Samsung Pacific Construction Inc. of La Mirada, owner of the Kaleidoscope shopping center in Mission Viejo, has filed suit against a tenant at the struggling mall.
Samsung is suing beauty salon Senses and Elements in a rent dispute. Senses and Elements, owned by Said Mehrinfar, opened in 1999 and stopped paying rent last November, the suit charges.
Senses and Elements entered into a small-tenant assistance program with Samsung and made a partial rent payment in November, according to the suit. But the tenant’s $2,000 check bounced, Samsung charges. The landlord is asking Senses and Elements to forfeit its lease and pay past rent of $22,186, plus damages. Mehrinfar and Senses and Elements did not return calls for comment.
The lawsuit comes at a difficult time for Kaleidoscope, which Samsung is looking to sell. Located in the shadow of the newly expanded Shops at Mission Viejo mall, Kaleidoscope counts several vacancies.
Kaleidoscope had first-year sales of $12.9 million in 1999, or $62 per square foot. Sales for the first three quarters of 2000 were $9.9 million, up from $8.7 million in the year-ago period, according to the city of Mission Viejo. The opening of a Crunch Fitness center likely drove the increase.
Bristol Farms, Edwards Kaleidoscope 10, Crunch Fitness and Zainy Brainy anchor the 210,000-square-foot center, which has 19 tenants in all. The center went into escrow twice last year, though a deal was never completed. A source close to the company said he believes Samsung still is seeking a buyer.
