TTM announces $150M revamp of HHLA outdoor mall in West LA

TTM Real Estate Capital bought a nearly 250,000-square-foot outdoor shopping mall last year in West Los Angeles for $80 million — and now plans to spend nearly twice as much to fix it up.

The unit of Westwood-based Cannon Commercial led by Tyler Mateen announced a $150 million plan to revamp the HHLA Entertainment Center at 6081 Center Drive, in Westchester, the Los Angeles Business Journal reported.

TTM bought the mall once known as The Promenade at Howard Hughes Center in March last year for $80 million, or $320 per square foot, 28 percent less than it traded for in 2015. It was about 80 percent occupied at the time of sale.

The sellers were Laurus and Torchlight Investors, which bought the mall for $111 million, then poured $35 million more into renovations.

The two-story outdoor mall has seen a revolving door of tenants since it was developed by J.H. Snyder, opening in 2000. For years, many of its stores have sat empty.

“I realized it was an underutilized property,” Mateen told the Business Journal “The opportunity arose. They were trying to sell the property and I thought, ‘If I could just put some entrepreneurial spirit into it, I might just be able to turn it into something unique.’ 

“And that’s what I’m aiming to do.”

In May, TTM announced it would hire Meow Wolf to create an art exhibit in the mall, adding meaning to its renamed role as an “entertainment center,” the Commercial Observer reported.  

The Santa Fe-based firm signed a 74,000-square-foot lease for half of the mall’s Cinemark movie theater. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The surreal art exhibit is set to open in early 2026. In Las Vegas, Meow Wolf admission tickets start at $54.

The firm has yet to announce other tenants.

TTM expects to spend $120 million to revamp the multiplex, and $30 million on upgrading common areas, including adding art, speakers, parking, signs and the mall’s food court. Mateen said funding for HHLA will come from himself, as well as family and friends.

“My goal is to turn it into one of the top destinations in the county of Los Angeles,” Mateen said. “(I see it being) amidst Universal Studios or the Santa Monica Pier. Something like that would just give anyone visiting, or also living, in Los Angeles something to do and be like a primary draw.”

— Dana Bartholomew

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