BREA, Calif. — The Brea Mall could become a mixed-use urban retail village.
The Brea city council will meet Tuesday night on whether to approve Simon Property Group's plan to redevelop a former 162,000-square-foot Sears building and parking lot on the Southwest area of the Brea Mall's 74-acre footprint.
Simon Property proposed demolishing the Sears building and parking lot to build a new mixed-use urban center on 15.5-acres consisting of a five-story 380-unit apartment above a three-story parking structure, a two-story 90,000-square-foot resort-type fitness center, and a 21,800 square foot central green space and a 13,000 square-foot plaza for outdoor gatherings.
According to the city staff, 10% of the 380 housing units will be reserved for affordable housing.
Simon Property, which has owned the mall since 1998, began the mall's re-entitlement process in 2019. In December, the city’s five-member planning commission unanimously approved the project.
The redevelopment plan comes as malls across Orange County pivot from solely retail to mixed-use housing and entertainment destinations. The coronavirus pandemic and pandemic-related stay-at-home orders accelerated the so-called retail apocalypse of brick-and-mortar stores and the popularity and convenience of e-commerce shopping.
Simon Property is the fourth mall owner in Orange County in the process of redeveloping its mall property into mixed-use urban retail village destinations.
Built in 1977, the Brea Mall is one of Simon Property’s largest malls in its portfolio, with over 1.2 million square feet of gross leasable space.
Nordstrom, JC Penney, and Macy’s anchor the mall, which is currently 96% occupied.
The Brea city council will meet Tuesday at 7 p.m.