Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza
| Location | Los Angeles, California, United States |
|---|---|
| Address |
3650 West Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90008 |
| Opening date | November 10, 1947 |
| Management | Capri Capital Partners |
| Owner | Capri Capital Partners |
| No. of anchor tenants | 3 |
| Total retail floor area | 870,000 sq ft (81,000 m2) |
| No. of floors | 2 |
| Website | Official website |
Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza (also known as Baldwin Hills Crenshaw, or by its acronym BHCP) is a shopping mall (the first post-war retail complex in California) located in Los Angeles, California, United States. The property is owned and operated by the Capri Capital Partners. Its anchor stores are Macy's and Sears. The original open-air complex, known as the Broadway-Crenshaw Center, was located in Los Angeles, California.
Walmart had closed this location on January 17, 2016 leaving the mall with currently only two anchor stores.[1]
History
The mall's original concept was designed by Paul Williams, who also helped architect the affluent Crenshaw Manor neighborhood. The open air retail hub called the Broadway Crenshaw Center which opened its doors on November 1947. It was anchored by a The Broadway department store, May Company Department Store , Woolworth variety store, and Von's supermarket. It consisted of 550,000 square feet (51,000 m²) and 13 acres (53,000 m2) of parking space along the then known (Santa Barbera Ave). It is best known as the first major shopping mall on the west coast that served the Los Angeles County for several decades as one of the city's main attractions. There where more stores added to the complex in the 1950 and early 1960's.
First renovation
The mall complex underwent a massive renovation, which got underway in the mid-1980s. Much of the old original inline store space were demolished. In 1989 a two-level, fully enclosed shopping mall structure was built, which was anchored by the existing The Broadway and May Company stores and included a new Sears as the mall's third anchor.
The new indoor shopping complex, now known as Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza, was officially dedicated in November 1988 by then Los Angeles mayor Tom Bradley. The mall encompassed its scale to 870,000 square feet (81,000 m²).
After a series of rebrandings and major renovation of the two original department stores, BHCP was anchored by the state's only three-story Walmart (in the historic "The Broadway" building, until its closure in 2016), Macy's (in the historic May Company structure building), Sears, and a Lucky's Stores supermarket. The store was later bought out by Albertsons in mid-1999 when Lucky's moved out of Southern California.
On July 12, 1995 the first Magic Johnson Theatres opened as a 15-screen cinema complex. The opening featured many celebrity guest such as Michael Jackson and others. The mall contains an additional 115 retail and specialty shops on over 40 acres (160,000 m2) of land which is located in one of the most densely populated and busiest areas in the United States. The mall also serves as a community center and landmark for the Baldwin Hills and Crenshaw communities. The mall also has a Museum of African Art located on the stores third level interior of the Macy's building.
In early 2005, Capri Capital Partners purchased the shopping mall.
Second renovation
In 2010, mall owners Capri Capital Partners announced that they would be completely redesigning the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza costing up to $40 million. The project added a new interior embellishments, a modern and larger food court. They also redesigned the theme Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza Bridge which is now a glass see-through bridge overlooking Crenshaw Blvd and MLK Blvd. Renovations also came with new balcony rails, escalators, elevators, and new tile flooring on the first and second floor. There was also new paintings to the Macy's and the now-closed Walmart historic buildings were painted from peach to bright white.
New restaurants
They also purchased a lot of new retail store tenants and sit down restaurants such as: Victoria's Secret, Forever 21, TJ Maxx, Lane Bryant, Claire's, Staples, Post & Beam, Chipotle Mexican Grill, a new multiplex cinema Cinemark and Buffalo Wild Wings. This phase of renovation was officially completed in November 2011.
Third redevelopment
Possible second phase
There are currently plans for a 3rd renovation phase in the near future to transform the shopping mall into a 24-hour outdoor retail and entertainment complex that includes: a luxury 400-room hotel, office towers with a penthouse level, open-air plaza, mid to high scale dining, arces of public space, multi-story parking structure and new residential units with modern Low-rise condominiums.
Cinemark digital cinema
Cinemark (formerly the Magic Johnson Theatre and Rave Cinemas) opened with 13 regular HD screens and 2 large 3-D format enabled screens on June 29, 2011. In 2013, the theatre was sold to Cinemark Theatres but still kept the Rave brand until 2016.
Transport connections
- Metro Rail: The Crenshaw/LAX Line will have a light rail subway station called Martin Luther King Jr station which will serve the shopping centre and adjacent future medical facility. It is currently under construction and is slated to open in early 2019.
Anchors
- Macy's [2006-] , May Company [1947-1993]/Robinsons-May [1993-2006]
- Walmart [2003-2016] (213,100 sq ft.), The Broadway [1947-1996]/Macy's [1996-1999]
- Sears [1988-] (142,900 sq ft.).
References
External links
Coordinates: 34°00′36″N 118°20′14″W / 34.010079°N 118.337142°W