Photo: Google
The site of the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza mall is under new ownership and previous redevelopment plans that would have brought 551 new condominiums, 410 apartments and a 400-room hotel to the neighborhood have been scrapped.
Capri Capital Partners sold the 40-acre, 869,000-square-foot property to CIM Group, a Los Angeles-based real estate investment firm, for more than $100 million. The developer made the announcement yesterday, noting that they plan to introduce a mix of stores, restaurants and office space.
“Since 1947 this property has been a commercial property, and although current entitlements allow residential components, we believe that residential uses are not suitable for this property and it should remain a commercial property in our repositioning,” said Shaul Kuba, Principal and Co-Founder of CIM Group, in a press release.
Two of the mall’s anchor tenants, Walmart and Sears, shuttered in 2016 and 2019, respectively. Those sprawling, vacant spaces will reportedly be renovated into offices. “We have the opportunity to bring a fresh perspective to the future of the property viewed through the lens of the current climate and the acceleration of the already declining retail environment,” said Kuba.
A previous rendering of Capri Capital Partners’ redevelopment plan (Ian Espinoza Associates)
The complex remains closed under the state’s coronavirus stay-at-home order, with the exception of restaurants offering takeout and Alberton’s supermarket. The Macy’s and IHOP locations were not included in the sale.
Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza is located midway between Downtown Los Angeles and Santa Monica. The site is a half-mile from the new Leimert Park Metro station on the Crenshaw/LAX Line, anticipated to open next year.
The previous redevelopment plans, although approved unanimously by the Los Angeles City Council in 2018, were opposed by several community groups who favored additional affordable housing requirements and feared that longtime residents would be displaced by gentrification.
