Anchor tenants Best Buy and Babies "R" Us at the Gateway Shopping Center in Marin City will soon close, the center's property managers have announced.
That two of the center's major retailers are leaving at roughly the same time is purely a "fluke," said a representative with the Southern California-based Gerrity Group, which owns the shopping center.
"We have another tenant for the Babies 'R' Us building, and they should open in August," said John Waters, who manages the center. He would not disclose the name of the new tenant for the 25,500-square-foot building, but described it as a "major national tenant" that will be a "significant draw and job creator."
Babies "R" Us — which sells clothes and other baby gear — will close at the end of March, Waters said. The store employs 30 people, officials said.
Electronics store Best Buy, which occupies a 48,500-square-foot building, will close Saturday when the lease expires. Best Buy decided not to renew the contract.
"As we have said over the past year, we will close or relocate stores from time to time as a normal course of business," said Best Buy spokeswoman Carly Morris in a statement.
Forty-eight people work at the store. Negotiations are underway to find a new tenant for that building.
"Best Buy sort of cannibalized itself by opening up in San Rafael, and they have stores in San Francisco," Waters said. "This one was sort of in between."
Exiting Best Buy with a pair of stereo speakers he got for 60 percent off the original price, Mill Valley resident Christopher Nassopoulos said the imminent closure is a move in the wrong direction for the local economy.
"I'm sorry it happened in Marin City," Nassopoulos said. "If anything, this area needs an economic boost, more jobs."
And, he said, the shopping center could see less automobile traffic as a result of the closures, which would mean fewer customers for the other stores.
The center, built in 1995 at 100 Donahue St., still has several tenants: Ross Dress for Less, CVS Pharmacy, Dollar Tree, Starbucks, Subway, Sleep Train, Outback Steakhouse, Burger King and Panda Express, among others at the 182,030-square-foot site.
"We are optimistic the vacancies will be filled and that the right mix of retail will come in to meet the needs of Marin City and the larger community," said Johnathan Logan, general manager of the Marin City Community Services District, the community's de facto city council. Meanwhile, the Marin City shopping center will see some upgrades this year in its parking lot, including new planter boxes.
"We want to create a nicer feel in the parking areas," Waters said.
Contact Mark Prado via email at mprado@marinij.com; IJ reporter Laith Agha contributed to this report.
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