Mall Redevelopment Hits Political Snag; Tenants Could Challenge Eminent Domain Vote

HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA-The site of the current Huntington Center shopping mall is at the center of a political storm, as the City Council prepares to decide on November 20 if the city will exercise eminent domain to acquire the property.

Built in the early 1960s, the center is mostly vacant now, with only Montgomery Wards, Burlington Coat Factory and Mervyn’s as the remaining tenants. Wards owns its site, consisting of 13 acres, while the other two are lessees.

City planning director Howard Zelefsky says that Mervyn’s would like to stay in the mall once it is renovated. However the mall’s developer, Irvine-based Ezralow Retail Properties, would like to see Wards and Burlington out of the picture if an eminent domain takeover is approved. And that is the point of political contention.