Downtowners are supremely curious about the fate of the one-million square-foot former Horton Plaza site in San Diego’s Marina District. The disjointedly designed mall that once revolutionized urban shopping was shuttered in 2020. Like many American malls, it suffered from an exodus of both shoppers and retailers. The completion date for a $1-billion renovation by Stockdale Capital Partners LLC has been pushed several times. Stockdale director of culture programs Jimmy Parker says the new opening date for a mixed-used site of office space and ground-floor retail is now pegged for Summer of 2024.

“I was a regular when the mall was still alive. My wardrobe was culled almost exclusively from the first-floor racks at Macy’s. This walk-through during Horton’s transition time is cathartic. It’s an opportunity to compare old memories with the bones of what’ll service the next generation,” says Donoho.