Los Cerritos Center

The Los Cerritos Center is a super regional shopping mall located in Cerritos, California. Since September 1971, the Los Cerritos Center has been an integral part of the city of Cerritos' tax revenue. The mall is the city's largest revenue source, producing $581 per square foot in sales ($296 million total) in 2010. The tax revenue generated from the Los Cerritos Center for its host city totals to approximately $3 million a year.^[1] The facility is managed by The Macerich Company. The mall is served by Metro Local lines: 62 & 130, Metro Express line: 577, and Long Beach Transit route 192.

History

The Cerritos Redevelopment Agency initially invested $30 million for the development of the Los Cerritos Center area. The 100-acre (0.40 km²) shopping area built at Gridley Road and South Street was developed by Ernest M. Hahn, Inc. in September 1971 with the Phase I opening of the corridor from The Broadway department store (currently Macy's) to Ohrbach's (currently a Forever 21) in addition to having an initial 150 specialty stores. Phase II followed in 1971 with the opening of the wing from Ohrbach's to Sears. In 1981, Phase III saw the opening of Nordstrom and its first wing. In November 1993, Phase IV was completed when the Palm Court Cafes debuted in the Center with 14 eateries.^[2]

At its opening, the Los Cerritos Center was one of the area's first shopping malls and was noted for its high quality maintenance and complete climate-controlled environment.

The original goal of the center was to bring thousands of dollars of sales tax revenue to the city of Cerritos. In its first four years, the city of Cerritos' retail sales grew tenfold, topping over $207 million in 1974.

Today

As of the end of 2015, the center is undergoing a large-scale renovation, which brought in new anchors such as Dick's Sporting Goods and Harkins Theatres, in-line stores, remodeled interiors, new furnishings and lighting, exterior landscaping, as well as art work and overall re-branding.

The Macy's wing houses merchandise, confectionery, and services for the family, the main concourse holds more upscale fashion stores, restaurants and boutiques, and the Sears wing focuses on specialty shops in entertainment, younger consumers, as well as the newly renovated Dining Court.

Forever 21, which opened in January 2010, was the first flagship styled store for the retailer in the United States and opened to much acclaim.^[3][4]

A Nordstrom department store and wing opened May 2010 on the site of a former Robinsons-May.^[5] The added wing made room for nine additional in-line shops and restaurants. The old Nordstrom site is now under redevelopment and will be the site of a 16-screen Harkins Theatres set to open in 2016, as well as The Cheesecake Factory, which opened in November 2015.

Realizing the importance of multiculturalism and diversity in the region today, the Los Cerritos Center, in conjunction with the city of Cerritos, is home to the Festival of Friendship held every February. Cultural booths and performances are held annually with the goal of reaching out to the various diverse communities the center serves.

In 2010, 8.5 million shoppers visited the mall with November 26 (Black Friday) marking the biggest day of the year with 79,682 visitors. The daily average attendance from January through November 2010 was 22,133 people a day. December 2010 saw an average of 35,631 a day. Los Cerritos Center is the most financially successful mall in the Southeast Los Angeles region.^[6]

Anchors

• Dick's Sporting Goods (opened 2015, at the site of the former United Artists Theater)
• Forever 21 (85,000 sq ft.) (Opened 2010, at the original site of Ohrbach's, which occupied the space from 1971 to 1987. It became a Mervyn's in 1987, and finally became Forever 21 in 2010)
• Harkins Theatres (opening 2016 at the original site of Nordstrom, before the latter relocated in 2010)
• Macy's (174,500 sq ft.) (opened 1971 as The Broadway, became Macy's in 1996)
• Nordstrom (138,000 sq ft.) (opened 1971 as J.W. Robinson's, and moved to the current site of the former Robinsons-May in 2010. Robinsons-May closed in 2006)
• Sears (277,559 sq ft.) (opened 1971 as original anchor)

See also

• Cerritos Auto Square
• Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts
• Cerritos Millennium Library
• Cerritos Senior Center at Pat Nixon Park
• Cerritos Towne Center
• Cerritos Veterans Memorial

References

Sources

External links

• Los Cerritos Center Official Site
• Los Cerritos - Nordstrom at Nordstrom website
• Los Cerritos Center Review
• The City of Cerritos State of the City 2011