The Shops at Tanforan

The Shops at Tanforan in San Bruno occupies a high-value redevelopment site at the El Camino Real and I-380 corridor, adjacent to the San Bruno Caltrain station area and within the San Francisco International Airport employment catchment. The property historically served as the enclosed regional mall for San Bruno, Millbrae, and South San Francisco, but its current commercial status is transitional rather than conventional regional-mall operation. JCPenney has closed, and Barnes and Noble closed in May 2026, reflecting the shift away from the legacy enclosed mall model.

Target and Century Theatres are the primary operating anchors expected to carry forward through the redevelopment period. Sephora, Ulta Beauty, and Bath and Body Works continue to operate and provide the beauty destination occasion. The inline fashion and specialty tenant base has contracted with anchor closures, and Caltrain connectivity at San Bruno gives the site transit access that will factor into long-term redevelopment planning.

The site is expected to transition toward a mixed-use campus with life-science, office, residential, and retained retail components under Alexandria Real Estate’s redevelopment plan. For expansion teams, Tanforan should be treated as a redevelopment watchlist asset rather than a standard inline leasing opportunity. Near-term retail decisions should be evaluated against the redevelopment timetable and the reduced stability of the current enclosed mall tenant base; the site’s long-term value is driven by its transit adjacency, airport-proximate workforce, and Peninsula location.