Caruso’s Corinne Verdery Wants More Residential With Retail

Rick Caruso’s eponymous firm, Caruso, looks to grow beyond the Golden State and shopping malls.

The Fairfax-based retail developer plans to greatly expand its residential projects and build outside California, according to the Los Angeles Business Journal, citing Caruso CEO Corinne Verdery.

In an interview, Verdery outlined how the firm plans to build more mixed-use projects, add homes to some of its current shopping centers, and expand into other states.

“We have a significant push to grow residential … that is a big focus of the company,” Verdery, head of Caruso since September 2022, told the Business Journal.

Caruso is best known for open-air malls such as The Grove in Fairfax, The Commons at Calabasas, Palisades Village in the Pacific Palisades, The Americana at Brand in Glendale, Village at Moorpark and The Lakes at Thousand Oaks.

The firm’s portfolio is now 80 percent shops and restaurants, and 12 percent residential.

Its retail centers report double-digit net operating income growth and high occupancy rates, Verdery said, with 75 percent higher sales-per-square-foot than the industry average. Financial figures were not disclosed.

But by 2030, Caruso’s portfolio mix is expected to be 19 percent residential, according to Verdery. Rick Caruso, since stepping down during his failed campaign for Los Angeles mayor, has taken on the role of executive chair, but is still involved in the business, she said.

Changes to local zoning regulations allow for more mixed-use developments that include both retail and residential components. So Caruso aims to add more homes to some of its Southern California malls.

At Caruso, The Commons at Calabasas has been approved for 119 apartments and 15 more shops and restaurants. The Lakes at Thousand Oaks has been approved for 165 more apartments. Construction is expected to start next year.

In Calabasas, in the west San Fernando Valley, Caruso will bulldoze a movie theater at the 25-acre Commons and replace it with a five-story building with 101 apartments with ground-floor shops and restaurants. Four mixed-use complexes with 18 apartments would also stretch across its parking lot, linked by grass and meandering walking paths

Looking forward, Verdery said the company would expand beyond greater L.A., including opportunities outside of California — in particular coastal cities and warm-weather locations.

The out-of-state target markets for Caruso’s expansion were not disclosed.

“It’s a priority and focus for the company,” Verdery told the Business Journal. “We’re excited to introduce Caruso to other states and other cities. … It’s time. I’m also extremely excited to do more residential.”

— Dana Bartholomew