No Bel Air megamansion monstrosity can compete with the Beverly Center mall for the title of Los Angeles's biggest white elephant: the 883,000-square-foot beige blob devours a whole block smack in the middle of the basin. A few years ago, owner Taubman Centers made a few small aesthetic improvements (e.g., the exterior escalators), and rumors surfaced in 2012 that Italian firm Studio Fuksas had been selected for a complete redo, but the Bev Center has remained stuck in its totally '80s amber. Now, however, Taubman has announced that it has made plans to announce "a comprehensive renovation." (Our pals at Racked LA first heard rumblings that the reno was coming back in November.)
On an earnings call last week, CEO Robert Taubman told investors that "The center has been re-envisioned and is set to undergo a comprehensive renovation, the details of which we will unveil at the center on March 7." He added that "This will be a very expensive project."
They hope the result will be "LA's most exciting, dominant, urban shopping and dining experience," which means it'll have to ether the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, Old Town Pasadena, Third Street, Rodeo Drive, Hollywood & Highland, and nearby The Grove. (Taubman did note that the Bev Center has an "incredible central location that sits in a unique and very dense market with enormous affluence and an extremely fashion forward customer.")
· Taubman Centers' (TCO) CEO Robert Taubman on Q3 2015 Results - Earnings Call Transcript [Seeking Alpha]
· Beverly Center Getting Revamp By Italian Firm Studio Fuksas [Curbed LA]
· Yes! The Beverly Center Is Expected to Be Ready for Its Fashionable Facelift [Racked LA]