COMMUNITY PROFILES Siegel is comfortable in Santa Monica
By 31BY KEVIN HERRERA Daily Press Staff Writer
DOWNTOWN In a corner office overlooking the Pacific Ocean, Mace Siegel, chairman of Macerich Co., stands guard over one of the largest mall operations in the country.
The company he co-founded in 1964 now owns and manages more than 70 regional shopping centers and 20 small strip malls for a total of 77 million square feet or retail space and counting.
But to hear Siegel tell it, the most important piece of real estate to him and the company may just very well be the 8.3 square miles that make up Santa Monica, the city where Macerich has called home for more than 30 years.
“I feel that probably the most important business decision we made was coming to Santa Monica,” said Siegel, 82, as he sat at a large desk covered with photos of family and mounds of paper work and site plans.
“I think one of the great strengths of our company has been the location here in Santa Monica. It has a wonderful labor market, and that’s probably why it has become so popular for businesses,” said Siegel, a native of New Jersey who decided to relocate to the city by the bay in the mid 70s at the suggestion of his late wife, Jan, who wanted a better environment to raise her children than the hustling and bustling streets of Manhattan.
“People here are so dedicated to doing what they are supposed to do. They are very productive. They arrive with a smile on their face and they’re happy. They’re glad to be working here and it’s really a whole different world.”
Many of the employees at Macerich have been with the company for decades, something which Siegel takes much pride in. Since he owes so much to Santa Monica, Siegel feels he has a lot to give in return, which is why he has so much invested in the reinvention of the Santa Monica Place mall, an aging and dated shopping center at the heart of downtown that is slated for a dramatic renovation, pending the City Council’s approval later this summer.
City Hall has big plans for the Civic Center, looking to reconnect it with the Santa Monica Pier, Third Street Promenade and the rest of downtown. Santa Monica Place sits right in the middle, putting added pressure on Macerich to breathe life back into what has become a somewhat desolate patch of retail.
No one knows this more than Siegel, who said he is committed to opening up the mall, creating eye-catching street retail that will be diverse, catering to tourists, office workers and residents from all socio-economic backgrounds.
“The whole concept of an enclosed mall is just wrong for this area,” said Siegel, who stressed that the only reason Macerich purchased the Frank Gehry-designed shopping mall in 1999 for a reported $130 million was because it was located in the same city as the company’s headquarters.
“I always thought it was a very unattractive mall,” he said. “We knew since we bought it that it had to be opened up… People in beach towns love to wander around outside, look at the shops and enjoy the good weather.”
Remodeling hasn’t been easy. Macerich first unveiled a plan that many residents felt was out of step with what the community needed at the time. The proposal called for the demolition of the mall, replacing it with three 21-story towers that would have included retail and housing. The council rejected the proposal, asking Macerich to go back to the drawing board.
Executives came back about a year later with a more scaled-down approach that has so far excited community members because of its smaller scale. Macerich held a series of community meetings to gather feedback from the public, incorporating suggestions into the preliminary design. Executives also apologized for the first proposal, something which seemed to go a long way in healing relations with the community.
“As a developer you want to do what’s right for the real estate, and ultimately the community,” Siegel said. “Because of the high-rise buildings in the area, we felt the ultimate development of this property into a mixed use center held a great deal of allure to us and to the community. Certainly it’s a great post for offices and housing, but in order to do that you have to go high enough to make it economically feasible. And of course, we explored that and got out into the community and they really didn’t want it. We realized that you have to give the community what it wants … If you’re going to be a good neighbor, better do what they want.
“We think the property will be a great addition to Santa Monica.”
The situation surrounding the first proposal did not help Santa Monica’s reputation for being difficult to deal with if you’re a developer. However, Siegel, who has over 50 years of experience in real estate dating back to his days working for Macy’s purchasing the first malls ever built, said the city is not alone in its concerns about development.
“Santa Monica is very typical of communities all over the U.S.,” Siegel said. “Everyone wants to be careful. The process has just become longer and certainly the interest in the environment is one that has grown, and rightfully so. Everyone just wants to do the right thing.”
When he’s not occupied by real estate, Siegel can most likely be found hanging out with his daughter Samantha at the race track or their stables. The two are avid horse racing fans and own about 80 thoroughbreds. In Mace’s office there are dozens of photos of his family’s horses at various races. In his daughter’s office down the hall, there are pictures of their newborns.
It was at a race track that Siegel fell in love with his wife. The two went out on a first date at Aqueduct in 1962 and were married just over two months later.
“It was a wonderful match. You know when you meet someone who is lots of fun to be around, you want to be with them all the time, so why wait,”he said of the couples’ brief engagement. His wife was “snuffed out” by stomach cancer in 2002. Siegel credits his wife with pushing him to go into business for himself and never misses a chance to sing her praises.
“She was a wonderful woman,” Siegel said. He feels that same way about Santa Monica. “I really can’t stress enough how important it was for us to locate to Santa Monica,” Siegel said. “I want to make sure that the people of Santa Monica know how much we appreciate them and the city for making us feel at home.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 4, 2007. Read the original PDF.