It looks like developer Rick Caruso (The Grove, The Commons at Calabasas, Americana at Brand) has dedicated himself to breathing life into the dusty downtowns of wealthy enclaves, and now Brentwood has caught his eye. Caruso announced about a month ago that he was closing in on a deal (first discussed in 2012) that would leave him owning a good chunk of downtown Pacific Palisades, which he plans to remake into a walkable shopping area (not a full-on Grove-ization, but a huge change from the half-dead old school shopping area of today). Now, Apparel News reports (via our pals at Racked LA) that Caruso's bought three parcels in his home neighborhood of Brentwood, on the south side of the 11900 block of San Vicente (near Montana), and he's looking for even more.
Caruso says "We spent the last 18 years creating our own streets," and now it sounds like he's taken to reinventing existing streets in the Grove's image ("Caruso will take the lifestyle concept beyond the mall"). In Pacific Palisades, Caruso has been hearing from locals on what they want to see (a Trader Joe's, natch) and Caruso promises a "holistic redevelopment of the street," which could include things like sidewalk widening.
Lest we miss the pattern, Caruso says "People want to shop more local, closer to home. There is a resurgence of neighborhoods," and his team is "scouting" other California neighborhoods for sad main drags that can be redeveloped and reinvigorated. A Caruso on every Main Street, and a trolley on every lot!
· Caruso's Main Street Gamble [Apparel News]
· Grove Owner Planning to Remake Most of Downtown Pac Pal [Curbed LA]
Loading comments...