Macy's closing at Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza
A spokesperson for Macy's said the decision to close is part of the company's strategy plan that was announced in early 2020.
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Macy's has announced it will be closing more stores. In this most recent round of closures, branches in Colorado, Maryland, Hawaii and California will close down.
The Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza has been a staple in the community for decades, but recent changes have some locals worried. Under much controversy, it was just sold to a local developer which some community members fear will escalate gentrification in the neighborhood. Now comes another big change. After 75 years, Macy's, one of the mall's flagship stores, announced it's closing.
"It's going to be kind of sad because this store has been around since I was a little kid and now I'm older," said Gigi Vaskerville a local resident. "I'm a senior citizen, I'm 62 years old, so I'm going to be sad to see it go."
A spokesperson for Macy's said the decision to close is part of the company's strategy plan that was announced in early 2020, but some in the community believe the closure has more to do with future developments.
"I think one of these developers is trying to buy up all this property and build some more apartment buildings," said James Farmer, another community member. "So they don't really care about the community, but where is the community supposed to go shop at. There's nowhere over here for us to shop at if everything is closing down.
A statement from a Macy's spokesperson read in part - "We are grateful to have served our customers in the Baldwin Hills and Crenshaw communities during the past 75 years and look forward to continuing to do so at nearby Macy's stores."
Some community members said this closure will be a big inconvenience.
"It'll mean that people that don't have a car that live in the neighborhood that can just walk over here, it's going to be a real inconvenience for them," said Vaskerville.
The Macy's store at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza is scheduled to close later this month.
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