Billionaire developer Rick Caruso urges builders to invest in Palisades after reopening Palisades Village
Billionaire developer Rick Caruso is pressuring property owners and major retailers to rebuild in Pacific Palisades, pointing to strong turnout at his reopened Palisades Village as proof the fire-ravaged community is ready for businesses to return“This message goes out to my fellow commercial property owners and big tenants that used to be in the Palisades.I really encourage you to look forward with confidence,” Caruso said in one-minute video posted on X Tuesday.Caruso also urged developers and other commercial property owners to “take the lead” by investing in the neighborhood, saying their return could help give homeowners confidence to rebuild and move back.“We need to take the lead and show our confidence, and everybody else is gonna benefit from that in rebuilding their homes and moving back in the neighborhood,” he said.In an accompanying post on X, Caruso called out Ralphs and Gelson’s, writing that the community “needs a traditional market.”Gelson’s has already expressed a firm intention to return. The grocer announced in March that it plans to rebuild its Pacific Palisades store at its longtime location at 15424 Sunset Blvd.
The company said it was moving forward with the rebuilding process, but no construction timeline or reopening date has been set.Gelson’s has said its Pacific Palisades store had been part of the community for decades and that it intends to return in a way that reflects its long-term investment in the neighborhood. Ralphs also has expressed interest in returning to the Palisades, according to numerous reporting but no reopening date has been announced.A June economic update from the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp.
listed both Gelson’s and Ralphs as planning to rebuild. The California Post has reached out to Ralphs and Gelson’s for comment.In a new press release shared Wednesday, the former mayoral candidate boasted about the success of the reopening of the Village.“The response this ...