The owners of the Laguna Hills Mall are said to be planning a redevelopment of the 847,000-square-foot shopping center, which would be the latest major makeover of a retail project planned in the city.
Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group LP, the largest owner and operator of malls in the U.S., is said to be working on plans to rework the nearly 40-year-old property, which was last renovated in 1994.
Laguna Hills city officials put the price of the mall’s expected redevelopment at $55 million.
A time frame for any construction has not been disclosed. City officials said it is possible a plan could make it through the approval process in about six months after being submitted.
Simon “has indicated they are working to submit a preliminary application and to make a presentation to the City Council in early 2013,” City Manager Bruce Channing said in his year-end report to the city, which was filed last week.
Representatives of Simon, which has owned the mall since 1997, declined to comment on the redevelopment plans.
The enclosed mall, which is just off the Santa Ana (I-5) Freeway next to El Toro Road, counts about 100 shops, and is anchored by a Macy’s, JCPenney, Sears and Nordstrom Rack.
Struggles
The property has struggled to compete for shoppers and tenants with the nearby Shops at Mission Viejo—another Simon property—and the Irvine Spectrum. It was listed by the owner as being 86% leased at the end of last year.
City officials note that the owners have opted of late to “systematically de-lease” in anticipation of the upcoming renovations.
None of the anchor tenants are expected to leave as part of the redevelopment, said Don White, assistant city manager.
Pushing
The city has been pushing for Simon to renovate the center for almost 10 years; a few years ago Simon was said to be considering a mixed-used redevelopment plan for the site, with housing as well as retail.
Those plans failed to move forward, in large part due to Simon’s decision to cut back on redevelopment spending amid the economic downturn.
The company has been more active on the redevelopment front of late. Last month it said it expects to spend about $700 million on renovation and expansion projects across the U.S. this year, up from $265 million in 2011.
The latest redevelopment plan in the works for the Laguna Hills Mall will not include any housing, White said. Channing’s report to the city last week noted the plans would “significantly change the character of the mall” and mirror many of the changes now under way in the surrounding area, which city officials refer to as the Urban Village.
The largest project preparing to move ahead in the Urban Village is just down the street from the Laguna Hills Mall, where another older retail center, the Oakbrook Village Center, is slated for redevelopment in a few months.
The 30-year-old center, owned by Newport Beach-based Fritz Duda Co., counts about 200,000 square feet of space, and is anchored by a Marshalls and Trader Joe’s.
489 Apartments
A plan approved by the city last month calls for nearly 150,000 square feet of the existing retail space to be demolished to make way for 489 apartments and 82,574 square feet of new retail space.
The project’s cost is estimated at $35 million.
The project is set to move ahead in two phases. The first phase would begin in early 2013 and include the demolition of 82,730 square feet of retail space and development of 289 apartments, according to the city.
The revamped Oakbrook Village Center will be the first development of its type in Laguna Hills, according to the city.
Moulton La Paz
Redevelopment of another shopping center, the former Moulton La Paz Shopping Center in Laguna Hills, also is moving ahead.
The center’s owner, Vintage Real Estate LLC of Los Angeles, plans to expand the roughly 60,000-square-foot shopping center by another 40,000 square feet. Construction is expected to begin in January.
Vintage recently paid about $2.9 million for a nearly 4-acre parcel of land next to the center—which is near the intersection of Moulton Parkway and La Paz Road—to accommodate the expansion, which will include The Fresh Market, a high-end European-style grocery store.
