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The Arts District is Getting a Grove-Style Open-Air Mall

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What stage in a neighborhood's lifecycle is the Mall Phase? It seems that the Arts District has crossed the frontier into the centralized shopping period of its young, vibrant life (that's apparently just on the other side of the super-trendy fancy food epoch). A corner property where Mateo and Palmetto streets meet, now occupied by five warehouses, is about to be transformed into a huge, $30-million shopping center (with parking!), says the Downtown News. The 125,000-square-foot "urban retail center" will be an open-air mall "anchored by a major retailer" (as yet unnamed) and have a grocery store, according to a release from ASB Real Estate Investments, which is partnering with Century City-based Blatteis & Schnur on the development.

No renderings have been released yet, but developers have said that they're hoping to keep the center in line with the AD's "unique place in Los Angeles" and that they've planned " [a] brilliant design ... allowing us to attract unique, compelling and artisanal retailers and food purveyors." Even though there's no mention of a trolley, it does sound a little Grove-y, but only time will tell.

The release from ASB, which paid $32.5 million for the property, says that the AD is "[e]xpected to double in population over the next five years ... [and] boasts an average annual household income in excess of $125,000," both of which are as believable as they are scary.

There's no timeline for the project, and it still has to go through the approvals process with the city.
· $61 Million Development Planned for Arts District [DN]
· ASB Invests $61 Million in LA'S Arts District [ASB]