Yet another big Orange County shopping mall is up for a mixed-use makeover.
Yesterday, Shopoff Realty Investments announced plans to redevelop portion of the Westminster Mall, which flanks the 405 freeway at the intersection of Bolsa Avenue and Edwards Street, and the 405 Freeway. The approximately 26-acre development, dubbed Bolsa Pacific at Westminster, would replace a Macy's department store and a shuttered sears which bookend the mall.
Street-level view of Bolsa PacificAO
“Together with the City of Westminster, we are envisioning a vibrant center where housing, hospitality, retail and nature come together,” said Shopoff Realty president and chief executive officer William A. Shopoff in a news release. “This community will help to reinvigorate the local economy and bring value to the county and surrounding neighborhoods, elevating this prime piece of Orange County real estate into its highest and best use.”
Plans call for the construction of three new apartment buildings, totaling 1,065 residential units, as well as 102 for-sale townhomes. Other components of the project include a 175-room hotel and approximately 25,000 square feet of shops and restaurants - including a food hall.
AO is designing the project, alongside landscape architecture firm MJS, which would include contemporary buildings rising up to six stories in height. A site plan show that apartments would sit along the east side of the mall, while a hotel would face Bolsa Avenue to the south. Additional townhomes and apartments would rise along the west side of the mall, adjacent to Edwards Street.
Street-level view of Bolsa PacificAO
Approximately 2.5 acres of the development site would be used as a new park space, featuring pathways and connections to nearby trails. Plans also call for an amphitheater, outdoor dining spaces, a dog park, and a garden.
The top desire from city community surveys was the need for green spaces, gathering space and open seating, which Shopoff is meeting with a 2.5-acre park, open space promenades and interconnectivity to biking and walking trails. This community hub will consist of an amphitheater, outdoor dining, retail pavilions, a dog park and garden trail, with plans to connect to a nearby regional bicycle trail. A food hall will be accessible from both the park and Bolsa Ave.
Shopoff aims to break ground on Bolsa Pacific in 2025.
Site plan for Bolsa PacificAO
The project is the latest example of a growing trend among owners of large shopping centers such as the Westminster Mall, who have looked to pivot as the market for retail changes in the age of online shopping. DJM, owner of the Bella Terra mall in Huntington Beach, has secured approvals to add more than 300 apartments to the complex. Related Cos. has announced plans for an even grander project at the Metro Town Square Mall in Santa Ana - a mixed-use complex with more than 4,000 homes, a hotel, and other commercial spaces.
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