Parts of Moreno Valley Mall to close for repairs, officials say
Fixes are needed to address "numerous health and safety code violations" that pose serious risks, according to the city.
Black News 
Parts of the Moreno Valley Mall will be closed starting Thursday, Feb. 19, to address “numerous health and safety code violations (that) have been identified as posing significant risks to tenants and customers alike,” Moreno Valley officials said Thursday afternoon.
The closure, which does not apply to JCPenney’s and Macy’s, will remain in effect until repairs are done, the city announced in a news release. It would begin after the mall’s closure at 8 p.m.
The mall’s owner “has repeatedly failed to comply with prior requests to correct the code violations,” the release added.
Earlier Thursday, mall management, which could not immediately be reached for comment, took to social media to dispel online rumors the mall was closing for good.
“No, we are not closing permanently,” read a post on the mall’s Instagram account. “Do not believe everything you see on the internet.”
Text accompanying the post read: “We are not closing. Like always, there are occasional bumps in the road, and the Mall staff are actively working hard to resolve any issues.”
The post did not elaborate on those issues.
The mall also used its website to deny it was closing.
The 87-acre mall, which is off the 60 Freeway, opened in 1992, about eight years after Moreno Valley incorporated. It is run by IGP Business Group, a parent company of Moreno Valley Mall Holding.
Stores at the mall include Macy’s, JCPenney, Aeropostale and Bath & Body Works. There’s also a 16-screen Harkins movie theater, a food court and an amusement center.
A centerpiece of American commerce and social life in the 1980s and 90s, malls nationwide have shuttered or scaled back as online shopping and cultural trends took people elsewhere and the COVID-19 pandemic scared off shoppers.
To revitalize the city’s mall, the Moreno Valley City Council in 2023 approved a plan to add apartments, hotels, office space and a retail center to the site.
Plans called for adding 1,627 apartment units, 270 hotel rooms, 40,000 square-feet of retail space and removing an existing auto center. The project’s status is unclear.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
