The CIM Group, which owned the Hollywood & Highland complex before selling it to DJM and Gaw Capital USA in 2019, announced Wednesday that it purchased the property at Crenshaw and Martin Luther King Jr. boulevards.
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"Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza occupies a pivotal location in a well-established Los Angeles community, centrally located and adjacent to a soon-to-open Metro light rail station,'' CIM Group principal and co-founder Shaul Kuba said in a statement. "Two large anchors, Sears and Walmart, closed their doors prior to COVID-19's shuttering the entire mall, and 300,000 square feet of space in these two large buildings continue to remain vacant.
The area has been slated for redevelopment due to construction of the Crenshaw/LAX light rail line.
The mall lost its Walmart and Sears anchors years ago and plans have long been underway to transform the area into a commercial and transit hub. A rail station will be located near the intersection of Martin Luther King and Crenshaw boulevards.
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The initial plan called for the rebuilt site to include residential housing and even a hotel tower, but that no longer appears to be the case.
The sale does not include the mall's Macy's store, or the nearby IHOP, but does involve most of the 40-acre property, including the vacant Sears and Walmart stores.
"We have the opportunity to bring a fresh perspective to the future of the property viewed through the lens of the current climate and the acceleration of the already declining retail environment,'' Kuba said. "Since 1947 this property has been a commercial property, and although current entitlements allow residential components, we believe that residential uses are not suitable for this property and it should remain a commercial property in our repositioning.''
City News Service contributed to this report.