Primestor plans 4.5M sf makeover for San Fernando Valley mall

UPDATED, May 4, 2022, 4:19 p.m.: Primestor Development is planning to replace a mall in Panorama City with a hotel, residential and commercial development.

The Culver City-based developer has filed plans with the city of Los Angeles to build a 4.5 million-square-foot project at 8389 North Van Nuys Boulevard.

The company is planning to redevelop a “17-acre site that today is significantly underutilized” in an area that has “seen under-investment over the last 50 years,” a representative for Primestor told TRD. Primestor did not provide any additional information about its project.

Currently, the site is home to a 312,000-square-foot mall, which Primestor bought from Macerich for $98 million in 2015, public property records show. As part of the deal, Primestor also purchased a 20,000-square-foot Aldi grocery store across the street at 14266 Roscoe Boulevard.

Primestor scored a $30 million refinancing package from East West Bank on the complex in March 2021, according to public records.

Mall tenants include Walmart, Foot Locker, Aeropostale and fast fashion retailer Fashion Nova, along with Curacao, a department store with locations across the West Coast. The complex largely caters to the local Hispanic population, with more than 75 percent of the population within a three-mile radius identifying as Hispanic, according to marketing materials for the mall.

The expansion is a long time coming. In 2017, Primestor proposed to add 130,000 square feet of shops and restaurants to the property, plus a large movie theater and a 120-room hotel.

Panorama City has seen a number of redevelopments rise in recent years. In 2020, developer Izek Shomof finished a $25 million renovation of the 13-story Panorama Tower, turning the property into a 194-unit apartment complex. That property is located at 8155 Van Nuys Boulevard — just 200 feet south of Primestor’s mall.

Across the street from the mall, Beverly Hills-based ICON Company is still working on building a 675-unit complex, after years of environmental reviews and lawsuits.

This story has been updated to include comments from a representative for Primestor Development.