Laguna Hills Mall was a shopping mall in Laguna Hills, California, in southern Orange County that is being redeveloped by the owners as Five Lagunas. The enclosed mall closed on December 31, 2018 and will be demolished. The exterior stores remain open. New retail, a movie theater, apartments, and a parking structure are currently planned to replace the old mall structure.
History
1973 launch
The mall opened in phases starting in Spring 1973 with Sears as the first anchor open, followed by a two-level Buffums on September 5, 1973. The Broadway followed, opening in August 1975, and J.C. Penney in 1976. Up to that point, the mall had cost an estimated $50,000,000 to build and contained of retail space in Phase I with 55 shops and and 83 shops in Phase II.
1990s
In May 1991, Buffum's closed due to the chain being liquidated and three years later, the store's second level was converted into an upstairs food court. The food court, which operated from 1994 to 2011, was the only part of the general mall on the second level. The Broadway converted into Macy's in May 1996.
The Laguna Hills Mall is scheduled to be renamed "Five Lagunas". According to Laguna Hills' city documents, the renovations include pedestrian plazas, new retail sections, a 988-unit apartment complex, a multi-screen movie theater, new signage, and a 1,500-space parking structure. On January 3, 2018, it was announced that Macy's would be closing in March 2018 as part of a plan to close 11 stores nationwide, which halted construction on its end of the mall and left JCPenney as the only remaining anchor. On July 10, 2018, it was announced that JCPenney would be closing in October 2018, making it the last anchor store to close which left the mall with no anchors. On December 18, 2018, it was announced that the interior of the mall would close on December 31, 2018. The exterior stores will remain open.
Plans for Five Lagunas
At a November, 2019, City Council meeting, Merlone-Geier, unveiled two major changes to the previous plans proposed since 2016: adding residential housing and reduction of retail space. Previously, the proposal called for 880,000 square feet of retail space and 988 residential units. Another reduction was made in office space to make room for the seasonal events. The revised proposal includes a new 110,000 square-foot cinema, 225,000 to 300,000 square feet of retail, a 125 room hotel, 390,000 to 520,000 square feet of office space, two three-story parking structures, and a potential of 1,200 to 1,500 more apartments.
