Guitar Center stepped in to fill the huge vacancy at the Emery Bay Shopping complex left by Borders when they shuddered their doors last year. Guitar Center will close its El Cerrito store and open its new state-of-the-art E’ville store on February 2nd as reported by EBX. The new GC store will not only have a larger retail space, but it’ll also feature Guitar Center Studios, a “state-of-the-art destination that offers music education, professional rehearsal studios and certified Pro Tools and Logic training.” The new E’ville GC will also feature “GC Garage,” an on-site guitar-repair service. GC will kick off it’s grand opening with live music and special promotions.
In addition to this new anchor tenant, the complex will receive a substantial facelift as part of a larger mixed-use development project by TMG Partners. This overhaul will also include the addition of 1.5 million square feet of office, retail & residential space that they are hoping will transform the existing complex into a pedestrian-oriented neighborhood. Plans for the Public Market include the addition of 2-4 food stalls that the landlord is hoping will “capture what’s happening with the microfood phenomenon”.