The Westside Pavilion’s metamorphosis from dead mall to offices and luxe apartments is now complete.
Developer GPI Companies confirmed on Tuesday the completion of the final phase of its portion of the Westside Pavilion’s redevelopment, with the opening of the Overland & Ayres apartment building. The six-story, 200,000-square-foot community counts 201 units in what was once a 1,500-space parking garage attached to the former mall’s Macy’s.
Overland & Ayres now joins a massive amount of office space spun from what was once a shopping center. That new space includes what is known as the West End Office Complex, a 235,000-square-foot building built by GPI.
The development company acquired the former Macy’s building, parking structure and six acres of land in 2017. It then spent $350 million on the redevelopment of its portion of the former mall.
Overland & Ayres, which bills itself as a luxury property, include studios, one- and two-bedroom apartments and two-story townhomes.
For reference, a one-bedroom apartment totaling 1,052 square feet on the building’s first floor is listed on the Overland & Ayres website for $6,265 per month. A two-bedroom, 1.5-bath apartment of 1,205 square feet, also on the first floor, is $8,890 per month.
The rest of the former mall consists of the UCLA Research Park comprised of a 700,000-square-foot life sciences facility and 1,000-car parking structure. The university acquired the rest of the former mall for $700 million with the help of a $500 million investment from the state.
Decline and Fall
Westside Pavilion’s redevelopment is an example of a successful redo for what was once a tired mall. The question of what to do with those aging retail centers is happening across California and the rest of the U.S. as property owners and developers look to turn dwindling assets that lost their way with shoppers into something more relevant.
That wasn’t always the story for the Westside Pavilion.
Australia-based mall operator Westfield Group developed the Westside Pavilion on Pico Boulevard in 1985. The property bridged a May Company store, which later evolved into Macy’s following mergers and acquisitions over the years, and a building housing Nordstrom. An expansion to the mall came in 1991 to bring more restaurants and retailers to shoppers.
Westside Pavilion also became the backdrop for multiple films, music videos and TV shows, including “Clueless” and an episode of “Modern Family.”
Even with several additions to expand the property and renovations in the years after its initial construction, the mall began to lose steam in the late ’90s.
Westside Pavilion was dealt a major blow when Nordstrom moved to the renovated Westfield Century City in 2017. Macy’s closed a year later.
To address the retail challenges, Santa Monica mall REIT Macerich and Los Angeles-based Hudson Pacific Properties formed a joint venture in 2018 aimed at converting the retail into offices for Google.
Macerich held a 25 percent stake in the joint venture, while Hudson Pacific owned the remainder.
Plans changed, however, when UCLA announced its deal to purchase the roughly 687,000-square-foot property last January.
Be First to Comment