Sears was one of Brea Mall's main anchors from the mall's 1977 opening until the store closed in 2018. The building that took the Sears footprint opened on July 9. It sells memberships, not merchandise. Simon tore down the old store, put up an 85,000-square-foot Life Time building and then chose the shops and restaurants around that club, the Orange County Business Journal reported in July.
That order of building helps explain everything that has opened since. The restaurants, the lawn called Sunset Green and the seven-story apartment building still under scaffolding were arranged around a place people visit on a routine. The tenant list followed from that plan.
The Sears pad was the piece of land Life Time could not find
Life Time founder Bahram Akradi told the Business Journal his company had long wanted a club in North Orange County. It could not find a parcel big enough for the building plus the parking it needs. "We would have been there five years ago if we could," he said. The Simon partnership changed that.
The city approved the land Life Time needed on May 16, 2023. That approval covered up to 15.5 acres. It allowed demolition of the closed Sears and auto center, 161,990 square feet in all, plus 7.42 acres of parking. In their place the plan called for restaurants, retail, for-rent apartments, resort-style fitness and an outdoor gathering space. Jocelyn Gubler, Simon's vice president of development, told the Business Journal the effort began in 2018. She called it "almost a 10-year" undertaking.
Life Time Brea sits at 1600 Brea Mall Road. It is the company's first North Orange County club and its fourth in the county. The club building is 85,000 square feet. Another 38,000 square feet of outdoor space spreads across three acres. Inside and out there are five pickleball courts, three of them climate-controlled indoors. There is also a pool club with waterslides, a full-service LifeSpa, a LifeCafe, a Kids Academy for ages three months to 11 years and a free work lounge.
It is priced like a club, too. In July the Business Journal listed individual memberships starting at $349 a month plus a $200 initiation fee, and $719 a month for a family of four. Akradi said the company keeps membership "in the low thousands." He also said it expected to start a waitlist shortly after opening. Anyone thinking about joining this fall should check current availability with the club before planning on a start date.
Sunset Green and the restaurants that went in first
Across Brea Mall Road from Life Time, between the new shops and Nordstrom, is Sunset Green. It is a park-like lawn with tables, seating and play areas for kids. The Business Journal described the outdoor plaza and streetscape as a 119,000-square-foot piece of the project when it reported the work finished in November 2025. The whole mall is 1,281,795 square feet, so the plaza is a small share of the property. It is the part that faces outward.
The restaurants arrived over about six months.
| Restaurant | Address on record | Opened |
|---|---|---|
| The Melt | Building D, Suite 1420, next to Rivian | Listed as open by March 2, 2026 |
| North Italia | 1500 Brea Mall, Suite 1501 | April 22, 2026 |
| Pacific Catch | 1430 Brea Mall | May 6, 2026 |
| Din Tai Fung | 1401 Brea Mall Lane | Soft opening Aug. 7; grand opening Aug. 31, 2026 |
Din Tai Fung is the largest of the group. It takes up about 14,000 square feet and is the chain's northernmost Orange County location. Its other county locations are at South Coast Plaza, the Downtown Disney District and Irvine Spectrum Center. Before this, a North County resident who wanted xiao long bao from Din Tai Fung had to drive to Anaheim at the closest. The Brea location has an open kitchen where diners can watch cooks fold soup dumplings, along with a large outdoor patio. The company said the restaurant would create more than 400 jobs. Life Time reported about 320 employees in July, mostly part-time. Together, those figures point to several hundred jobs on land that held a closed department store and its parking.
The shops around the lawn lean toward home goods and everyday errands. Williams Sonoma and Pottery Barn have outdoor storefronts, and the Business Journal lists Rivian and Dick's Sporting Goods by the new mall entrance. Sunset Green also hosted a free-ice-cream celebration for America's 250th anniversary on July 3.
Inside the enclosed mall, two new stores held grand openings in September:
- N Cat, grand opening Saturday, September 19 at 10 a.m.
- Caitlyn Minimalist, grand opening September 26, on the upper level next to M.A.C.
What is still on its way
A project that opens one piece at a time keeps showing up as half-done, and Sunset Green still has gaps as of early October.
Kalbi Social Club will sit next to North Italia and Nordstrom. In July, the Business Journal expected it to open "within the next two months or so." Simon still lists it as "Coming Soon" and has posted no opening date, including in a September 16 update.
Pop Mart is also listed as "Coming Soon," on the upper level next to Hollister. No date or hours are posted.
Public art is partly in place. A lighted mural made of acrylic panels is already on a building near Pacific Catch. In July, Simon said it planned to add sculptures to the central plaza by September. We could not confirm whether those sculptures have gone up. Gubler said the art is required by the city, and she wanted it to be "part of the Brea story."
The apartments are the last large piece. A few yards from Life Time, crews are building a seven-story, 377-unit apartment building. Banners on the fence read "Residential Coming 2028." The 2023 approval allowed 380 units. The Business Journal's July count of 377 is the most recent figure available. Once that building fills, a few hundred households will live within walking distance of the lawn, the restaurants and the club. That is when the 2023 plan for a mixed-use corner of the mall will be fully in place.
October and early December dates close by
Sunset Green has not announced any holiday events as of this writing. Several community dates are a short drive away:
- Brea Downtown Costume Contest, running September 30 through October 30.
- Costco public scoping meeting, Thursday, October 15, 5 to 7 p.m., at the Brea Civic & Cultural Center. This open house covers the proposed Costco warehouse and gas station at 200 South Kraemer Boulevard. The city's September 14 planning update describes a 159,889-square-foot warehouse, fueling station, parking and landscaping. It lists the project as "Under Review," with no opening date.
- Treats on the Street, October 31, 5 to 7 p.m., in Downtown Brea at Birch and Brea Boulevard.
- City Tree Lighting, December 3, 6:30 to 9 p.m., at the Civic & Cultural Center. The city lists live entertainment, Mr. and Mrs. Claus, and free Santa selfies after the ceremony.
The Costco meeting is the one on this list that connects to Sunset Green. It is the next large reuse proposal in Brea, and the scoping stage is when the city takes public comment on what its environmental review should study.
When a corner of town changes this much, owners nearby often wonder what it means for their own plans. That might be a longtime home a few blocks from Brea Mall, or a parent's house you are helping prepare. Regina Rey follows the changes on the Sears side of the mall as they happen. She is glad to walk through what they mean for your timing and your next chapter, with no pressure. Work With Regina.
