BUENA PARK, Calif. — One resident called the towering buildings in the proposed Village at Buena Park project an “ugly monstrosity.”
Another said the development of more than 1,300 multifamily units and townhomes on La Palma and Stanton avenues in downtown Buena Park is “just too overwhelming for this area.”
On Wednesday night, several residents railed against private real estate investment firm Merlone Geier Partner’s plan to redevelop the former Sears big box buildings and parking lots into a 25-acre block of apartments and townhomes during the city’s planning commission meeting.
San Diego-based Merlone Geier wants the city to rezone the current regional commercial area into mixed-use, allowing housing to be built next to the mall and a few blocks away from Knott’s Berry Farm.
While city staff recommended the zone change and development agreement, the four planning commissioners present were split, voting 2-2 on recommending the project to the city council. Three commissioners were out.
The proposal still goes to the city council for review and possible approval. No date has been set for the next public hearing.
Merlone Geier purchased the Sears buildings and adjacent parking lots in Buena Park in 2019 for an undisclosed price after the big box retail company went under the year before and began unloading its real estate holdings.
After purchasing the Buena Park Sears buildings, the developer leased them back to Sears until they closed permanently a few years later.
Since its closure, only a silhouette of the Sears name could be seen on the buildings, and the parking lot has been mainly used to host seasonal events like pumpkin patches and Halloween haunted mazes and to sell Christmas trees. The parking lot is currently used as storage for Teslas.
Merlone Geier has a track record of acquiring defunct Sears buildings across the West Coast and redeveloping the former big boxes into vibrant mixed-use residential, office and retail projects.
In 2021, the company held a community meeting about their proposed project, the Village at Buena Park.
According to city staff, the proposed project calls for demolishing the existing Sears building and Sears Auto Center and redeveloping the 25-acre site with 1,302 residential units.
The site would consist of 1,176 multifamily units ranging from studios to three bedrooms and designed as wrapped contemporary-styled buildings that could rise as high as seven stories. The rest of the units would be 126 for-sale three-story townhomes.
City staff said the developer would set aside 15% of the multifamily apartments for affordable housing as part of the agreement.
The development would include 39,000 square feet of amenity and lobby space, 2,971 parking spaces, electric vehicle charging stations, bike racks, and a 1-acre park.
City staff estimates more than 2,800 people could live there if fully built out.
“This is a project that hopefully everyone can be proud of that as you drive by, this will be something that could be part of your community,” a Merlone Geier official told the planning commission.
The project comes as cities face pressure from the state to meet regional housing goals for future resident populations.
The state requires each city and county to have land zoned to accommodate its share of the regional housing need, Buena Park officials said.
According to city staff, Buena Park has a regional housing need allocation of 8,919 housing units, of which 3,462 are for lower-income households.
Super-regional malls have become perfect sites for housing.
Many traditional big-box and brick-and-mortar retail stores have closed or struggled with foot traffic due to the so-called retail apocalypse at malls, as consumer shopping behavior shifted toward e-commerce and delivery.
Accelerated by the coronavirus pandemic, many people prefer to shop online and have items delivered straight to their homes rather than deal with parking or going inside the store.
Building residential units near malls could kill two birds with one stone.
“It’ll help your [the city’s] housing needs, but also it’ll help the mall,” the Merlone Geier official said. “The mall owners are excited to see the housing adjacent to this to help prop up their sales.”
“This is complementary and the best plan for a large empty functionally obsolete building in a central location adjacent to services and jobs and transit,” he added.
Residents weren’t happy with the plan. Residents griped about an increase in traffic and lower quality of life. La Palma and Stanton Avenues are busy thoroughfares, given that Buena Park’s two main economic engines, Knott’s Berry Farm and the Buena Park Downtown Mall, are in the area.
A 50-year resident of Buena Park was concerned about overcrowding. The resident, Stanley, said that while the city estimates 2,800 people living there, that number is unlikely. More people are likely going to live there.
“You can’t just cram that many people into a place and not turn it into a slum,” the resident named Stanley said. “They are saying 2.2 people per unit. That’s hard to believe.”
Don Hunt urged the planning commissioners not to let this project go forward.
“None of these people here live in our community,” said Hunt. “They have no idea how this will impact us. The traffic along La Palma and Stanton, as you all know if you live in this area, is crazy busy on a regular daily basis.”
One resident, Julia, said Buena Park does not need this type of large development.
“I understand the Sears parking lot is an eyesore,” she said. “I understand we need housing and units in there, but the sheer size of this is too large.”