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# SM Place owners take their ideas straight to people
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/sm-place-owners-take-their-ideas-straight-to-people/
- Published: 2006-07-15T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T18:55:28.000Z
- Author: Carolyn Sackariason
- Tags: Business, Pico, #archive-import

*Mall overhaul is being put before the people*

VIRGINIA AVE. PARK — The owners of Santa Monica Place are taking it to the streets this summer, gauging residents’ feelings about their proposed overhaul of the aging, indoor shopping center.

Macerich Co. representatives on Thursday unveiled their latest conceptual plans for the mall to the Pico Neighborhood Association (PNA) — the fourth meeting of more than a dozen planned presentations in front of community groups through September. After gathering feedback and tweaking the project, if necessary, Macerich Co. will then take its proposal to city officials, who have not seen the latest incarnation.

The approach is in stark contrast to last time around, when Macerich Co. in late 2004 proposed plans to demolish the mall and replace it with a 10-acre mixed-use complex, including three 21-story high-rise towers for offices and condominiums. The plan was strongly opposed by residents, who said the buildings would not only be out of step with Santa Monica’s small-town atmosphere, but would also have created The City Council voted against the Macerich proposal, sending the company back to the drawing board. more traffic in a city that is desperately trying to find solutions to congestion.

Macerich had to put plans on hold last year when Federated Department Stores Inc. announced it was merging with May Co., the parent company of Robinsons-May. As part of the $11 billion merger, Federated said it would close all Robinsons-May stores in malls where there also was a Federated-owned Macy’s. Santa Monica Place fell into that category.

Uncertain what would happen with one of the mall’s anchors, Macerich waited for Federated to make a move before continuing with the redevelopment process. Federated announced in May that it was selling the Robinsons-May location to Macerich, opening the door for the redevelopment of the space.

In June, Macerich representatives announced they were ready to engage the community in their plans. The meetings kicked off this month — the first being with the Ocean Park Neighborhood Association; the second with the Santa Monica Coalition for a Livable City, which was strongly opposed to the 2004 proposal and sued City Hall to gain access to communications between city staff and Macerich during the previous planning process; and the third was with the Santa Monica Pier Restoration Committee.

There is almost universal agreement that something needs to be done with the mall, now seen as a boxy relic of the 1980s, when indoor malls were the norm. Now, the focus has shifted to outdoor shopping centers or villages, where shoppers can park their cars and browse in the open air.

On Thursday in a small meeting room at Virginia Avenue Park, the PNA and a handful of residents listened to Macerich representatives expand on the plan, emphasizing that the latest creation is a result of community input from the last planning process. The presentation was augmented with never-before-seen renderings of what the firm envisions for the area, which is bound by Fourth and Second streets, and Colorado Avenue and Broadway.

“We want to make sure it works for us, but you too,” said Robyn Young, manager of development marketing for Macerich Co. “Before, it was not knowing how much we misread the community, but now we know.”

What Macerich interpreted from residents was that the mall’s size needs to be in reasonable scale; should connect better with the Civic Center, the pier, the Third Street Promenade and other areas of downtown; have open air; be environmentally friendly; focused predominately on retail; and parking and traffic should be minimized as much as possible.

“Our thinking is that staying within the confines,traffic and parking issues will be minimal,” said Robert Aptaker, vice present of real estate for Macerich Co., which has corporate offices at 410 Wilshire Blvd. and is a publicly-traded real estate investment trust that owns about 75 others malls across the country.

Macerich hopes to find a better mix of retailers and reconfigure the mall to give it a stronger connection to the Promenade and a new commercial development known as The Village, to be located just south of the mall, across from City Hall.

“Right now, Santa Monica Place is a barrier, it serves as a fortress,” Aptaker said of the mall’s boxy mass, which ends at the south portion of the Promenade, blocking pedestrian traffic from Second and Fourth streets, and the Pier.

“We want to capitalize on the energy of Third Street,” he told the Pico group.

Although plans are very preliminary, the mall’s ground-level food court would be moved to a third-floor patio overlooking the ocean. The current food court, located on the bottom level of the mall’s entrance at the Promenade, would become an extension of the outdoor, public pedestrian shopping corridor. Elevators and escalators would take people to the mall’s three levels.

The redevelopment would be in the current footprint and may have less square footage than what is already there. There is no plan yet for what retail would go into the Robinsons-May space. There will be no demolishing of parking structures, or Macy’s and there will be no housing or offices.

“But whatever we do, it’s got to make economic sense,” Aptaker said.

A retail feasibility study will be done by San Francisco-based Jeff Green Partners, a retail consulting firm.

Macerich representatives said they have no timeline as to when they want the project completed,but added that the mall will close for redevelopment once a project has been approved.

Aptaker said he hopes to get more ideas out of the community meetings.

“Every time we go to these meetings people ask a lot of good questions that we had-n’t thought of,” he said.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 15, 2006.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/071506.pdf?ref=smdp.com)