Gail Marshall, former City Council member, was hired by Caruso Affiliated to consult on The Shops at Santa Anita mall project. The revised plan and environmental impact report (EIR) is now available to the public at the Arcadia Public Library in hardcopy and a CD-ROM is available for a fee at City Hall.
Rick Caruso has agreed to pay for a revision of the environmental impact report for the Shops at Santa Anita, the proposed mall development on the parking lot of the Santa Anita Park race track. The original environmental impact report cost almost $1 million. The new revision will require new studies and new public meetings and could cost another 6-figure amount.
Judge James C. Chalfant stands by his July decision that the environmental impact report (EIR) that Arcadia officials relied upon in approving the mall was faulty in 11 areas and that it would have to be revised before the Caruso mall project, proposed for the Santa Anita Park race track parking lot, known as the Shops at Santa Anita, can move forward.
The environmental impact report (EIR) for the proposed Shops at Santa Anita is now available. The report must be reviewed by the City Council before the development can be built. The report includes traffic studies of certain intersections and the economic effect on Westfield Shoppingtown.
A court hearing today will provide clarification on Judge James Chalfant's July ruling that stopped progress on an upscale mall proposed by developer Rick Caruso at the Santa Anita Park parking lot. The proposed mall is known as the Shops at Santa Anita. In July, Judge Chalfant ruled that the environmental impact report (EIR) that Arcadia officials relied upon in approving the mall was faulty in 11 areas and would have to be revised before the project can move forward. Chalfant could modify his ruling today, or allow the existing ruling to become final judgment.
In a 50-page ruling issued Wednesday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James C. Chalfant found the environmental impact report (EIR) faulty in 11 areas ranging from traffic to air quality. This means Caruso's mall project is stalled until changes are made to the EIR.
Judge James A. Chalfant heard arguments yesterday on two petitions challenging the adequacy of an environmental impact study done for a proposed upscale Arcadia mall, known as The Shops at Santa Anita, developed by Rick Caruso of Caruso Affiliated. The complicated nature of the case could delay a ruling.
As ordered by the Los Angeles Superior Court, Arcadia city officials were expected to finalize the repeal of all approvals related to the Shops at Santa Anita mall project and the decertification of the environmental impact report (EIR). Jason Kruckeberg, Development Services Director for the City of Arcadia, said city officials are just starting the potentially year-long process of fixing the 11 faulty areas of the EIR. City officials have begun talks with CalTrans and the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts asking for their cooperation in fleshing out traffic and sewage studies.
The city has extended the comment period for the Shops at Santa Anita environmental impact report. The public will have until February 27 to file questions and observations.
A full page advertisement authorized by Arcadia First! speaks out against Caruso Affiliated's plans to build a mall on the parking lot of Santa Anita Park race track.
Westfield America may feel threatened by Caruso Affiliated's proposed outdoor mall and residential complex on the parking lot of the Santa Anita Park race track.
George Haines, General Manager of Santa Anita Park race track, writes an open letter in support of the Caruso Affiliated development called The Shops at Santa Anita.
A full page color advertisement solicits Arcadia residents' reviews on the new mall to be built by Caruso Affiliated on the Santa Anita Park race track parking lot. The mall will be called The Shops at Santa Anita.
Magna Entertainment Corp., owner of Santa Anita Park race track, which is in bankruptcy reorganization hearings, filed a plan that would cancel its 2005 agreement with Rick Caruso to develop the 830,000 square feet Shops at Santa Anita on the race track's south parking lot. Caruso filed an objection to the move in bankruptcy court, citing "substantial economic harm" to Santa Anita Associates, LLC, the legal entity that was going to develop the project. Santa Anita LLC has so far invested over $25 million to the project's development. Caruso is committed to developing the project in Arcadia. If the contract is indeed terminated between the parties, Magna would have to start from scratch with new plans, new environmental impact reports, and new hearings to propose another development.
Developer Rick Caruso said he is in the process of finalizing a new deal with Santa Anita Park's owners to build an outdoor mall at the race track's south parking lot. MI Developments (MID) (owner of track), voided a 2005 joint-venture development agreement with Caruso Affiliated in April 2010 for the proposed 825,000 square feet The Shops at Santa Anita, as part of MID's bankruptcy reorganization. MID and Caruso have been renegotiating since, and the development will be similar with some minor variations.
Developer Rick Caruso of Caruso Affiliated is no longer pursuing a deal with Santa Anita Park owners MI Developments to develop an outdoor mall in the race track's parking lot. The project was known as The Shops at Santa Anita. Caruso said, "We're not pursuing it, because of the (Magna Entertainment Corp.) bankruptcy...and everything else." Arcadia city councilman Mickey Segal said it's a loss of "a projected $2.5 million to $3 million of revenue (each year) to the city" in sales and property tax.
Residents voice concerns over the Santa Anita Park race track parking lot development of an outdoor mall to include retail, commercial and apartment space. Residents worry about how the quality of life in Arcadia will be affected. A draft of the environmental report should be ready by late June.
Developer Rick Caruso, whose stalled $500 million, 820,000 square feet retail project "The Shops at Santa Anita," is planned for Santa Anita Park's south parking lot, said he has "no control" over possible bankruptcy at the race track's parent company, Magna Entertainment Corp. (MEC). Caruso said he was still planning to go ahead with his mall and would "wait and see what happens and deal with it." Any reorganization at Magna Entertainment Corp. may delay the mall plans.