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If you're a fan of the one-stop shop ethos of the Citadel Outlet in Commerce, you might find yourself shopping in Carson soon.
According to the Daily Breeze, developers are aiming for a 500,000-square-foot, 150 unit outlet mall to be built in Carson by late 2018 or early 2019.
"We expect to start construction next year," said Randy Brant, executive vice president at the development firm Macerich, said at a community meeting on Monday night.
By contrast, the Citadel has 130 shops.
The outlet, if fully green lighted, will be built on a 157-acre property that had once been proposed as the site of a new NFL stadium. While exact details are scarce at the moment, top brass at Macerich, say that the mall will aim for high-end retail chains like Saks Fifth Ave. One of the crazier (cooler?) ideas that Macerich has mentioned is a shuttle that goes from LAX to the mall. We're not sure if new-arrivals at LAX are itching to go to a shopping mall in Carson as their first stop. But hey, if they can do it, more power to them.
While the project is still in a negotiation stage, and public comments are being taken, planners say that they want the mall to open in late 2018 or early 2019.
Carson residents are likely skeptical, as the site has been the focus of a number of empty promises in recent years. Just last year, the lot was owned by both the San Diego Chargers and the Oakland Raiders, who were entertaining the idea of moving to L.A. and playing in a new stadium that would be built on the lot. That idea, of course, fell through when it was announced that the Rams were coming to town to play in a new stadium in Inglewood. Also, before residents had started dreaming of football, another outlet mall had also been proposed for the area, but it never came to fruition.
Developers promise that they're serious about making the project a reality; they point to the fact that they've already sunk $2 million into researching the site.
Oh yeah, another thing of note is that the site is, uh, a former landfill. The lot was home to the CalCompact landfill pits, which stored "tons of municipal refuse and liquid industrial waste" during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Planners at Macerich say that this isn't a concern, as the firm will cover the area with landfill liner and concrete slab. Also, the buildings will stand on piles, which will keep the structures erect as the landfill slowly compresses underneath.
Will this new mega-mall replace your fondness of the Citadel? Maybe. Though, if you're a fan of absurdly early Christmas decorations, you may be sticking with the Citadel after all.
