Merlone Geier Partners wants to replace the defunct Sears at Buena Park Downtown Mall with 1,300 homes.
The San Diego-based developer has submitted plans to redevelop the shuttered Sears and Sears Auto Center into 1,176 apartments and 126 townhomes at 8150 La Palma Boulevard, According to the Orange County Register.
City Council will decide on Tuesday, June 27 whether to support the project.
The 25-acre development will replace the original site of Buena Park Downtown, which opened in 1961 and will be closed in 2020 after Sears announced it would close more than 100 stores nationwide closure.
The property and parking lot have since been used as a farmers market, pumpkin patch, Christmas tree field and Tesla storage.
The residential project, called Village at Buena Park, will be built in two phases on La Palma Avenue and Stanton Avenue. Currently, the first phase is due to break ground this year and be completed in 2025, with the second phase to begin next year and be completed in 2027.
Plans call for four five- to seven-story balcony apartment buildings housing 1,176 apartments, 176 of which will be affordable housing, According to the project website. The white and brown apartments will consist mostly of one- and two-bedroom units, with some three-bedroom apartments.
The 126 townhouses for sale are on three levels, including ground level terraces, second level balconies and double garages.
In addition to nearly 3,000 parking spaces, the village will include condo pools, courtyards and a 1-acre central park open to the public, as well as a playground and dog park.
The former Sears department store is being redeveloped at malls across Southern California.
That includes Merlone Geier’s $370 million plan to convert a shuttered Sears store in Glendale into nearly 700 homes.
Brea just gave Indiana’s Simon Property the green light to transform its former Sears complex at Brea Mall into a 380-unit urban retail village.
Last July, Irvine-based Shopoff Realty Investments bought the 14.1-acre Sears portion of the Westminster Mall for $46.3 million. In April, the company unveiled plans for the 26-acre Urban Village, which includes 1,065 apartments, 102 townhouses and a 175-room hotel.
Early last year, Shomof Group principal and developer Leo Pustilnikov announced plans to transform a century-old former Sears building in Boyle Heights into a $400 million “life rebuilding center” Served 5,900 homeless residents. The 26-acre campus will include a medical clinic, mental health support and job training.
