July 2, 2009 

BY CHICO C. NORWOOD

STAFF WRITER

The “first tangible signs” of redeveloping and revitalizing the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza were seen recently with the grand opening and ribbon cutting for the Debbie Allen Dance Academy held June 26 in the former Sizzler site at 3791 Santa Rosalia Drive.

“To have a cultural icon like Debbie Allen to come to our facility … it’s kind of a win- win-win for her and for us and the community,” said Quintin E. Primo III, president and CEO of Capri Capital Partners, the minority-owned securities and exchange pension fund advisory firm. Primo founded Capri Capital in 1992 and his company purchased the mall in February 2006.

Residents can expect to see more changes in the near future, especially in the form of additional art-related events.

“We’re creating a pilot program for this summer for a summer concert series,” said Trish Hoffman of the Blitz group, a spokesperson for Capri Partners. “Our plan is to have at least three concerts here at night and then hopefully one concert during the day.”

Primo says the plans to redevelop the mall have been temporarily slowed due to the economy but Capri Partners hope to completely reconfigure the mall and start construction on the redevelopment in the next 12 to 18 months.

Primo added that while the economy may have slowed things down, “We’re not going to abandon this community, but rather, we are going to invest in it.”

According to Jeff Fisher, media strategist for Capri Capital, the plaza is the company’s largest single investment and it was purchased for the purpose of redevelopment.

“We feel that there is an enormous amount of opportunity there. It is the oldest urban regional mall in the country,” Fisher said. “It’s a very densely populated, underserved marketplace.”

He also said the company has held community meetings, spoke with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and is working with the Community Redevelopment Agency to obtain zoning approvals, environmental impact reports and other city requirements for redevelopment. Fisher said residents can expect to see the “shovel-in-the-ground” work begin in the fall 2010.

While the mall will essentially remain the way it is, Fisher said it will be completely refurbished with parcels redesigned to look more like The Grove shopping center in Los Angeles.

“Basically what we are going to be doing is remerchandising it, bringing in some of those merchants that haven’t been there for a while,” Fisher said. “We’re looking at bringing in sit-down restaurants, all of the services that we know people in the community are leaving the community to go and get.

“We know that people are going to Century City, the Fox Hills Mall, the Beverly Center and The Grove. There is a tremendous amount of leakage out of the community because of a lack of services and what we are doing is looking at that and developing a mix.”

The plans call for redeveloping the entire 43-acre site. Fisher said the redevelopment will take place in three phases, with the expansion of the current 850,000 square feet of retail space to 1.5 million square feet being the first phase.

A lot of the parking spaces will be reconfigured into structured parking, Fisher said. 

One of the things very high on Primo’s list is making sure the plaza is not just a retail center but is really a lifestyle center, he added.

“Sure we want it to be a place where you come and shop at the mall, but we want it to be a place where you can come and feel safe, have concerts, camps for kids,” Fisher said.

The second phase of the project would be the construction of a “first-rate” hotel with banquet facilities, conference rooms, and more. The third phase would include the construction of residential housing and possibly office space.

“All total the investing will be about three quarters of a billion dollars,” Fisher said.

Joyce Perkins, chairperson of the Crenshaw Redevelopment Project Area Advisory Committee, has lived in the Crenshaw area since moving from the Bay area in 1968. Perkins said Capri Capital brought their plans to a community meeting she attended a few months ago and she is encouraged with what it is trying to do.

“One of the very good things is it will expand the services of the mall. Another great thing is it will expand housing,” she said. “The overall plan is a good one. Hopefully they will be able to follow through.”

The Pan African Film Festival moved into the plaza in 1998, when the Magic Johnson Theater opened, with hopes that the mall would be redeveloped, said Ayuko Babu, executive director of the festival. However, the redevelopment failed to come to fruition.

Babu said he has not seen Capri’s redevelopment plans and because of the state of the current economy is “cautiously optimistic” but still excited.

“We are very much aware of the history of the mall,” he said. “It was the cornerstone of Tom Bradley’s efforts to do something for the black community. Mayor Bradley came under tremendous criticism for having let downtown be developed and nothing was really developed in the black community. So he said he would develop the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Mall and it would be the anchor of that corner at Crenshaw and King (boulevards).

“So, we’re really excited about Capri … we’re very pleased that they have decided to redevelop the area. What I am hoping is that black contractors and black businesses will benefit and get some contracts.”