Thousands of new homes are replacing Orange County's dead malls

In a commentary in The Orange County Register, Byron De Arakal highlights the changing role of the county's shopping malls, many of which have fallen victim to the forces of e-commerce and changing consumer preferences.

According to De Arakal, "Pressed by gargantuan state housing mandates, saddled with upside-down budgets, and dogged by an oversupply of obsolete commercially zoned land, 'mall' cities are wisely ditching their fallow 'fiscal zoning' strategies emphasizing commercial retail zoning in favor of mixed-use zoning that integrates new housing to feed right-sized retail uses focused on daily needs, dining, personal services and entertainment." 

In Westminster, a former mall is being transformed into a mixed-use development with 2,250 new housing units. The city adopted a zoning blueprint to establish a framework for the new use, creating new and more stable revenue streams for the county at the same time as new housing and commercial space. "Meanwhile, 380 apartments are under construction on 15 acres of the Brea Mall property once occupied, in part, by the carcass of a long-closed Sears store. City officials, seeking to reboot the mall property’s tax base, paved the way for the project by scuttling the property’s stale commercial designation in its general plan and zoning code in favor of a mixed-use scheme."

De Arakal praises city leaders' initiative and foresight, saying, "It takes vision to shed the old zone-for-sales-tax paradigm in favor of mixed-use planning strategies to revitalize Orange County’s retail relics. But by integrating new homes, daily needs and essential services into a single footprint, OC cities are setting the stage for a built-in customer base that sustains local businesses regardless of broader retail trends."