Located at East 14th Street and Fairmont Boulevard, the mall has just seen a complete renovation of the Wards department store there, which anchors the mall. The mall's owner, Delaware-based Bay Fair Limited Liability Corp., is making other improvements.

Topping it off, a 16-screen, 58,000-sf Century Theatres cineplex will be completed next spring, and Alameda County has also secured $2 million in federal funding to improve linkage between the nearby Bayfair Bay Area Rapid Transit train station and the mall.

The work is in large part thanks to a $7 million, 15-year commitment by the city of San Leandro that was spurred by the 1994 near-loss of Macy's as the mall's other anchor tenant. San Leandro contributed $3 million to persuade Macy's to remain at Bayfair, and is paying the mall's Chicago-based managing partner Heitman Retail Properties $4 million for current and future upgrades.

Macy's used the $3 million for upgrades to its Bayfair store, including new carpeting and reconfiguration of its women's apparel section. As part of the deal, it signed a 10-year operating covenant. The commitment spurred Wards to spend $3 million of its own funds on an exterior and interior renovation.

Alas, according to recent reports, the mall remains 25% empty. Though city officials are optimistic that the recent improvements will tighten vacancy, time is running out. The 10-year operating covenant with Macy's ends in 2004. The city's payout to Heitman ends in 2013.