By Thomas K. Pendergast

The metamorphosis of the Stonestown Galleria from an archaic, 20th-century, car-centric shopping mall into a modern panoply of products, services and entertainment choices is progressing with a new arcade and bowling alley proposed for development there.

A Japanese company, Round One Entertainment Inc., has submitted plans to the City for a 50,063-square-foot entertainment venue in a space left after the exit of the Nordstrom department store in 2019.

The plans include a 12-lane bowling alley, a snack bar plus a kitchen. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that billiard and ping pong tables, arcade games and karaoke will also be featured.

It will be located near the Target store. Planning documents estimate the cost of construction at $4,505,670.

According to its website, the company opened its first location in 2010 at the Los Angeles suburb of City of Industry and now has more than 50 locations across the U.S. either opened or planned.

The website also gives a dress code: all guests must wear shirts and shoes; no “excessively baggy clothing” allowed nor any clothing with “profanity and/or objectionable artwork.”

There is no description given for what is considered profane or objectionable and messages seeking comment from the company were not returned by press time.

Earlier this year security issues at the mall came to public attention after fights among Lowell High School students broke out, causing city officials to launch anti-violence initiatives in response, according to media reports.

There is no word yet on whether or not Round One Entertainment will be providing its own security force or not.

This latest venture might augment a much larger project by the landlords, Brookfield Properties, which proposes the development of about 2,930 new homes, including rental, for-sale, market rate and “affordable” options.

This plan includes: about 160,000 square feet for retail, mostly along 20th Avenue; 200,000 square feet of office space catering to small neighborhood businesses like architecture studios or accounting firms; and 40,000 square feet of “public community space” with at least one child-care facility.

While buildings are planned at between three and 18 stories tall, the project also includes about six acres of publicly accessible parks, plazas and open space.

Space for cars on surface parking lots will be eliminated but underground retail parking will continue and be expanded west, adding retail parking adjacent to Trader Joe’s, Target, Regal Cinemas and Whole Foods.

The roots of the Stonestown Galleria go back about a century, when the new M-Ocean View streetcar line brought development into that section of the City.

Ellis and Henry Stoneson developed more than 25,000 homes in the western part of San Francisco, according to Brookfield Properties, with the original vision of creating a community serving the residents’ daily needs and recreation without having to travel to other parts of the City.

It was to be a “city within a city.”

After breaking ground in 1949, they built 700 apartments on 65 acres of land adjacent to it on 19th Avenue.

The shopping center was designed as an open air pedestrian promenade anchored by the Emporium department store at the north end. It also included a grocery store and medical complex, along with numerous retail shops and services.

At the time of completion in 1952, Stonestown was the nation’s fourth-largest apartment and shopping center development.

A movie theater opened in the 1970s. A “major remodel” to modernize the mall was done in the 1980s with a second level of retail shops, plus a glass enclosure was added and a department store on the south side was renovated to connect with the main complex.

It was then rebranded as the Stonestown Galleria.

The Preliminary Project Assessment document for the new development says the area in front of the main Stonestown Galleria entry will be transformed into “The Commons,” one of the main public plazas and a “civic space for the neighborhood,” featuring a mix of retail and neighborhood-serving spaces while conveniently connected to public transit.

“The project proposes to enhance the west side of the site such that there is no longer a front or back side to Stonestown Galleria. A Town Square will become a neighborhood gathering place for shoppers and residents, with ample outdoor space for outdoor café seating, recreation space and events like a weekly farmer’s market.

“The eastern residential edge will be centered around the new 20th Avenue retail corridor, featuring a mix of restaurants, retail and community uses. In contrast to the active retail-centric heart that is 20th Avenue, the west side is suited for more neighborhood-focused programs paired with more greenery, inspired by the natural landscape of the area,” according to the assessment.

The San Francisco Business Times, however, reports there might be a dark cloud on the horizon with the potential to rain on this natural landscape.

On Aug. 14, staff reporter Alex Barreira posted that the mall “has about $180 million in maturing commercial mortgage-backed securities loans coming due in October. The two loans provided to mall owner Brookfield Properties by Morgan Stanley in 2013 have been flagged as a “maturity risk” in recent CMBS reports and placed on a debt industry watchlist for troubled loans.

Meanwhile, the real estate news website The Real Deal reported that in June, Brookfield and Paris-based Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield announced they would stop making payments on a $558 million loan tied to the Westfield San Francisco Centre in San Francisco, and surrender the nine-story mall to its lender.

A spokesperson for Brookfield Properties, Lindsay Kahn, would not comment on that situation, but did say that it has nothing to do with the proposal to develop the Round One Entertainment venue.