | westfield |
Westfield UTC is an upscale, open-airshopping mall in theUniversity City community ofSan Diego, California. It lies just east ofLa Jolla, near theUniversity of California, San Diego. The mall is served byUTC Transit Center, which is the northern terminus of theBlue Line of theSan Diego Trolley.
Ernest W. Hahn first proposed building UTC in 1972. Upon opening in 1977 asUniversity Towne Centre, the anchor stores wereRobinson's (laterRobinsons-May),the Broadway (now Macy's), andSears. In 1984,Nordstrom, 31 new stores, and new parking structures opened.
In 1989, UTC was the site of an international incident when a minivan belonging toWilliam C. Rogers III, who had been implicated in the shootdown ofIran Air Flight 655, was bombed there.[2]
In 1998, Westfield bought UTC, except for the parcel owned by Sears. That same year, the Macy's and Robinsons-May locations expanded. J.P. Morgan Investment bought a 50% interest in UTC.
A $12 million remodel in 2007 added grassy areas, trellises with flowering vines, palm trees and fountains, according to UTC in a park-like or "European village" atmosphere, with carts, flowers, fruits and an al fresco food pavilion.”[3]
In 2008, a one-billion-dollar revitalization plan for UTC was approved by theSan Diego City Council. However, due to theGreat Recession, the revitalization project was put on hold for several years and later reduced to $500 million,[4] but later again revised up to $600 million.
In 2011, the first, $180 million phase of the revitalization commenced: the mall's food court was transformed into an indoor/outdoor Dining Terrace while the formerRobinsons-May building was subdivided to house three new retailers: a large-scaleForever 21, a relocated24 Hour Fitness, a 14-screenAMC Theatres (formerlyArcLight Cinema),[5] plusTiffany,J.Crew, andLululemon stores.[6]
In 2016, construction began on a 400,000-square-foot expansion on the northwest section, including:[7][8]
In April 2016 the two storySports Chalet which opened in 1999, closed its UTC location due toChapter 7 bankruptcy.[10]Room & Board later took over the vacant space in 2017.[11]
In 2019,Forever 21 filed forChapter 11 bankruptcy and announced that they would be closing 3 San Diego locations to restructure the company including its UTC location which later closed late January 2024.[12]
Many new restaurants were added during this period including aShake Shack and a Javier's. Michele Parente, restaurant critic atThe San Diego Union-Tribune, called UTC her favorite area for restaurants in San Diego County, noting the presence ofDin Tai Fung,Sweetfin Poké, Paranà Empanadas, Napizza, The Winery, Smokehouse BBQ, True Food Kitchen, andLa Colombe Coffee Roasters, stating: "eating is what they're selling there now".[13]
While construction continued at the northwest of UTC, on the northeast side,Sears closed in July 2017.[14] The Sears parcel is owned by Seritage Growth Properties, a spinoff of Sears.[15] Portions of the space have becomeCorner Bakery Cafe,Williams Sonoma/Pottery Barn Kids, withCrate & Barrel on an outparcel.[16]The Sears building was demolished and the site is now a two story building called The Collection. Parts of the project have been opened to the public, while the main building is still under construction.
Palisades at UTC, a 23-story, 300-unit luxury apartment building located at the southeast corner of the site, opened in 2019.[17]
| California |
|  | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois | ||||||
| Maryland | ||||||
| New Jersey | ||||||
| New York | ||||||
| Washington | ||||||
‡ Managed with no ownership interest. World Trade Center space is owned by thePort Authority of New York and New Jersey, and the Fulton Center space is owned by theMetropolitan Transportation Authority. | ||||||
32°52′11″N117°12′43″W / 32.8698°N 117.212°W /32.8698; -117.212