Shopping Centers

For years a chain-link fence surrounded the contaminated 25-acre lot near the junction of Interstate 5 and California 118 in Pacoima, a daily reminder of the thousands of well-paying manufacturing jobs lost to Mexico in the last decade.

Even as Culver City's downtown has evolved into a vibrant hangout with bustling theaters and restaurants, the commercial district in the town's southern Fox Hills area has remained a gritty mix of offices, mini-malls, tire outlets, pizza joints and an occasional erotica shop, all in the shadow of a tangle of freeways. A $180-million overhaul of Fox Hills Mall -- now rebranded as Westfield Culver City -- promises a more up-market ambience. Residents report feeling a burst of retail pride in the now-gleaming center, and city officials are enthused about the prospect of additional retail revenue amid challenging times.

The owner of Westfield Century City, Westfield Topanga and more than a dozen other shopping centers in Southern California announced plans Thursday to cut shopping hours at nearly all of its 55 U.S. malls starting March 1. Most of Westfield Group's malls will open 30 minutes later and close 30 minutes earlier on weekdays, spokeswoman Katy Dickey said. About a third will close an hour earlier on Sundays; hours will generally stay the same on Saturdays.

Centro Properties Group, Australia's second-largest shopping center landlord and owner of nearly 700 U.S. malls, said Tuesday that it was seeking buyers for the company -- a victim of the deepening global credit crunch. In the U.S., Centro is the fifth- largest owner of shopping centers, with holdings in 40 states having total leasable space of nearly 108 million square feet. Many of the company's U.S.

The 27-year-old man who pulled off a daytime jewelry store robbery Sunday at a crowded Mission Viejo mall stumbled and fell while racing to his car before discovering he was on the wrong level of a parking structure. As he tried to jog down the flight of stairs to his car, a pair of deputies were climbing up -- an encounter that ended in fatal gunfire. It appears nothing went right for Kirk Christian Knight in a robbery that had a tragic ending for the Rancho Santa Margarita man.

With the affluent Westside of Los Angeles escaping much of the economic angst gripping Southern California, shopping center owners near the coast are spending lavishly to burnish their malls and beckon new shoppers. But there is also tiptoeing going on as these expansion-minded malls try to avoid the impression that they will overwhelm their neighborhoods with more dense development, worsening traffic and endless waits to turn left.

The giant retro neon sign proclaiming "Americana at Brand" has been installed. A gold-plated sculpture now graces the public square, still wrapped in thick, clear plastic. The tracks for the trolley have been laid, and piping for the dancing fountains is in place and being tested. For better or worse, builder Rick Caruso's mega retail and residential development in the heart of Glendale is nearing completion and is scheduled to open in a month.

Through the sickly sweet fog of designer fragrances, past gleaming cosmetics counters, the giant, furry critter pads across the polished tile. The prim sales clerks don't even bat an eye. They might even reach behind cases of creams and powders to pull out a treat. Welcome to Orange County's unofficial dog mall, otherwise known as Fashion Island -- an upscale collection of shops and restaurants in the even more upscale enclave of Newport Beach.

For David Simon, chief executive of Simon Property Group, the largest U.S. owner of malls and shopping centers, retail property this year is all about distress. The credit crisis has made the cost of new loans expensive or impossible for commercial real estate buyers and developers. That could leave some with short-term debt scrambling for loans to complete their projects or hold on to new ones. "There's a lot of broken projects out there," Simon said during a recent conference call.

For nearly a decade, the shopping center known as Midtown Crossing has been a top priority for Los Angeles' elected officials, from Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to neighborhood council leaders in and around Mid-City. The mayor's business team has spent three years trying to ensure that the corner of Pico and San Vicente boulevards will offer a Lowe's home improvement store and more than a dozen other chains.