Second Acts For Two Malls Featured In Popular Movies

The 1980s were the heyday of the mall. While retail real estate is far from dead and mall traffic remains robust, some of the malls of the past are being re-imagined to embrace the future. Two malls featured in popular movies, one from the 1980s and one more recent but set in the 1980s, are receiving major updates. 

Fans of the 1985 movie ‘Back To The Future’ will remember when Marty McFly, played by Michael J. Fox, pushed a silver DeLorean to 88 miles per hour and zoomed back to 1955. In the film, the Twin Pines Mall, also known as Lone Pine Mall, was actually the Puente Hills Mall. Fans of the movie still return to the mall each year on Oct. 25 to celebrate the film's legacy.

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The mall, built in 1975 and located in the City of Industry, about 20 miles outside Los Angeles, CA, has 1.2 million square feet of space. It was mostly empty in recent years, with just a few tenants, including an AMC movie theater. The mall occupies over 56 acres of space near the 60 Freeway.

The ‘Back To The Future' aficionados may need a different place to convene next year. RCB Equities and Real Estate Development Associates LLC announced they have received a $115 million loan to buy the mall. The mall was last sold in 2014 to Kam Sang Co. for $100 million. Mark Wintner of JLL Capital Markets Debt Advisory worked to arrange the deal with Hankey Capital. This private direct lender offers bridge loans in the $5 million to $300+ million range secured by real estate located in California. The company has over $1.5 billion in loans on its balance sheet.

It is unclear what the new owners plan to do with the mall, but it seems unlikely that it will continue to be a retail space. Real Estate Development Associates mainly focuses on logistics properties but has also worked on some residential projects. “We are thrilled about the opportunity to transform Puente Hills Mall into a vibrant, modern business generator that aligns with the evolving needs of the City of Industry,” said Jason Krotts, Founder and Principal of Real Estate Development Associates.

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Another project that is much farther along shows what can be done with a former retail location. The Puente Hills Mall isn't the only movie mall being redeveloped. The aging style of the Landmark Mall in Alexandria, VA, made it the perfect setting to film parts of ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ which came out in 2020. The mall closed in 2017. The mall will now become a new neighborhood known as WestEnd Alexandria. Half of the 52-acre site will be turned into a 1.1 million-square-foot hospital. Foulger-Pratt is developing the other half of the property with Seritage Growth Properties and Howard Hughes Holdings and will have retail space and over 1,900 housing units. The project is expected to cost over $3 billion and will take several years to complete. 

Mall redevelopment is often a long and involved process. It can sometimes require rezoning and a complicated pathway of city approvals. However, the fact that these spaces are usually located in populous areas with easy access makes them prime opportunities for repurposing as long as the demographics of the surrounding areas are strong. 

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