Laguna Hills Mall

Laguna Hills Mall

Entrance to the mall
Location	Laguna Hills, California, United States
Coordinates	33°36′39″N117°42′26″W / 33.61081°N 117.70709°W / 33.61081; -117.70709
Address	24155 Laguna Hills Mall
Opening date	April 1973
Closing date	December 31, 2018
Developer	The Hahn Company and Rossmoor Corporation
Management	Merlone Geier Partners
Architect	Edward Killingsworth
No. of stores and services	11
No. of anchor tenants	3 (3 vacant)
Total retail floor area	867,000 square feet (80,500 m2)
No. of floors	1

Laguna Hills Mall was a shopping mall in Laguna Hills, California, United States, in southern Orange County that is being redeveloped into a lifestyle center by the owners as Village at Laguna Hills. The enclosed mall closed on December 31, 2018, and was completely demolished in 2023. The exterior stores remain open. A hotel, entertainment venues, apartments, office spaces and a community park will replace the mall. ^{[1] [2]}

History

1973 launch

The mall opened in phases starting in Spring 1973 with a 214,000-square-foot (19,900 m²) Sears as the first anchor open, followed by a 50,000 sq ft (4,600 m²) two-level Buffums on September 5, 1973. The Broadway followed, opening in August 1975, and J.C. Penney in 1976. Up to that point, the mall had cost an estimated $50 million to build ^[3] and contained 393,000 sq ft (36,500 m²) of retail space in Phase I with 55 stores and 832,000 sq ft (77,300 m²) of retail space with 83 stores in Phase II. ^{[4] [5]}

1990s

In May 1991, Buffums closed due to the chain being liquidated and three years later, the store's second level was converted into an upstairs food court. The food court, which operated from 1994 to 2011, ^[6] was the only part of the general mall on the second level. The Broadway converted into Macy's in May 1996. ^[7]

2010s

In May 2013, Merlone Geier Partners purchased the property from Simon Property Group. ^[8] A year later, Merlone Geier purchased the Sears anchor store. Sears (the mall's original anchor store) closed in July 2014. ^[9] Renovations started in 2016. ^{[10] [11] [12]}

Re-branding

Former Laguna Cafes food court entrance at Laguna Hills Mall.

The Laguna Hills Mall is scheduled to be renamed "Five Lagunas". According to Laguna Hills' city documents, the renovations include pedestrian plazas, new retail sections, a 988-unit apartment complex, a multi-screen movie theater, new signage, and a 1,500-space parking structure. ^{[11] [12]}

Macy's closed in March 2018 as part of a plan to close 11 stores nationwide, which halted construction on its end of the mall and left JCPenney as the only remaining anchor. ^[13]

JCPenney closed in October 2018 which left the mall with no anchors. ^[14]

The mall closed on December 31, 2018. The exterior stores remained open. ^[2]

Plans for Five Lagunas

At a November 2019 City Council meeting, Merlone-Geier unveiled two major changes to the previous plans proposed since 2016: adding housing and reduction of retail space. Previously, the proposal called for 880,000 square feet (82,000 m²) of retail space and 988 residential units. Another reduction was made in office space to make room for the seasonal events. The revised proposal included a new 110,000-square-foot (10,000 m²) cinema, 225,000 sq ft (20,900 m²) to 300,000 sq ft (28,000 m²) of retail, a 125-room hotel, 390,000 sq ft (36,000 m²) to 520,000 sq ft (48,000 m²) of office space, two three-story parking structures, and a potential of 1,200 to 1,500 more apartments. ^[15]

References

1. Ritchie, Erika I. (February 28, 2023). "Final bones of 50-year-old Laguna Hills mall are coming down". Orange County Register. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
2. "Laguna Hills Mall closed Dec. 31". Orange County Register . December 18, 2018. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
3. "10th Buffum's to be introduced". Los Angeles Times. September 2, 1973.
4. "Hahn's Centers Number 13". The Courier-News Bridgewater, New Jersey. May 13, 1975.
5. Orange Coast Magazine. Emmis Communications. December 1980. p. 28. ISSN   0279-0483 . Retrieved April 12, 2015.
6. "South County mall to close entire food court". The Orange County Register . Retrieved April 12, 2015.
7. Peltz, James F.; Masunaga, Samantha (November 9, 2017). "Macy's is shutting its Westside Pavilion store and others in California". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved November 13, 2017.
8. "Laguna Hills Mall sold; makeover planned". Orange County Register . Retrieved April 12, 2015.
9. "Laguna Hills Mall Owner to Redo Redevelopment Plans". Orange County Business Journal. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
10. "Laguna Hills Mall". MallsAndStores.info. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
11. "Laguna Hills Planning Projects and New Developments". lagunahills.gov. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
12. "Tired Laguna Hills Mall to add luxury apartments, park, new shops by 2018". Orange County Register . Retrieved August 1, 2016.
13. "Renovation stopped at Five Lagunas in Laguna Hills as Macy's set to close". Orange County Register . September 22, 2017. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
14. "J.C. Penney to close at Laguna Hills mall, developer says". Orange County Register . July 10, 2018. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
15. Chapman, Shayna (December 21, 2019). "New Plan Proposed for Laguna Hills Mall". Voice of OC.