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37-448: May Centers , a subsidiary of The May Department Stores Company , which then owned the St. Louis, Missouri -based department store Famous-Barr , announced plans to build Northland Shopping Center in 1954. Under these plans, a four-story 325,000-square-foot (30,200 m) Famous-Farr store would be the central anchor store . At time of construction, this would be the biggest department store in

74-469: A Macy's in 1996 which closed 3 years later and became a three-story Walmart store in 2002. Lucky's supermarket became an Albertsons in mid-1999 after being purchased by the grocer. In early 2005, global investors Capri Capital Partners purchased the shopping mall. In September 2006, the Robinsons-May store rebranded as Macy's , making its second entry to the mall after a 7-year hiatus since

111-418: A 400-room hotel, office space and additional stores. The mall has been seeking a buyer who would build out the approved plan. The sale has been challenged with community protests including a group of neighborhood activists who made a play to acquire the property and develop it as a community-owned project. In 2021, Harridge Development Group bought the mall for about $ 111 million. The Broadway-Crenshaw Center

148-617: A bowling alley, and a movie theater. In 1987, Kmart eliminated all stores in the S. S. Kresge division. In July 1992, then owner CenterMark Properties (formerly May Centers, a subsidiary of May Department Stores), sold the ailing Northland Shopping Center to San Antonio -based Spigel Properties for an undisclosed amount, just a year before CenterMark was sold to a consortium headed by Des Moines -based General Growth Properties and also included Australia -based Westfield Holdings Ltd. and Whitehall Street Real Estate L.P. III , an investment partnership formed by Goldman, Sachs & Co. At

185-429: A massive renovation that started in mid-1986. Much of the original building was demolished. A two-level, enclosed regional shopping mall structure was built in its place and included a new Sears as the third anchor. The Broadway and May Company anchor stores were connected with a covered pedestrian bridge over Santa Barbara Avenue. The original May Company building became Robinsons-May in 1993. On July 12, 1995,

222-473: A relocated Schnucks grocery store was announced as the second major tenant. Sansone Group sold the shopping center to Chicago -based Newport Capital Partners in 2015. Target closed in 2016. CenterMark Properties Prudential Insurance (1992-1993) CenterMark , formerly known as May Centers , was a mall development company owned by a consortium of Westfield Holdings Ltd., General Growth Properties , and Whitehall Street Real Estate L.P. III . And it

259-546: Is excellent example of Streamline Moderne architecture. Loading was done below ground via an underground service tunnel stretching the length of the property. The Broadway-Crenshaw Center covered a gross area of 550,000 square feet (51,000 m ) on 35 acres (140,000 m ) with 13 acres (53,000 m ) of parking space for 7000 cars per days along Santa Barbara Avenue (now MLK Boulevard). Silverwoods opened April 8, 1949, 22,500 square feet (2,090 m ), in size, Albert B. Gardener, architect. More retail stores were added to

296-527: The St. Louis Post-Dispatch described Northland as "the first auto age shopping center in the metropolitan area" and noted that the center's revenues had allowed for construction of sewer lines to accommodate newer housing developments surrounding the property. A directory published that same year indicated over 50 shops, including Lerner New York (now known as New York & Company ), Walgreens , Schnucks , Waldenbooks , RadioShack , Hickory Farms , Kinney Shoes ,

333-468: The 1994 Northridge earthquake , May and its successor Macy's were unable to dispose of the property until 2014. In 1988, May Centers almost sold La Jolla Village Square to T&S Development, but the deal fell apart at the last minute. Four years later, May Centers was finally able to sell La Jolla Village Square to Gordon/Beck Ventures in 1992 after a number of years of trying to locate a buyer for this particular property. In July 1992, May Centers as

370-564: The Black community in ways that have been fair to the Black community." Gross and his group of investors had offered $ 110 million to acquire the shopping center. Gross considers this mall dear to his heart because due to a fact in the community he has grew up in. In January 2023, Macy's announced their store at the center would close. Macy's closed in March 2023, leaving the mall with no traditional anchors left. As African Americans began moving to

407-658: The Crenshaw District and Baldwin Hills in the mid-1960s, the mall has been a major economic and cultural hub of the African American community of a spectrum of socioeconomic classes with a Black Santa Claus and dozens of minority-owned businesses are tenants. In 1976, May Company offered space to the Museum of African American Art on the third floor of what later became Macy's. Samella Lewis , who had founded

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444-482: The St. Louis area. By October 1954, several tenants had been announced for the center, including a local jewelry store, a beauty salon, and a dry cleaners. Famous-Barr opened for business on August 19, 1955. Edison Brothers Stores operated two shoe stores at Northland: Burt's and Baker's. By the end of the month, the center's second-biggest tenant had opened as well: an S. S. Kresge Corporation dime store. A 1977 article in

481-524: The Westfield brand. Under May Department Stores ownership, the company obtained new retail projects only by creating them on previously undeveloped land. Under successive owners, the company did not develop any new properties nor purchase any new properties from other owners. The majority of the properties that were initially developed by May had become very successful and had become a part of Westfield and remain so as of January 2016. However, not all of

518-552: The complex in the early 1950s and mid 1960s, including a Desmond's department store . A bridge was built across MLK Boulevard (Santa Barbara Avenue at the time) to the north, to the May Company building that had opened on October 10, 1947. The building, although constructed by different parties, is also an excellent example of the Streamline Moderne architecture. The entire 7 acres (2.8 ha) block became part of

555-479: The end of 2020. During the transition to a new owner, community leaders and groups have expressed concern about African American ownership and participation in the project. The mall has been seeking a buyer who would build out the approved plan but the sale to LIVWRK and DFH Partners was scuttled in December 2020 after meeting with community protests. A local group called Downtown Crenshaw made an offer to purchase

592-498: The first Magic Johnson Theatres opened as a 15-screen cinema complex. The grand opening featured many well-known celebrity guest such as then Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan and others. The mall contains an additional 115 new retail and specialty shops on over 40 acres (160,000 m ) of land which is located in one of the most densely populated and busiest areas in the United States. The original Broadway building became

629-602: The first store closure in 1999. In 2010, the mall owners added a new interior embellishments, a modern and larger food court on the first level. Capri has also redesigned the theme Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Bridge to a glass see-through bridge overlooking Crenshaw Boulevard and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard . The windows created a meeting space for events such as various classes, Taste of Soul auditions, and an exercise program for senior citizens. There

666-552: The mall for more than $ 100 million with plans to convert the former Sears and Walmart into offices to drive more foot traffic into the remaining retail stores. There was strong community opposition to their plans which did not include the residential component and the sale was cancelled in June 2020. The mall was closed for much of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic . A sale to LIVWRK and DFH Partners had been expected to close before

703-563: The mall property. Renamed Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza, the new indoor shopping complex opened its doors to the public with a grand opening ceremony in November 1989 by Los Angeles mayor Tom Bradley who wanted to see a major shopping center in the neighborhood. With his encouragement to link the stores into an indoor mall, the mall's size increased to 870,000 square feet (81,000 m ). The shopping complex had undergone

740-427: The mall through a community land trust but has been turned down. With the assistance of experienced architecture firms, they created a plan that included affordable housing, a healthcare clinic, child care, satellite campuses for job training, conference spaces, and Black art spaces. The group continues to advocate for community based ownership of the mall. An offer from Harridge Development Group for about $ 111 million

777-432: The mid-1960s, the mall has become a major economic and cultural hub of surrounding African American communities which include a spectrum of socioeconomic classes. Its remaining anchor store is TJ Maxx after the closure of Macy's , Sears and Walmart . An additional net 2 million square feet (190,000 m ) of new development was approved by the city in 2018. The approved plan includes apartments, condominiums,

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814-601: The mid-1980s, the May Department Stores noticed that their company's stock was vastly undervalued and that the company was at risk of becoming a hostile takeover target, May Department Stores needed to re-purchase some of its company's stock to increase the share price. To accomplish this, they needed to obtain cash quickly, which they did by making a deal with Prudential Insurance in which the insurance company gave May $ 550 million in exchange for 50% ownership of May Centers in 1988. In 1992, Prudential purchased

851-593: The museum in 1975, wanted "to provide art services to students, scholars, teachers and lay persons concerned with the art and cultural history of the peoples of the African Diaspora ." The mall has hosted the Leimert Park Book Fair since it began in 2007. The theaters in the mall have screened movies for many of the annual Pan African Film Festival . The area is becoming more ethnically diverse and gentrified, through redevelopment within

888-830: The newly renamed CenterMark, sold the ailing Northland Shopping Center in Missouri to San Antonio-based Spigel Properties for an undisclosed amount. Westfield sold most of its St. Louis-area malls to Chattanooga-based CBL & Associates Properties . St. Clair Square was sold in 1996. Mid-Rivers Mall, South County Center, and West County Center were sold in 2007. In 2006, Westfield sold four former May Center malls to Centro Watt , an American company by that time owned by another Australian-based company Centro Properties Group . These properties include Eagle Rock Plaza, Enfield Square , West Park Mall , and Westland Towne Centre. Economically, these locations were not performing as well as they should. In 2012, Madison Marquette Retail Services

925-419: The original May properties were sold to Westfield and a few properties that Westfield purchased were later sold. Laurel Plaza is a special case. At the time of the sale of May Centers, Laurel Plaza also housed the headquarters for May Company California in addition to a regional store, so May Department Stores retained this property. May was trying to enlarge this mall in 1988. Because of damage incurred during

962-650: The rest of May Centers and renamed the company CenterMark. The following year Prudential sold CenterMark to a consortium headed by Des Moines -based General Growth Properties and also included Australia-based Westfield Holdings Ltd. and Whitehall Street Real Estate L.P. III , an investment partnership operated by Goldman, Sachs & Co. At the time of the sale, CenterMark had owned or had interest in 19 malls or shopping centers in six states. In 1996, General Growth sold its share to Westfield, which enabled Westfield to add these properties to its existing collection of properties and rebrand all of their new acquisitions to

999-677: The same day. Mall management was retained. Some of the malls that May Centers built included: Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza (alternately BHCP ) is a shopping mall located in the Baldwin Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles , California . This was one of the first regional shopping centers in the United States built specifically for the automobile. Two anchor buildings, completed in 1947, retain their original Streamline Moderne style . Since

1036-692: The second branch store of the May Company California division that opened on this site in 1947. A few years later, the May Department Stores built and opened in 1955 the Northland Shopping Center in Jennings, Missouri , to house one of their first suburban branch stores for their Famous-Barr department store division. In 1958, May Department Stores formed a subsidiary to handle their shopping center development which they called May Shopping Centers, Inc. During

1073-510: The site received entitlements to transform the shopping mall into a 24-hour mixed-use complex with commercial, office and residential structures. The expansion on the 43 acres (17 ha) site would include: a luxury 400-room hotel and resort, an office tower with a penthouse level, an open-air plaza , mid to high upscale restaurants, acres of public space , a multi-story parking structure and residential units with low-rise condominiums and apartments. In April 2020, CIM Group agreed to buy

1110-491: The time of the sale of the shopping center to Spigel, Famous-Barr was in the process of opening a newer store in the nearby Jamestown Mall . By early 1994, the Famous-Barr store was found to be in a state of disrepair, with portions of the store partitioned off and non-functional bathrooms. Famous-Barr finally closed their store there in June 1994. Following the closure of Famous-Barr, the center grew increasingly vacant, and

1147-475: Was accepted in 2021. They also bought the Macy's department store building in a separate transaction of more than $ 30 million which gave Harridge control of almost the entire 42-acre (17 ha) site that straddles Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Developer David Gross broke his silence on the recent sale that did not go to the local group and said that "Historically, systems and institutions have not engaged with

Buzz Westfall Plaza on the Boulevard - Misplaced Pages Continue

1184-421: Was also new paint jobs to the Macy's and the now-closed Walmart historical buildings were painted from peach to bright white. New tenants with and after the second renovation included a new Cinemark XD Extreme multiplex cinema , Pink , Victoria's Secret , Forever 21 and Lane Bryant . New restaurants included Post & Beam, Chipotle Mexican Grill and Buffalo Wild Wings . The first phase of renovation

1221-699: Was formerly owned by The May Department Stores Company until 1992, and Prudential Insurance until 1993. The company previously developed malls under the name May Centers, Inc., which was then a subsidiary of the May Department Stores Company. The first shopping center that May Department Stores developed was an open-air shopping center that first opened in 1947 that later became the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza in Los Angeles. This shopping center grew around

1258-403: Was hired to manage these properties. In November 2015, Westfield sold Westfield Carlsbad, formerly Plaza Camino Real, to Rouse Properties . On December 18, 2015, Vancouver Mall along with some other U.S. Westfield properties were sold to Centennial Real Estate Company, and "Westfield" was removed from the mall's name. Any other references to Westfield online or at the property were removed

1295-483: Was officially completed in November 2011. The original Broadway building which had become a Walmart in 2002, closed on January 17, 2016. On November 7, 2019, it was announced that Sears would be closing this location a part of a plan to close 96 stores nationwide. The store closed in February 2020, leaving Macy's as the mall's only traditional anchor. In 2017, a draft EIR was processed. With city council in 2018,

1332-466: Was purchased by Sansone Group in late 2000 for redevelopment. Demolition of the structures finally occurred in 2005 with the last business at the site closing in June. In 2006, the shopping center officially reopened as Buzz Westfall Plaza on the Boulevard after the complete demolition of the previous structures on the site. The first major tenant to open in the new complex was Target . Soon afterward,

1369-463: Was the first post-WWII open-air retail complex in the state of California. It was one of the first regional shopping centers in the United States built specifically for the automobile. The center, which opened its doors on November 21, 1947, was anchored by a 200,000 square foot (19,000 m ), five-story branch of The Broadway department store, Woolworth variety store , and Vons supermarket. The Broadway Building, designed by Albert B. Gardner,

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