Notorious dead mall in Westminster is on track for redevelopment

This is read by an automated voice.Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.

Westminster Mall, a once-popular shopping center that has been desecrated by graffiti and vandalism since it closed last year, is on track for demolition soon.It will be replaced with housing, a hotel and some shops and stores, part of a nationwide trend that is seeing outdated, failed malls in high-traffic locations swapped for mixed-use development that typically includes apartments.The process is often lengthy, leaving empty malls in danger of abuse In recent weeks, videos have circulated on social media showing rampant paint tagging and destruction inside the structure that was a cultural touchstone in the Orange County city of Westminster for decades after it opened in 1974.In its heyday, the mall was a gathering spot when there were few other places to hang out.

It was where kids found the latest fashions and where “mall rats” roamed in packs after school.The owner, Irvine-based Shopoff Realty Investments, has formally finished acquiring the property visible from the 405 Freeway and announced last week that demolition of the massive indoor mall would begin by April.Target will continue to operate during this time, the owners said.The company paid nearly $93 million for the bulk of the old mall, according to real estate data provider CoStar.

Shopoff Realty acquired the mall’s former Sears and Macy’s parcels in 2022.Shopoff Realty now controls the mall and surrounding retail properties on an 89.3-acre site that it plans to turn into a mixed-use complex called Bolsa Pacific at Westminster.Plans for Bolsa Pacific call for 2,250 residences involving a mix of for-sale housing and market-rate and affordable rental housing, the developer said.The project is also to include a 120-room hotel and more than 220,000 square feet of shops and restaurants.

Bolsa Pacific is to include more than 15 acres of open space, including private spaces for residents, open-air promenades an...