What’s in store for mall? Rob-May deal is key
CITYWIDE — Plans to re-develop Santa Monica’s downtown indoor shopping mall have been put on hold until the fate of one of its fashion retailers is revealed.
The owner of Santa Monica Place mall recently announced it will postpone plans to re-construct its downtown retail establishment until an agreement is made allowing planners to incorporate the closure of Robinsons-May into the design scheme.
Representatives from Macerich, Inc., the national mall operator which owns Santa Monica Place, would not speculate when new proposals may come forward. As a result of its Aug. 8 announcement, however, the first public look at any redevelopment proposals will likely not come forward in September, as originally planned.
The news follows a July 28 announcement that Federated Department Stores, Inc., a national retailer which owns Macy’s, will sell 68 “duplicate” stores in malls occupied by both Macy’s and Robinsons-May as result of a merger. Federated representatives said the local Robinsons-May store will likely be sold off in 2006. Santa Monica Place, located between Second and Fourth streets and Broadway and Colorado avenues, is anchored by dual department stores Macy’s and Robinsons-May, the latter occupying 137,000 square feet of retail space.
Randy Brant, senior vice president of development leasing for Macerich, said that until Federated announces what will replace the Robinsons-May store, plans to move forward on the mall’s re-development will have to wait.
“Macerich has no choice but to stop all work on a plan that may not be viable if Rob-May is sold to another retailer and is not willing to work with us on what was being considered as a result of our community outreach program,” Brant said.
Brant did not speculate on what may occur once the fate of Robinsons-May is known, including how it might affect the public process that has taken place so far to help “reimagine” Santa Monica Place.
During that public process, staged in the spring, nearly 2,000 residents responded to a questionnaire — and 300 took part in community workshops — in which they outlined what they would like to see replace the mall.
To help expedite the process, Macerich is working with Federated to see if it might be able to acquire the Rob-May site.
“Macerich is interested in controlling in our portfolio all that is planned to be closed as a result of the Federated Rob- May merger,” Brant said.
According to Brant, the indoor shopping mall needs to be re-developed because it was based on an old, out-dated suburban model that does not compete well with shops on the Third Street Promenade.
The question of what kind of development should replace Santa Monica Place is one the city has been grappling with in recent years.
The City Council scrapped a proposed development to replace Santa Monica Place last year due to controversy about the height of high-rise buildings that were slated for the site. If implemented, the project would have demolished the existing mall and erected three 21-story residential towers, an eight-story office building and an eight-story apartment building. Those buildings were to be built on top of a new outdoor mall, which developers described as a natural extension of the Third Street Promenade.
Macerich has culled public comment from the workshops, surveys and other outreach in order for consultants to come up with proposals to help re-configure Santa Monica Place.
Assistant City Manager Gordon Anderson said City Hall has been authorized by the City Council to spend in the range between $150,000 and $250,000 to hire Moore Iacofano, and another consulting firm, Keyser Marston Associates, to facilitate the creation of a project that falls within nine council-directed guidelines intended to better satisfy the public’s vision for the Santa Monica Place site.
These replacement concepts will eventually be presented to the City Council and the public for final approval, Anderson said. Macerich, the developer, will then reimburse the city for the costs of the consulting services.
Rob York, a financial analyst familiar with downtown business issues, said it would be in Macerich’s best interest if it purchased Robinsons-May because it would allow Macerich to be able to manage and control the process.
Diana Gordon, spokeswoman for the Santa Monica Coalition for a Livable City (SMCLC) — a non-profit group of residents suing City Hall to better understand what re-development plans might be underway — said that the postponement will benefit residents and may provide further opportunities for discussion.
Gordon said Santa Monica Place could be incorporated into the city’s two-year, ongoing overhaul to its general plan, called “shape the future.”
Currently, the Santa Monica Place site has been dealt with as a separate issue from the general plan, which Gordon said may not be appropriate.
“The city is asking residents to envision the future of Santa Monica, and at the same time, it was essentially giving Macerich a green light to proceed without regard to what that process would be, and the two should be intertwined,” Gordon said. “Macerich and the city have been asking residents to re-imagine Santa Monica Place, but now it’s their turn, because, depending on what happens with (Rob-May), there are new re-configurations for a smaller site.
“This project should not come online for approval until the general plan updates are done.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 23, 2005. Read the original PDF.