Palisades Village reopens Saturday after more than $100 million in renovations

PACIFIC PALISADES, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Nineteen months after the Palisades Fire, 99% of the businesses at Rick Caruso's Palisades Village are leased, and the shopping center is set to reopen Saturday.

The shopping center has undergone extensive restoration work following the fire and resulting smoke damage. Caruso said he hopes the reopening will help the community recover.

"People are going to be back here with their memories, with their families, with their friends," Caruso told Eyewitness News. "My dream is that it gives people hope to reopen their businesses and rebuild their homes."

Some stores are returning, but there's many new tenants. Some Palisades small businesses that burned in the fire have relocated to Palisades Village, including Loomey's Toys.

"This village is the heartbeat of the community. It's going to be the place where everybody comes to reconnect over a bite to eat or a coffee or hanging out on the lawn," said Amanda Rastegar, owner of Loomey's Toys. "There was no better place to open the toy store, and Rick's team made it really seamless to move in here, and we're just very grateful."

Seventy percent of the businesses will open Saturday and the rest will open over the next few months.

"Every brick has been cleaned. Every storefront has been painted," Caruso said.

Caruso said the city of Los Angeles has been supportive of efforts to reopen Palisades Village.

"I am happy to criticize when criticism is due, and I'm happy to compliment when compliments are due," Caruso said. "The mayor's office, the mayor, the city, (L.A. City Councilmember) Traci Park's office have been very supportive.

"They've been very good because we have been on a very fast timeline. We need inspections, we need inspectors out here, we need people out here. We need the red tape to be cut."

Palisades Village first opened in 2018. Although the majority of the property survived the Palisades Fire thanks to the way it was built and the use of private firefighters, it had heavy smoke damage. Caruso's company has spent more than $100 million on the reopening.

"We could have easily not reopened and from a financial standpoint, probably would have made more sense because we were well insured, we were covered, we could continue to wait," Caruso said. "Some of our neighbors, and I'm critical of some of our commercial neighbors, are waiting until there's more rooftops. I don't think that's right.

"I think when you're a major landowner in an area that's been so impacted like the Palisades and you have an opportunity to be a catalyst and help blaze a trail and bring people along with you, especially a place where community can come and gather, you have an obligation to do that."