I lived off Florin for 9 years from 1988-1996 and went to middle school and high school (Burbank) in the area. The neighborhood has gone through many changes but it’s strong enough to survive. When businesses leave others fill the void, ex. the Chevy dealership, has changed ownership at least 3 times from what I remember. Ford and Chevy are planning to no longer sell new cars at those dealerships, not sure about Toyota, but I’m sure the land will eventually be used properly, even if they do close down. Wal-Mart and Home-Depot anchor west of Highway 99, Sears, Burlington Coat Factory and now Mervyns and others will anchor Florin east of 99. Along with the thriving Asian businesses, the area will be fine; it just takes time for the land to be effectively used and money to be pumped into the area. The area around Florin mall and the auto dealerships is so vast it seems it would be better if the businesses condensed a bit and the extra land used for a new arena maybe (haha).
Neighborhoods like Del Paso, Rio Linda wish they had the businesses that the Florin area has. It is not that bad a neighborhood just older and there are a glut of businesses that have moved or went under and left lots of vacant, empty buildings.