Huntington Beach Mall developer could face lawsuit

Eron Ben-Yehuda

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- One of the few remaining retailers at the Huntington

Beach Mall has threatened to file a lawsuit against the developer, which

is helping to delay the much-anticipated renovation of the beleaguered

shopping center.

As a tenant since 1995, Burlington Coat Factory wants to be a part of the

developer’s new vision for the aging center at the corner of Edinger

Avenue and Beach Boulevard, said Aviv Tuchman, the company’s attorney.

But Ezralow Retail Properties LLC, which bought the mall in November, is

hoping to attract “higher end” stores, in addition to upscale restaurants

and an 18-screen movie theater, company President Douglas Gray said.

More than the tenants will change, as the developer proposes to demolish

the 33-year-old center’s core to make way for an open-air plaza designed

along the lines of an Italian village.

The removal of asbestos, followed by demolition, was supposed to begin as

early as this month, but now buildings are not expected to come down

before September, Gray said.

Burlington isn’t the only obstacle slowing down redevelopment. Getting

permits from the city and approval on a construction loan are taking

longer than expected, Gray said.

The developer remains mum about what tenants will move into the new mall,

dubbed Crossings at Huntington, but the company is looking for the kind

of stores one finds at the Irvine Spectrum, Gray said.

“I think when it’s completed, everybody will be happy with the result,”

he said.

So far, Burlington isn’t.

Despite having a lease extending to 2025, the retailer’s been given the

cold shoulder by Ezralow, Tuchman said.If Ezralow doesn’t warm up to the

idea of including Burlington in its future, Tuchman said a lawsuit may be

filed within 30 days.

On the advice of his attorney, Gray said he won’t discuss the dispute

with Burlington, which may jeopardize negotiations with the other large

anchor stores, Montgomery Ward and Mervyn’s.

Most other stores have left, except for Barnes & Noble Booksellers,

Macaroni Grill and others at a strip mall along the property’s edge by

Beach and Center Avenue. Those businesses are expected to survive the

transition and will remain open during construction.

Only a few dozen customers were shopping last Thursday afternoon at

Burlington. Their reaction to the store’s precarious future was mixed.

“There isn’t anything I want that I can’t get someplace else,” resident

Bradley K. Shelton said.

But resident Sarah Belding said she’d like to continue shopping at

Burlington because of its selection of baby furniture and clothing.

“I’d hate to see them have to leave,” she said.