The countdown clock has started for the redevelopment of the Hawthorne Plaza mall.
The City of Hawthorne won a court order calling on The Charles Company and affiliate M&A Gabaee to either begin redevelopment of the long-abandoned mall or demolish the property, Bisnow reported.
Under the permanent court injunction, the owners have until Aug. 31 of next year to begin redevelopment or demolition at Hawthorne Plaza. If they fail to do so, the city plans to “request the appointment of a receiver who would assume control of the property on behalf of the court and determine its disposition,” according to a statement from the City of Hawthorne.
“The mall, which has sat vacant for more than two decades, has been a source of ongoing community concern due to trespassing, graffiti, trash and safety issues,” the city said. “Redevelopment of the site is considered critical to the economic recovery of downtown and will also provide relief to surrounding neighborhoods.”
Hawthorne officials hit The Charles Company and M&A Gabaee with a city nuisance abatement action in 2021. The following year, Arman Gabaee, the co-founder and co-managing partner of The Charles Company, pleaded guilty to a bribery charge for making cash payments to Los Angeles County real estate official Thomas Shepos.
Gabaee was sentenced to four years in prison. That case involved the Hawthorne Plaza mall, as Gabaee paid off Shepos in the hope of securing a $45 million lease for county offices at the site. Since 2009, the decrepit Hawthorne Plaza mall has served as a backdrop for film productions seeking a post-apocalyptic atmosphere.
It’s not the only decaying mall property in L.A. County that The Charles Company has let sit. L.A. city officials last month declared part of the Valley Plaza mall in North Hollywood a public nuisance, sentencing it to demolition. Much like the Hawthorne Plaza property, the abandoned shopping center had squatters move in and police and fire departments respond to calls regarding crime, fires and unresponsive individuals. Film producers have also been attracted to the site as a downtrodden-looking filming location.
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