Local 20 WEEKEND EDITION, SEPTEMBER 15-16, 2007 A newspaper with issues Mall remodel gets Council’s OK TOWERS OF BABBLE
DOWNTOWN The owners of Santa Monica Place cleared a major hurdle towards redesigning the aging structure earlier this week, when the city’s Redevelopment Agency — comprised of the seven City Council members — unanimously approved its latest proposal for the Frank Gehry-designed shopping mall.
The vote Tuesday gave Santa Monica-based Macerich Co. the go-ahead to amend existing agreements for the construction, operation and maintenance of a redesigned mall and adjacent parking structures.
“We’re very pleased that the Santa Monica City Council unanimously approved our plans,” said Bob Aptaker, vice president of development for Macerich, one of the largest retail real estate investment trusts in the nation with 73 regional shopping centers in its portfolio.
“While there are several important steps still ahead in the approval process, we’re encouraged and we’re also very appreciative of this community,” Aptaker added. “We’re looking forward to building a great new Santa Monica Place.”
Macerich has already received the approval of the Planning Commission and now must go before the Arts Commission, Architectural Review Board and the California Coastal Commission. Macerich officials said they hope to have the mall up and running by Fall 2009.
City Staff, along with downtown business owners, residents and elected officials, all feel that a remodeled mall will not only be a tremendous asset for the community, bringing in more tax revenue to help pay for programs and services, but will also create a new energy and pedestrian flow in Downtown, finally connecting the Third Street Promenade to the Civic Center and Main Street.
The reason being, Macerich plans to tear the roof off the enclosed mall, which was designed by famed architect Gehry, and create an open-air, multilevel complex that will be somewhat of an extension of the promenade, not a “plug” as Councilman Kevin McKeown described it.
The proposed project will retain the two anchor department store buildings — one of which has yet to be leased, the other being Macy’s — and maintain the existing building height of 56 feet, while reducing leasable square footage by 10,234 square feet. The project would remain within the existing footprint of the current mall, placing the project in the category of adaptive reuse and not an expansion.
Macerich has agreed to make improvements to the streetscape on Colorado Avenue and the sidewalk paving on Second and Fourth Streets, and upgrade the elevators and staircases in the two city-owned parking structures attached to the mall.
Macerich officials have had meetings with Macy’s, one of the anchors, to see if the department store giant would be willing to do some upgrades to its store so that it is more pedestrian friendly, Aptaker said. As it stands today, the Macy’s building has no real presence on Fourth Street except a large, blank wall, making it feel cold and uninviting. Macy’s officials seem open to the idea, but there are no guarantees.
“We met with Macy’s big-wigs to carry the message we heard from this community,” Aptaker said. “We tried to sell them on everything Santa Monica has to offer … I think they understand that, but are concerned about being closed (for construction). They do understand that they have a good piece of real estate. I think they will ultimately do something. I hope that they will do it in conjunction with our project … but we can’t force them.”
Officials and the public both praised Macerich for its extensive community outreach campaign, something which officials at the trust admitted they needed to do to repair relationships with residents after they proposed a plan two-and-a-half years ago to tear down the 27-year-old mall and replace it with three high-rise office and condo towers.
That plan shocked residents and some council members, who ultimately ordered Macerich to go back to the drawing board. During a series of 14 community meetings, Macerich heard from residents and incorporated six key elements identified by residents and business owners.
These elements are: • Build something of reasonable scale, in line with Santa Monica’s aesthetic sensibilities: • Create a better connection with the promenade; • Include open-air, views and street-retail elements; • Develop an environmentally sound project; • Make retail the primary use at the mall; • Pay attention to traffic and parking. “In terms of urban design, this (new proposal) is such a positive project for the city,” said City Hall Panning Director Eileen Fogarty. “The mall, which has been an asset and the city’s living room, can now be integrated into a project that looks outward with improved pedestrian orientation and streetscape.”
One resident, Cecilia Pierson said she is “excited” about the possibility of having a new mall up and running time for her to do her Christmas shopping in 2009 because she currently has to drive out of Santa Monica to do most of her shopping.
“I live in Santa Monica. I work in Santa Monica, but I don’t shop very often in Santa Monica. But after looking at this project, I’m hoping this will change,” Pierson said. “I love going up and down Third Street, but I never go into Santa Monica Place because it’s very closed off. It doesn’t feel very welcoming.”
She wasn’t the only one who was concerned about the mall being closed off. McKeown voiced concern about flow and how the mall, which is owned by a private company, would mesh with the promenade, which is technically a public street that is open 24 hours a day to pedestrians, even though activity shuts down at 2 a.m. when bars close.
“Will someone walking down Third Street feel a different sense of welcome?” McKeown asked Aptaker. “I want to make very sure we don’t put something in place that (is in conflict with) the carefully crafted set of rules and polices in place for the Third Street Promenade.”
Aptaker said Macerich will have around-the-clock security and are considering using bollards like those on the promenade to keep vehicles out and to let pedestrians know that the shopping center is closed.
As part of the negotiations that will take place before construction begins, city staff will talk with Macerich about hours of operation, security and access.
Traffic was also a major concern. McKeown and a representative from the Santa Monica Coalition for a Livable City said current methods for measuring traffic impacts are not adequate and will not give a true representation of the amount of people who will be driving to the center, which is expected to draw a considerably more shoppers than it does today.
“A key question has been asked at every single community meeting held by Macerich on new plans for Santa Monica Place,” said Diana Gordon, spokesperson for the coalition. “How is the city going to understand and calibrate the new traffic impacts from a successful revamp of the mall?
“Council members didn’t get an answer when the question was asked earlier in the evening, and they are not going to with the traffic studies in the staff report,” Gordon said. “The community has no confidence in the current traffic studies.”
City planners said traffic impacts will be studied as part of the development process, and traffic measurement methodology will be studied as part of the update to the city’s Land Use and Circulation Element, or LUCE, which will dictate how land is used in Santa Monica for the next 20 years or more.
Overall, the project received the blessing of elected officials, residents and the business community, all of whom believe a remodeled mall will be key to downtown’s success.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 15, 2007. Read the original PDF.