Centennial Real Estate approved for sprawling $300M mixed-use village

Amid the retail industry’s reshuffling, another massive mall redevelopment project is set to take shape, this one in Santa Ana.

Centennial Real Estate has received approved for its massive project, which includes 1,900 apartments and 750,000 square feet of office space at the MainPlace Mall, according to the Orange County Register. The investment firm’s $300-million multiphase project got the local council’s green light to transform the three-story regional shopping center, at 2800 N. Main Street.

Centennial acquired the 43-acre property in 2015, and construction is expected to begin in 2020.

It comes eight months after Taubman Centers Inc. completed its $500-million redesign of The Beverly Center in Los Angeles.

And last month, Centennial began a $200-million transformation of a Chicago-area mall set to bring hundreds of luxury apartments, along with restaurants and a grocery store.

For the MainPlace Mall, Centennial will build a 175-key hotel, a 40,000-square-foot food emporium, a 90,000-square-foot family entertainment anchor, a multi-screen movie house, and large green space.

Repurposing failing or underperforming malls has become increasingly common amid the e-commerce onslaught that has devastated traditional retail centers.

The South Bay Galleria in Redondo Beach will be transformed by Forest City with hundreds of residential units and new retail components. The Westfield Topanga mall is also set for a $70-million upgrade. [OC Register] — Gregory Cornfield