Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza

Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza

Location	Los Angeles, California, USA
Address	3650 W Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90008
Opening date	November 10, 1947
Management	Capri Capital Partners
Owner	Capri Capital Partners
No. of anchor tenants	3
Total retail floor area	870,000 sq ft (81,000 m2)
No. of floors	2
Website	Official website

Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza (also known as Baldwin Hills Crenshaw, or by its acronym BHCP) is a shopping mall (the first post-war retail complex in California) in Los Angeles, California, owned and operated by the Capri Capital Partners. Its anchor stores are Macy's, Wal-Mart, and Sears. The original open-air complex, known as the Broadway-Crenshaw Center, was located in Los Angeles, California.

History

Opened in November 1947, as the Broadway-Crenshaw Center the retail hub was anchored by a The Broadway department store, a May Company department store, Woolworth variety store, and Von's supermarket. It consisted of 550,000 square feet (51,000 m²) and 13 acres (53,000 m²) of parking. It is the first shopping mall on the west coast.

The complex underwent a massive renovation, which got underway in the mid-1980s. Much of the original inline store space was demolished. In 1989 a two-level, fully enclosed mall structure was built, which was anchored by the existing The Broadway and May Company stores and included a new Sears as a third anchor.

1st Renovation

The shopping complex, now known as Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza, was officially dedicated in November 1988 by L.A. Mayor *Tom Bradley (American politician). BHCP encompassed 860,000 square feet (79,000 m²).

After a series of rebrandings of the two original department stores, BHCP is anchored by the state's only three-story Wal-Mart (in the old The Broadway building), Macy's (in the old May Company structure), Sears, and a Lucky's, it became an Albertsons in mid-1999. In 1995 Magic Johnson Theatres opened as a 15-plex cinema. The opening featured guest such as Michael Jackson and others. The mall contains an additional 115 retail and specialty shops on over 40 acres (160,000 m²) of land which is located in one of the most densely populated areas in the United States. BHCP also serves as a community center for the Baldwin Hills and Crenshaw communities. The mall maintains its cultural roots with a Museum of African Art located on the third level of Macy's.

2nd Renovation

In 2010, Capri Capital Partners announced that they would be redesigning the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza, adding new interior embellishments, a modern and larger food court. They also redesigned the theme Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza Bridge which is now a glass see-through bridge overlooking Crenshaw Blvd and MLK Blvd. Renovations also came with new balcony rails, escalators, elevators, and new tile flooring. They also changed the Macy's and Wal-Mart painting from peach to white. They also brought in new stores and restaurants such as Victoria's Secret, Forever 21, TJ Maxx, Lane Bryant, Claire's, Staples, Post & Beam, Chipotle Mexican Grill, a multiplex cinema Rave Cinemas and Buffalo Wild Wings.The renovation was officially completed in November 2011.

3rd Redevelopment

There are plans for a 3rd renovation in the future to transform the shopping mall into a 24-hour entertainment complex that includes new condos.

Rave digital cinema

Rave Cinemas (formerly the Magic Johnson Theatre) opened with 13 regular HD screens and 2 IMAX RaveXtreme screens on June 29, 2011. In 2014, the theatre was sold to Cinemark Theatres but still keeps the Rave brand.

Transport connections

• Metro Rail: The Crenshaw/LAX Line will have a light rail subway station called Martin Luther King Jr station which will serve the shopping centre. It is currently under construction and is slated to open in early 2019.

Anchors

• Macy's [2006-] , May Company [1947-1993]/Robinsons-May [1993-2006]
• Wal-Mart [2003-] (213,100 sq ft.), The Broadway [1947-1996]/Macy's [1996-1999]
• Sears [1988-] (142,900 sq ft.)

External links

• Official website