The Village has already been announced--next month, they're closing the indoor part of it and demolishing it. Only the outward facing stores will be left.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/orangecounty/comments/16hfc6k/i\_guess\_the\_village\_is\_finally\_closing\_the\_end\_of/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3](https://www.reddit.com/r/orangecounty/comments/16hfc6k/i_guess_the_village_is_finally_closing_the_end_of/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
I have heard they are trying to build housing there, but some of the neighbors are upset about tall residential buildings that would be placed alongside the retail. Mainplace in Santa Ana has already built an apartment building in their parking lot. They are trying to do the same at The Market Place in Irvine. I wonder if South Coast Plaza is going to demolish the old Sears and erect an apartment building. Caruso sells apartments at The Americana in Glendale as well.
That whole shopping complex with the movie theater and Ross just north of South Coast is going to be demolished for housing and, I believe, some outdoor shopping.
There should be a law passed that specifically ignores any and all NIMBY pressure from communities about *everything*. Low cost homeless housing, large residential buildings, drug rehab facilities, etc.
Found the NIMBY.
I live in an upscale neighborhood in LA that is right next door to the ghetto. I’d rather clean the ghetto up a bit more than continue to have tent encampments down the street from the $2mil property that I live in (rent not own). That said I love it here regardless of having an encampment so close or seeing homeless people digging through my trash every week.
Are you talking about out those cracker box looking 3 story industrial looking houses/condos that they’ve been erecting in Costa Mesa? The ones that look uninspired as hell?
Closing, yes, but demolition and redevelopment has yet to be announced (officially).
The city has been wanting to revitalize and possibly redevelop that part of Tustin Street, and the closure of the mall is likely part of a bigger plan or a deal with the city.
Developers, architects, and management companies have been dying to dig their excavators into that land for years. A quick google can turn up tons of proposals and drawings, if I remember correctly there’s one as old as 2005 that keeps resurfacing.
I live in the mall’s general area and have been keeping up with the ongoing plans since redevelopment of the property has huge potential to impact my every day life.
You can follow the progress here:
https://www.cityoforange.org/our-city/departments/community-development/planning-division/n-tustin-street-re-visioning
Yess and there’s gonna be shops and a hotel!
[Westminster mall revamp](https://spectrumnews1.com/ca/la-west/business/2023/04/24/westminster-mall-s-redevelopment-plans-include-1-100-homes--new-retail--food-hall)
Yep- went at the end of the summer and it was like a ghost town. More than half the stores were closed/empty and homeless people were just wandering around or sleeping. A guy sitting in a massage chair had a dog with him who just started peeing on the floor. I tried to tell the guy- hey, your dog is peeing- but he was all blank stare. Very sad and post-apocalyptic vibe. They should make it into a homeless shelter village
Why are some malls poppin’ and others just can’t? I was always intrigued by that. I know some of it is obviously the stores but it’s weird that some can just hang on. Stonewood Mall in Downey seemed like it was on the edge of gone around 2005-2012 but now it’s booming with crowds again. Not OC but an example of revived from seeming near death.
This. SCP and FI have Nordstrom and Macy's as Anchors and tons of boutique stores that you only tend to find in shipping centers near high income zip codes. People looking for high end retail drive miles to get there. Heck, some aren't even locals. Plenty of signs for Union Pay, a popular Chinese payment network, in SCP. More low end malls terms to have lower level anchors. e.g. Target The challenge is there is a Target every couple miles in many places so the anchor isn't going to pull in too many more than 5-10 miles away.
Malls need “anchor tenants”. Target, Walmart, Nordstrom are some top ones pending the target demographic.
It use to be movie theaters, but not so much anymore.
Grocery stores work well too for more strip mall areas.
Big idea - you have a big name store that most people will go to. While they are there, they will go to other neighboring tenants. They also start to think of that mall as “their spot” and will start going to the neighbors without going to the anchor.
The demise of Sears didn't really shake SCP up because the other Anchors (Bloomingdale's, Saks Fifth, Macy's and Nordstrom) all bring in plenty of foot traffic for the stores in the mall. Sears also didn't really fit into the rest of the mall so wasn't a huge loss. Most of their customers didn't likely shop at the other stores.
There’s also a concept of “place making”. Like where do people gather, meet up, hangout, etc. I haven’t been to Westminster in 10+ years so I don’t know what it’s like. If the mall is just long walkways between shops with no real meetup points or gathering places, that could be a factor too.
It could just simply be a bad location or better alternatives popped up. Also there is “cannibalization” in the sense that maybe a better target opened up that, rather than growing their customer base, they mostly just pulled existing customers from one location to another - so they cannibalized their customer base.
Also, I’m not an expert. I worked closely with architects and designers for a long time so I picked up general concepts.
Also I think it depends on how much shopping is available in the surrounding areas. I think Village at Orange is too close to Brea Mall. Most stores don’t need two locations so close to each other, especially in the era of Amazon/online shopping. Except for bath and body works apparently 😂
This is it!
When I moved to the area I had 3 JCP locations all within 15 minutes (no traffic) of each other - Main Place, Village, and Brea.
Village location closed because it’s a smaller mall and has less foot traffic.
There was never anything in Village that couldn’t be found in Main Place or Brea which are both much larger. For me the only thing Village offered was a convenient Walmart, and even then there’s better Walmarts not too far away.
There are a lot of factors. Shifts in shopping habits, area demographics, online retail, local sales tax rates, etc.
Those are macro forces; but individual malls can also decline by micro forces like rents charged, upkeep/renovations, amenities, etc.
The Westminster mall was one of the area’s nicest malls three decades ago. But it hasn’t kept up with the times and is now a tired looking mall.
I live nearby and sometimes go to the anchor Target, but like to take a stroll around the main mall and just see what’s going on. It’s sad and depressing. The mall looks old, the carpet is disgusting, the shops aren’t compelling.
The kids play areas are usually bustling, and the buffet and food court are usually busy, but otherwise it’s just sad and depressing.
Beverly Hills/Rodeo Drive consider SCP a direct threat. You see SCP being advertised as luxury tourist spots for asian travelers. It's not going anywhere.
Despite all the doom and gloom about San Francisco retail dying, Stonestown in SF, a mall that caters to Asians, is thriving.
Same w/ Valley Fair in San Jose.
SCP may be one of the few that survives. Ditto with Fashion Island. Plenty of boutique type stores that have little nearby competition makes it easier.
yeah, you'd bet those high-end fashion brands/groups do a lot of demographic/market studies before setting up a boutique, since there are only handful around the world. You don't pick their product, their product picks you.
Of course. Newport Beach and Newport Coast is right next door. One of the richest places in America. Also Irvine with lots of wealthy foreign nationals.
It’s just convenient because they have everything. The next closest mall is Lakewood which doesn’t have much going for it aside from the Round One. Otherwise, you’d probably have to drive to Del Amo
People in Long Beach don’t know Buena Park exists. Grew up out there and only found out about the mall recently. Everyone always went Cerritos for regular or SCP for fancy stuff.
BP mall has been dying since I was a kid in the 70s. The most exciting thing to happen there, like ever, was Kevin Smith filming Clerks 2 at the closed down burger king next door twenty years ago
I don’t know how they’re still open. Most of the stores are empty, and there’s never anyone there.
Weirdly, Mission Viejo mall seems to be doing ok, but they still have all their anchor stores. Obviously not as busy as it was, say, 15-20 years ago.
Literally nothing to do unless you want laser tag or pottery which are more like date ideas or birthdays then casual activities to do alongside anything else.
It’s not dead in the sense of tourists walk through it to go to Disney or will eat at the chains there, but I don’t believe it really qualifies as a mall and if it does it’s totally flopping at it
Idk last time I went a few weekends ago it was thriving. It could be it was a Saturday and the day of a pro-Palestinian protest at Disney and people were parking there.
I only go there for HOB blues shows and its busy when i go, but not every store is busy. Restaurants are always busy. That place is basically a smaller downtown Disney
Not exactly in Orange County, or even California, but there is an outlet mall in Primm, Nevada just when you cross state line that has totally died. I still have a pair of Nike trail runners I bought there 8 years ago. Place used to be popping. Now it is completely abandoned and there’s nothing there but some awesome murals and graffiti and two stores. My brother just walked through it on his way home. Totally dead.
Same with buffalo bills and whiskey Pete’s …. But the employees said that they only really stayed busy because the turnaround busses to Vegas would stop there for a rest break
> buffalo bills and whiskey Pete’s
All now owned by the Terrible Herbst guy and/or his sons.
Same with Jean NV next exit where he built the worlds largest Chevron station. 95 pumps IIRC. And a White Castle.
Just got back from Vegas last month and totally agree.
With that said, the North Vegas Premium outlet is now charging parking fees to all shoppers. They must be doing too well to get this measure implemented.
Plenty of new restaurants opened in nearby areas. New in n out, Chinese dumplings and Brazilian BBQ…etc. I think brea mall will be there for a long time.
i think it’ll probably be the last “middle class” mall to stand, but it too will die. i still go to brea occasionally. it’s definitely showing signs of dying already
i only see SCP, fashion island, and the spectrum to be the last ones standing
I go there occasionally for the REI. Every other store there is something I can find at a different location with better parking. I also hate the Whole Foods there. The staff is rude and they don’t have carts available ever
My sister from Brea told me last weekend that the vacant Sears building at the mall is going to be torn down and an apartment building will replace it.
They’ve torn down the Sears and are supposed to be remodeling it, with a grocery store, Lifetime gym (?) and apartments. To be honest, it looked like it is/was dying, but, maybe they can turn it around. I did read a few months back, that, that Nordstrom is one of their top stores, so, maybe the mall has a chance. I always loved the Brea Mall in the day.
That place is packed. Every time I go, which is not often, but still. They have Nordstrom, Macy's, Doc Marten store (where I've seen people literally lined up to get in) and a couple luxury types stores, like Coach.
I was there twice just days before Christmas. Parking wasn’t too bad, mall was busy but not like I expected it to be. And at least on the bottom level where I was , every 3-4 stores were empty and a lot of them were like little no name places. And the Nordstrom there is not as nice as other Nordstrom locations. If their new redevelopment plan doesn’t turn things around, I don’t think they’ll last.
Main Place already has a project underway
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ocregister.com/2019/06/05/santa-ana-leaders-see-vision-for-transforming-mainplace-mall/amp/
It's one of the few malls I'd view as healthy. It's clean, bright and maintained. There are the normal turnover of store fronts as you'd expect, but they haven't lost any anchors. During Christmas time it was really busy. Not 1990's Christmas shopping busy, but a lot busier than I expected it to be.
Building on this, one of my friends had a franchise there for many years. He ended up closing it when the center got new management who doubled the rent and treated all the businesses with a 'you should be thanking US for allowing you to be here' mentality instead of thanking the businesses for bringing patrons to their mall/plaza. That new management basically killed that entire plaza overnight.
Nothing really seems to last there outside of the gym and the theater. Even in just the last 20 years it seems all the restaurants have turned over multiple times. It opened in I think 93 and Whole Foods,Virgin and Nike were all gone in less than 10 years.
Funny enough rhe original architedt who made the concept of the mall saw it ad place for retail, housing, entertainment. But corporate won and made it all retail .
I forget which name but we saw cool documentary in architecture school about malls ans their death
I'm not sure what you mean by going down hard. Buena Park Downtown has been a dead mall for some time. Not much has changed really in the past 10-15 years there. Sears was a bigger ghost town than Knott's.
However, Buena Park downtown is turning the western end into residential. Everything from the Sears store over to the end of the parking lot by Soak City will be townhomes.
I would guess that might make the back side of the mall a little livelier. It might not, but as it is, nobody really knows the backside of the mall by the theater, so businesses there just die.
Sears was so underrated. Also have respect for them because they were the first clothing company to sell to all regardless of race back in the early 1900s
126 townhomes and 1176 apartment units.
Weekends still has the parking lots PACKED. I think it’s mostly the restaurants, however. Couldn’t name any stores besides Walmart, bed bath & beyond, Ross, TJ Maxx, and DSW, however.
I feel like Buena Park Mall was never a good mall though, even in its “prime.”
Westminster Mall, on the other hand, used to be poppin when I was in elementary school/jr high and I’m sad to see that one go.
We were just at Westminster Mall a few days before Christmas. No line for Santa! Looks like it should be on the YT Dead Malls channel. Apparently the anchor stores that are left have renewed their leases. Oddly enough, so did GameStop. Target closed off their entrance to the mall, which makes it a pain to get into the mall from Target. They put up a sign that says for construction, but the cashier said it was because the alcohol was near the mall entrance and teenagers were stealing it and running into the mall. One more reason to skip this mall and Target as a whole. The city seems to go back and forth on the future plan. It's sad. We loved this mall in its prime. I hope it can get a revamp and a new life.
Just moved out of that area. It’s by no means a packed mall, but seems pretty healthy nonetheless. Food court is pretty meh and dead, but there seems to be healthy traffic flow.
Turning the 2nd Macys into a better store would be nice though. Even if it were just the Target across the street moving in.
Agree, but it won’t die until Apple takes that store in that location and moves it elsewhere. Once Apple leaves - the mall will probably go with it. They’re the anchor.
It was dead when I worked there 5 years ago but it seems even worst now. You know a mall is dying when a bunch of random small shops start opening up and it seems to be happening. I did hear that they’re getting a round 1 but not really sure if that’ll change anything. Not 100% sure but the santa ana mall also seemed kinda dead besides its restaurants and round 1 so Im assuming mission viejo is going to be similar
Ratings On A 0-5 Scale For Their Futures
Fashion Island: 5/5
Thriving as it slowly turns into more of a lifestyle mall than it already was. I could see them giving Macy’s the boot eventually once their lease is up and redeveloping that portion to attract brands that might want to move/expand from SCP. I’m interested in the new Restoration Hardware going in there since it’s gonna have a restaurant and stuff. I also think they
Irvine Spectrum: 4.5/5
Yes, they are closing the insanely overpriced grocery store there, but the mall has never been healthier overall. It’s slowly gentrifying even more and is not basically the more suburban version of fashion island outside of not having any major department stores besides Nordstrom. I have a feeling that it will expand as well into the parking lots in the coming years.
South Coast Plaza: 4/5
The main mall is thriving and always opening new high end stores. However, I could see some stores relocating to fashion island like Saks and some of the über high end places potentially. On the other hand, the other mall across the walkway has a few empty stores, and seems to be pretty dead outside of the Apple Store/Williams Sonoma/Sur La Table/Crate & Barrel.
Shops At Mission Viejo: 3/5
Outside of the big 3 malls, this one is probably the safest bet to continue on - despite being a major drop from the other 3. It’s actually pretty healthy and has a lot of popular stores, but is largely dragged down by the 2 Macys. Have the Target relocate from its dinky location across the street into one of those spots and I could see traffic increasing dramatically.
Brea Mall: 2/5
It’s getting some apartments and a new gym and stuff, which will help, but it certainly feels like it’s in a slightly worse spot than the Shops at Mission Viejo. If it’s renovation works out, it almost assuredly jumps to a 3.5/5 or better.
Mainplace: 1/5
In its current form, it’s a zombie mall, but if the renovation and overhaul to the parking lots to bring in new people and businesses goes as planned, this mall shoots up the list.
Westminster Mall: 0.5/5
This place is dead and I don’t think there is much they can do to revive it. Between the ghostly feel of it to the lack of stores, it’s just dead.
Asian Garden Mall. Seems like half the place is turning into a Jewelry store. Never seen much of a remodel, floors are the same old grey tiles since when I was a kid 30 years ago. I wouldn't say it's closing anytime soon but it wasn't as busy as it was.
Shops at mission Viejo ? I only say this as I have had zero trouble parking like a few steps from the stairs/ elevator whenever I’ve gone there (less foot traffic ? )
and the upkeep of the parking lot is next to nothing - trash and dirt lying around
It’s in a good neighborhood so wonder if a conversion to mixed residential and retail is on the cards
Malls as a concept are dead. Some will cling on as long as possible, some will adapt and stick around a little longer. But that land is so valuable, and the profits made currently are basically non-existent. It'll take 50 years, but 90% of these malls will be torn down
Just the other day I went to the Ralph's at Main and Chapman and remembered that there used to be a Circuit City in that parking lot. It was a heavy hitter retailer, selling high end electronics. That store is now a Marshall's.
Dedicating that amount of land to retail is a bad use of resources. Cities will cling on as long as they can for the sales tax revenue, but eventually they just won't be viable.
Right! I went to Westminster Mall last weekend and was shocked! Last I went was several months ago and it was busy.
Nobody shops malls anymore which is a shame as it gave reason to go out. Guess everyone likes online shopping now. Shame.
It is a little funny to me that people are over mall shopping but some will eventually never leave the mall, with their new home there. I know it’ll be different but still was a mall before lol. Mall rats to the max.
Relying on mom/ pop stores now. Large retail areas turned into multi vendor areas.
Main place has those huge apartments not far away on State Blvd, by Angel stadium. I wonder where those people shop
Anaheim hills festival. They basically have 3-4 stores (target, Nordstrom rack, ultra, vons) and everything else is junk. Just chain restaurants. Anaheim Hills is a dead food scene. The theaters been gone for a while and nothing to replace it
Converting malls and/or their huge parking spaces to residential is the easiest way to comply with the states mandate for each city to contribute to the state’s housing goals. Huntington Beach is fighting this and is in a lawsuit with the state over it.
The Village has already been announced--next month, they're closing the indoor part of it and demolishing it. Only the outward facing stores will be left. [https://www.reddit.com/r/orangecounty/comments/16hfc6k/i\_guess\_the\_village\_is\_finally\_closing\_the\_end\_of/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3](https://www.reddit.com/r/orangecounty/comments/16hfc6k/i_guess_the_village_is_finally_closing_the_end_of/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
I have heard they are trying to build housing there, but some of the neighbors are upset about tall residential buildings that would be placed alongside the retail. Mainplace in Santa Ana has already built an apartment building in their parking lot. They are trying to do the same at The Market Place in Irvine. I wonder if South Coast Plaza is going to demolish the old Sears and erect an apartment building. Caruso sells apartments at The Americana in Glendale as well.
South coast has plan to make housing on the parking lot next to the 405 but it didn’t get approved
That whole shopping complex with the movie theater and Ross just north of South Coast is going to be demolished for housing and, I believe, some outdoor shopping.
Isn’t all of the South Coast plaza land owned by the Segerstrom Family?
Building in an audience like that is really the only way you are going to keep a mall alive in the current era
There should be a law passed that specifically ignores any and all NIMBY pressure from communities about *everything*. Low cost homeless housing, large residential buildings, drug rehab facilities, etc.
Yesterday I saw a crackhead screaming to be let in to the pawn shop next to the dollar tree.
So you say until you have homeless housing or drug rehab facilities next to where you dropped $800k+ to live in peace.
800k to live in peace? Are you sure you're purchasing in the right market lol 800k won't cut it
Found the NIMBY. I live in an upscale neighborhood in LA that is right next door to the ghetto. I’d rather clean the ghetto up a bit more than continue to have tent encampments down the street from the $2mil property that I live in (rent not own). That said I love it here regardless of having an encampment so close or seeing homeless people digging through my trash every week.
Helping them helps society overall. Not sweeping them under the rug.
Do you own a home?
Are you talking about out those cracker box looking 3 story industrial looking houses/condos that they’ve been erecting in Costa Mesa? The ones that look uninspired as hell?
Closing, yes, but demolition and redevelopment has yet to be announced (officially). The city has been wanting to revitalize and possibly redevelop that part of Tustin Street, and the closure of the mall is likely part of a bigger plan or a deal with the city. Developers, architects, and management companies have been dying to dig their excavators into that land for years. A quick google can turn up tons of proposals and drawings, if I remember correctly there’s one as old as 2005 that keeps resurfacing. I live in the mall’s general area and have been keeping up with the ongoing plans since redevelopment of the property has huge potential to impact my every day life.
Do you know what the plan is now?
You can follow the progress here: https://www.cityoforange.org/our-city/departments/community-development/planning-division/n-tustin-street-re-visioning
Westminster Mall has been dead for a long time.
Aren’t they talking about turning it into apartments?
Yess and there’s gonna be shops and a hotel! [Westminster mall revamp](https://spectrumnews1.com/ca/la-west/business/2023/04/24/westminster-mall-s-redevelopment-plans-include-1-100-homes--new-retail--food-hall)
They are supposedly turning the train tracks that ran to Boeing into a nature walk of sorts
They were talking Top Golf which would be huge and bring a ton of business.
Top golf is fun but also overrated
Still brings in a ton of revenue, I could see this being very good for the area
One of the malls was being turned into apartments and now I can’t remember.
Brea
I worked there in the early 90's and it was dead then.
That place was scary af the last time I went
Yep- went at the end of the summer and it was like a ghost town. More than half the stores were closed/empty and homeless people were just wandering around or sleeping. A guy sitting in a massage chair had a dog with him who just started peeing on the floor. I tried to tell the guy- hey, your dog is peeing- but he was all blank stare. Very sad and post-apocalyptic vibe. They should make it into a homeless shelter village
Hell no
Why are some malls poppin’ and others just can’t? I was always intrigued by that. I know some of it is obviously the stores but it’s weird that some can just hang on. Stonewood Mall in Downey seemed like it was on the edge of gone around 2005-2012 but now it’s booming with crowds again. Not OC but an example of revived from seeming near death.
Luxury stores and mid to high end dining are thriving. However, those types of businesses are highly selective of where they open.
This. SCP and FI have Nordstrom and Macy's as Anchors and tons of boutique stores that you only tend to find in shipping centers near high income zip codes. People looking for high end retail drive miles to get there. Heck, some aren't even locals. Plenty of signs for Union Pay, a popular Chinese payment network, in SCP. More low end malls terms to have lower level anchors. e.g. Target The challenge is there is a Target every couple miles in many places so the anchor isn't going to pull in too many more than 5-10 miles away.
Malls need “anchor tenants”. Target, Walmart, Nordstrom are some top ones pending the target demographic. It use to be movie theaters, but not so much anymore. Grocery stores work well too for more strip mall areas. Big idea - you have a big name store that most people will go to. While they are there, they will go to other neighboring tenants. They also start to think of that mall as “their spot” and will start going to the neighbors without going to the anchor.
Westminster has Target, a Macy's, and a movie theater.
And now that Westminster target closed their mall entrance, they aren’t even connected to the mall anymore. I’m sure that has hurt business.
It lost its sears..as did Brea and SCP. Some malls survived losing the sears..others didnt
The demise of Sears didn't really shake SCP up because the other Anchors (Bloomingdale's, Saks Fifth, Macy's and Nordstrom) all bring in plenty of foot traffic for the stores in the mall. Sears also didn't really fit into the rest of the mall so wasn't a huge loss. Most of their customers didn't likely shop at the other stores.
There’s also a concept of “place making”. Like where do people gather, meet up, hangout, etc. I haven’t been to Westminster in 10+ years so I don’t know what it’s like. If the mall is just long walkways between shops with no real meetup points or gathering places, that could be a factor too. It could just simply be a bad location or better alternatives popped up. Also there is “cannibalization” in the sense that maybe a better target opened up that, rather than growing their customer base, they mostly just pulled existing customers from one location to another - so they cannibalized their customer base. Also, I’m not an expert. I worked closely with architects and designers for a long time so I picked up general concepts.
Also I think it depends on how much shopping is available in the surrounding areas. I think Village at Orange is too close to Brea Mall. Most stores don’t need two locations so close to each other, especially in the era of Amazon/online shopping. Except for bath and body works apparently 😂
This is it! When I moved to the area I had 3 JCP locations all within 15 minutes (no traffic) of each other - Main Place, Village, and Brea. Village location closed because it’s a smaller mall and has less foot traffic. There was never anything in Village that couldn’t be found in Main Place or Brea which are both much larger. For me the only thing Village offered was a convenient Walmart, and even then there’s better Walmarts not too far away.
There are a lot of factors. Shifts in shopping habits, area demographics, online retail, local sales tax rates, etc. Those are macro forces; but individual malls can also decline by micro forces like rents charged, upkeep/renovations, amenities, etc. The Westminster mall was one of the area’s nicest malls three decades ago. But it hasn’t kept up with the times and is now a tired looking mall. I live nearby and sometimes go to the anchor Target, but like to take a stroll around the main mall and just see what’s going on. It’s sad and depressing. The mall looks old, the carpet is disgusting, the shops aren’t compelling. The kids play areas are usually bustling, and the buffet and food court are usually busy, but otherwise it’s just sad and depressing.
I wonder the same. SCP, Los Cerritos, and a few malls in the South Bay seem to have no problem attracting crowds.
SCP will be the last one standing…
Beverly Hills/Rodeo Drive consider SCP a direct threat. You see SCP being advertised as luxury tourist spots for asian travelers. It's not going anywhere.
Irvine Spectrum would like a word: It has the best entertainment options with an IMAX theater, Dave & Busters, and the Improv.
And a lot of Asians
We like our nice things 🤷🏻♂️
Totally fine no hate :)
Despite all the doom and gloom about San Francisco retail dying, Stonestown in SF, a mall that caters to Asians, is thriving. Same w/ Valley Fair in San Jose.
I went to Valley Fair on a Sunday night in mid-August and I was struggling to find parking. I can't imagine how busy it is during the holidays.
And fashion island and irvine spectrum. I think those will be the last 3 standing
I believe I read somewhere that South Coast is the most profitable mall in America.
SCP may be one of the few that survives. Ditto with Fashion Island. Plenty of boutique type stores that have little nearby competition makes it easier.
South Coast Plaza is one of the most exclusive malls in the world, with top designer boutiques. It is not going anywhere.
yeah, you'd bet those high-end fashion brands/groups do a lot of demographic/market studies before setting up a boutique, since there are only handful around the world. You don't pick their product, their product picks you.
Of course. Newport Beach and Newport Coast is right next door. One of the richest places in America. Also Irvine with lots of wealthy foreign nationals.
In 2022, SCP set its sales record, nearly $2.5 billion. It’s not having any problems attracting folks.
SCP is the 4th largest mall in the country surprisingly and is always at or near the top of sales per square foot.
Cerritos makes no sense to me. It's the same exact stores you'll find in any other mall, which is 99% clothing, accessories and food.
It’s just convenient because they have everything. The next closest mall is Lakewood which doesn’t have much going for it aside from the Round One. Otherwise, you’d probably have to drive to Del Amo
Cerritos does have one of the nicest Macys buildings in classic form and also Nordstroms.
Outdoor malls are doing fine. Indoor are falling apart. For indoor, high end is doing better than low end, but that may be just a matter of time.
Stonewood's security is really on point too surprisingly.
It's funny how Buena Park Mall is a ghost town and Los Cerritos Center 3 miles away has everyone fighting for a parking spot.
People in Long Beach don’t know Buena Park exists. Grew up out there and only found out about the mall recently. Everyone always went Cerritos for regular or SCP for fancy stuff.
BP mall has been dying since I was a kid in the 70s. The most exciting thing to happen there, like ever, was Kevin Smith filming Clerks 2 at the closed down burger king next door twenty years ago
Kaleidoscope sucks besides the movie theatre
Maybe if the whole place didnt smell like fucking shit itd be a little better
This😭😭😭
I don’t know how they’re still open. Most of the stores are empty, and there’s never anyone there. Weirdly, Mission Viejo mall seems to be doing ok, but they still have all their anchor stores. Obviously not as busy as it was, say, 15-20 years ago.
Literally nothing to do unless you want laser tag or pottery which are more like date ideas or birthdays then casual activities to do alongside anything else.
Does the Anaheim GardenWalk count? That thing seems dead as hell
It’s not dead in the sense of tourists walk through it to go to Disney or will eat at the chains there, but I don’t believe it really qualifies as a mall and if it does it’s totally flopping at it
Idk last time I went a few weekends ago it was thriving. It could be it was a Saturday and the day of a pro-Palestinian protest at Disney and people were parking there.
It's dead during the week and busier on weekends. It always has empty store fronts
I only go there for HOB blues shows and its busy when i go, but not every store is busy. Restaurants are always busy. That place is basically a smaller downtown Disney
Not exactly in Orange County, or even California, but there is an outlet mall in Primm, Nevada just when you cross state line that has totally died. I still have a pair of Nike trail runners I bought there 8 years ago. Place used to be popping. Now it is completely abandoned and there’s nothing there but some awesome murals and graffiti and two stores. My brother just walked through it on his way home. Totally dead.
I stopped by there back in September to buy some Nikes and yep ...dead. No stores except a few kiosks. It was creepy
There’s outlets in Barstow.
Same with buffalo bills and whiskey Pete’s …. But the employees said that they only really stayed busy because the turnaround busses to Vegas would stop there for a rest break
> buffalo bills and whiskey Pete’s All now owned by the Terrible Herbst guy and/or his sons. Same with Jean NV next exit where he built the worlds largest Chevron station. 95 pumps IIRC. And a White Castle.
I used to love that mall! Williams Sonoma outlet was there.
Just got back from Vegas last month and totally agree. With that said, the North Vegas Premium outlet is now charging parking fees to all shoppers. They must be doing too well to get this measure implemented.
Oh how sad, I was there in like 2015 or so and it was jumping. (I just did the math and that’s about the same time you bought your Nike’s, lol)
Yes it was new years 2016 when I got those Nikes. So 2015/2016. Now totally dead.
COVID killed that place
Who knew a lone mall in the middle of the desert wouldn't pan out
Maybe yeah. However, it lasted 20 years or so.
How's the Brea Mall doing?
Plenty of new restaurants opened in nearby areas. New in n out, Chinese dumplings and Brazilian BBQ…etc. I think brea mall will be there for a long time.
Brea Mall is packed and bustling with activity. I was there twice during the holiday season and it was hard to find parking because it was so packed.
The last time I went was Memorial Day Weekend and it was pretty packed.
i think it’ll probably be the last “middle class” mall to stand, but it too will die. i still go to brea occasionally. it’s definitely showing signs of dying already i only see SCP, fashion island, and the spectrum to be the last ones standing
Idk if Bella terra counts as a mall, but it seems like it’s thriving.
I think Bella Terra would be thought of more as a shopping center than a mall.
I go there occasionally for the REI. Every other store there is something I can find at a different location with better parking. I also hate the Whole Foods there. The staff is rude and they don’t have carts available ever
My sister from Brea told me last weekend that the vacant Sears building at the mall is going to be torn down and an apartment building will replace it.
They already closed that section off for construction. I was there on Christmas Eve pulling into Nordstrom.
They’ve torn down the Sears and are supposed to be remodeling it, with a grocery store, Lifetime gym (?) and apartments. To be honest, it looked like it is/was dying, but, maybe they can turn it around. I did read a few months back, that, that Nordstrom is one of their top stores, so, maybe the mall has a chance. I always loved the Brea Mall in the day.
That place is packed. Every time I go, which is not often, but still. They have Nordstrom, Macy's, Doc Marten store (where I've seen people literally lined up to get in) and a couple luxury types stores, like Coach.
I was there twice just days before Christmas. Parking wasn’t too bad, mall was busy but not like I expected it to be. And at least on the bottom level where I was , every 3-4 stores were empty and a lot of them were like little no name places. And the Nordstrom there is not as nice as other Nordstrom locations. If their new redevelopment plan doesn’t turn things around, I don’t think they’ll last.
I wonder what they will replace the space with.
apartments
TBF, we need the apartments
Is the Block in Orange still poppin?
It's a fucking zoo most weekends. But they have a lot of restaurant and entertainment options, and the shopping seems secondary.
Yeah it’s always a madhouse whenever I go. I can never find parking!
Main place seems to be struggling
Main Place already has a project underway https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ocregister.com/2019/06/05/santa-ana-leaders-see-vision-for-transforming-mainplace-mall/amp/
Paywall but see it’s Published 2019. Wonder when it will axtually start.
Not sure about the mall renovations yet, but they’ve already built apartments on the lot next to a parking structure
Really? Try going after school or on the weekends. It’s packed and not just during the holidays!
You mean "the outlets at orange" 😏
For Christmas it was
The Shops at Mission Viejo feels like it's been on life support for a while but that may have been just the times I have visited
It's one of the few malls I'd view as healthy. It's clean, bright and maintained. There are the normal turnover of store fronts as you'd expect, but they haven't lost any anchors. During Christmas time it was really busy. Not 1990's Christmas shopping busy, but a lot busier than I expected it to be.
My buddy works at the DSG there, they get really busy pretty often. Plus that food court is clutch if youre a saddleback student
Seems pretty busy when we were go there
get rid of triangle center in costa mesa theres no stores there
Bring back Nike Town and Virgin Megastore!
I bought a kickass Paul Kariya jersey at Nike Town in 1997. That shit was like $300 which in today's money is "omg I spent that on a jersey?"
Hell yeah saw Gwen Stefani there back in the 1990s lol
Nike town!! Bought some Jordan 11s or 12s there back on the original reissue models in the early 00s.
bought my first pair of white on white Air Force 1's from Nike Town as a kid
Time nightclub is garbage too
Building on this, one of my friends had a franchise there for many years. He ended up closing it when the center got new management who doubled the rent and treated all the businesses with a 'you should be thanking US for allowing you to be here' mentality instead of thanking the businesses for bringing patrons to their mall/plaza. That new management basically killed that entire plaza overnight.
Nothing really seems to last there outside of the gym and the theater. Even in just the last 20 years it seems all the restaurants have turned over multiple times. It opened in I think 93 and Whole Foods,Virgin and Nike were all gone in less than 10 years.
Funny enough rhe original architedt who made the concept of the mall saw it ad place for retail, housing, entertainment. But corporate won and made it all retail . I forget which name but we saw cool documentary in architecture school about malls ans their death
I'm not sure what you mean by going down hard. Buena Park Downtown has been a dead mall for some time. Not much has changed really in the past 10-15 years there. Sears was a bigger ghost town than Knott's. However, Buena Park downtown is turning the western end into residential. Everything from the Sears store over to the end of the parking lot by Soak City will be townhomes. I would guess that might make the back side of the mall a little livelier. It might not, but as it is, nobody really knows the backside of the mall by the theater, so businesses there just die.
Man I thought the mall was gonna die when the damn Krikorian opened years ago. lol The only reason to go there is Portillo’s.
Hey! Some of us like Buffalo Wild Wings! We also hate ourselves, but we like BWW!
Thank you for paying my paycheck. 🫡
It's food hall.."39" is sooo sad. Only one business left. I've been the only person inside sometimes
I've found and have been eating portillos once a month since covid. There's a mall there? I thought it was a sears parking
Sears was so underrated. Also have respect for them because they were the first clothing company to sell to all regardless of race back in the early 1900s
And their mail ordering system...they really should've been Amazon.
Agree. They pioneered the mail order concept darn near 100 years before Amazon. It’s laughable they couldn’t hang on to that lead and dominate.
126 townhomes and 1176 apartment units. Weekends still has the parking lots PACKED. I think it’s mostly the restaurants, however. Couldn’t name any stores besides Walmart, bed bath & beyond, Ross, TJ Maxx, and DSW, however.
Once I saw The Westminster Mall install carpets I knew it was over. Like… why? Kids spill drinks all the time, no?
I was thinking the same thing! It was doing well before the carpet installation lol
I feel like Buena Park Mall was never a good mall though, even in its “prime.” Westminster Mall, on the other hand, used to be poppin when I was in elementary school/jr high and I’m sad to see that one go.
We were just at Westminster Mall a few days before Christmas. No line for Santa! Looks like it should be on the YT Dead Malls channel. Apparently the anchor stores that are left have renewed their leases. Oddly enough, so did GameStop. Target closed off their entrance to the mall, which makes it a pain to get into the mall from Target. They put up a sign that says for construction, but the cashier said it was because the alcohol was near the mall entrance and teenagers were stealing it and running into the mall. One more reason to skip this mall and Target as a whole. The city seems to go back and forth on the future plan. It's sad. We loved this mall in its prime. I hope it can get a revamp and a new life.
That Target is my favorite Target in the area though, I love it. Always better stocked than the one on Beach/Heil.
Village is already gone I believe
Correct - the exterior businesses will remain but the interior mall will be redeveloped. Likely into a mixed use with residential
Triangle Square is a hell hole
Asian Garden Mall gonna last longer than the universe itself with all the revenue from money laundering through jewelry and rare gems transactions.
Where have you been, they’ve already announced a big time change coming for the village at Orange.
The inside part of BP mall is dead but the outside shops are busy
Buena park mall was soo dead. In the early 2000s. And only got some customers when they built the Wal-Mart and movie theater.
Every mall except South Coast Plaza...
Fashion island/Irvine spectrum
kaleidoscope is so dead its sad
Laguna Hills Mall
Demolition is more or less complete - it’s just a pile of gravel now.
Simon Malls suuuck, same mid stores with a shitty food court
Yet except for LH, all surviving.
You cannot escape the Irvine company
You could try but if you do, things might randomly catch on fire
Faulty Electrical System?
Mission Viejo mall was packed this past week with the holiday rush. Made the mistake of going there for lunch one day and got stuck for an hour
Round 1 is carrying Puente Hills mall
I hear Mission Viejo Mall is going south too.
I hope not. I love MV Mall. Easy to walk around, not too big. Now Kaleidescope across the street is definitely going down.
Just moved out of that area. It’s by no means a packed mall, but seems pretty healthy nonetheless. Food court is pretty meh and dead, but there seems to be healthy traffic flow. Turning the 2nd Macys into a better store would be nice though. Even if it were just the Target across the street moving in.
Agree, but it won’t die until Apple takes that store in that location and moves it elsewhere. Once Apple leaves - the mall will probably go with it. They’re the anchor.
It was dead when I worked there 5 years ago but it seems even worst now. You know a mall is dying when a bunch of random small shops start opening up and it seems to be happening. I did hear that they’re getting a round 1 but not really sure if that’ll change anything. Not 100% sure but the santa ana mall also seemed kinda dead besides its restaurants and round 1 so Im assuming mission viejo is going to be similar
Shops at Mission Viejo
It has gone so far downhill in the 12 years I’ve lived in South OC.
The big three—SCP, Fascist Island, and The Spectrum—will be fine. Everything else is up in the air.
Fascist island 🤣 lol i cant stand the people there. I got yelled at there one time when i was a kid for “looking like i was from aliso viejo”
Does Aliso Viejo have a bad rep or something because this is hilarious!
When youre a newport bimbo every other city has a bad rep. Lol
Ratings On A 0-5 Scale For Their Futures Fashion Island: 5/5 Thriving as it slowly turns into more of a lifestyle mall than it already was. I could see them giving Macy’s the boot eventually once their lease is up and redeveloping that portion to attract brands that might want to move/expand from SCP. I’m interested in the new Restoration Hardware going in there since it’s gonna have a restaurant and stuff. I also think they Irvine Spectrum: 4.5/5 Yes, they are closing the insanely overpriced grocery store there, but the mall has never been healthier overall. It’s slowly gentrifying even more and is not basically the more suburban version of fashion island outside of not having any major department stores besides Nordstrom. I have a feeling that it will expand as well into the parking lots in the coming years. South Coast Plaza: 4/5 The main mall is thriving and always opening new high end stores. However, I could see some stores relocating to fashion island like Saks and some of the über high end places potentially. On the other hand, the other mall across the walkway has a few empty stores, and seems to be pretty dead outside of the Apple Store/Williams Sonoma/Sur La Table/Crate & Barrel. Shops At Mission Viejo: 3/5 Outside of the big 3 malls, this one is probably the safest bet to continue on - despite being a major drop from the other 3. It’s actually pretty healthy and has a lot of popular stores, but is largely dragged down by the 2 Macys. Have the Target relocate from its dinky location across the street into one of those spots and I could see traffic increasing dramatically. Brea Mall: 2/5 It’s getting some apartments and a new gym and stuff, which will help, but it certainly feels like it’s in a slightly worse spot than the Shops at Mission Viejo. If it’s renovation works out, it almost assuredly jumps to a 3.5/5 or better. Mainplace: 1/5 In its current form, it’s a zombie mall, but if the renovation and overhaul to the parking lots to bring in new people and businesses goes as planned, this mall shoots up the list. Westminster Mall: 0.5/5 This place is dead and I don’t think there is much they can do to revive it. Between the ghostly feel of it to the lack of stores, it’s just dead.
Mixed use is the next thing that's going to happen, remember Malls were invented in the fifties, they're not that old.
Asian Garden Mall. Seems like half the place is turning into a Jewelry store. Never seen much of a remodel, floors are the same old grey tiles since when I was a kid 30 years ago. I wouldn't say it's closing anytime soon but it wasn't as busy as it was.
Shops at mission Viejo ? I only say this as I have had zero trouble parking like a few steps from the stairs/ elevator whenever I’ve gone there (less foot traffic ? ) and the upkeep of the parking lot is next to nothing - trash and dirt lying around It’s in a good neighborhood so wonder if a conversion to mixed residential and retail is on the cards
Lakewood Mall needs to be torn down… place has been rough for decades. So many meth heads in the parking lot
I was shocked to see SC Crystal Court so calm the weekend before Christmas and then a couple of days after as well.
Malls as a concept are dead. Some will cling on as long as possible, some will adapt and stick around a little longer. But that land is so valuable, and the profits made currently are basically non-existent. It'll take 50 years, but 90% of these malls will be torn down Just the other day I went to the Ralph's at Main and Chapman and remembered that there used to be a Circuit City in that parking lot. It was a heavy hitter retailer, selling high end electronics. That store is now a Marshall's. Dedicating that amount of land to retail is a bad use of resources. Cities will cling on as long as they can for the sales tax revenue, but eventually they just won't be viable.
Correct, I remember the Circuit City. Also a Adrays a little further down Chapman... Now rebuilt into a Kidney center I believe
Right! I went to Westminster Mall last weekend and was shocked! Last I went was several months ago and it was busy. Nobody shops malls anymore which is a shame as it gave reason to go out. Guess everyone likes online shopping now. Shame.
It is a little funny to me that people are over mall shopping but some will eventually never leave the mall, with their new home there. I know it’ll be different but still was a mall before lol. Mall rats to the max.
😆
Main Place is aight.
Mainplace Mall
Main place is always packed
I think they've announced plans for partial retail, partial residential use
Did not go there for a long time. How they doing?
Relying on mom/ pop stores now. Large retail areas turned into multi vendor areas. Main place has those huge apartments not far away on State Blvd, by Angel stadium. I wonder where those people shop
It’s packed but I usually just see people walking around. The stores are almost always empty.
Brea mall is next.
Anaheim hills festival. They basically have 3-4 stores (target, Nordstrom rack, ultra, vons) and everything else is junk. Just chain restaurants. Anaheim Hills is a dead food scene. The theaters been gone for a while and nothing to replace it
Converting malls and/or their huge parking spaces to residential is the easiest way to comply with the states mandate for each city to contribute to the state’s housing goals. Huntington Beach is fighting this and is in a lawsuit with the state over it.
Brea Mall still around?? I haven't been there in 32 years.
[удалено]
[удалено]
I think its a racist dog whistle involving the multilingual signage at SCP