Huntington Center tenants distressed over possible move

Tariq Malik

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- The city’s decision to redevelop the Huntington

Center into an Italian-style village filled with upscale shops and

restaurants has sent waves of resentment and distress to some of the

mall’s tenants.

Employees of the Burlington Coat Factory and representatives from

Wards, two of the three businesses still operating at the mall, are

lamenting over the Oct. 2 decision by the City Council and what it means

to their future.

“A lot of us are really upset or confused because we don’t know what’s

going to happen,” said John Sonnenberg, 40, a five-year employee of

Burlington, adding that many of his colleagues are uneasy about

relocating because their jobs will be interrupted. “We came to this mall

five years ago with a 30-year lease, and now we could be out in 30 days

if a notice is posted.”

It will probably be a lot longer than a month, city officials said,

and it will hardly be an eviction.

“We appreciate the employee effects of our decision,” said Councilman

Tom Harman, adding that about 120 Burlington and hundreds of Wards

employees would be relocated. “But, when the mall is completely

redeveloped, it could mean a new job count of between 2,500 to 3,000

workers.”

The displaced workers, he added, would have the option of attending

the city’s Regional One Stop and Job Training facility to find new

employment opportunities during the relocation.

Burlington employees said they fear the relocation could take up to

two years. However, city officials said it’s too early to tell how long

the relocation would take.

The city’s economic development director, David Biggs, said the city

is involved in ongoing negotiations with Wards and Burlington

representatives to buy out the property occupied by the companies. Those

property talks should take a few months, though the city has already made

offers and hired a relocation consultant to find suitable locations for

the companies within the city, he added.

The Irvine-based Ezralow Retail Properties LLC has plans to develop

the mall into The Crossings at Huntington Beach, a 58-acre shopping

resort with high-end restaurants and retail stores. The $150-million

project is scheduled to open for business in the spring, drawing an

estimated $1 million a year in sales tax revenue for the city.

“To tell you the truth, we’re very disappointed in this whole ordeal,”

said Phillip Schwartze, a planning consultant for Wards. “We made a

commitment to renovate our own store, custom design it to fit into the

new theme developers have come up with, and were told no.”

Schwartze said the retail store was counting on its loyalty to the

city, 30 years of sticking with the mall despite its decline in recent

years, to secure its place with The Crossings at Huntington.

But city officials said the Huntington Center has been one of Orange

County’s poorest performing malls since 1982, with Mervyn’s as the only

retailer performing within industry standards. Wards and Burlington have

been performing between 60% to 70% below Mervyn’s, they added.

Although Burlington is now entwined in a lawsuit against Ezralow

concerning the 25 years left on its lease, as well as the fact that Wards

owns its part of the mall and hopes to keep it, the city puts stock in

its relocation efforts and will pay the costs of moving the businesses.

QUESTION

SHOULD THEY STAY?

Should Burlington and Wards be part of the proposed Crossings at

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