Farewell, Citicorp-Plaza Macy's
On the heels of a tough holiday sales season, Macy’s Inc. announced it would close 11 underperforming stores on Jan. 8—including the Macy’s at Citicorp Plaza in downtown Los Angeles. The downtown Macy’s will be the only one to close in California, according to the department store’s spokesman Jim Sluzewski. And no further Macy’s closures are planned.
The process for closing the Citicorp Plaza Macy’s will begin with a clearance sale on Jan. 14. The 135,000-square-foot Citicorp Plaza store is located at 920 Seventh St. and is scheduled to be shuttered 30 to 60 days after its last merchandise is sold.
The store, which was previously a Robinsons-May, has been doing business since 1986. Macy’s will try to find other jobs in its company for the store’s 136 employees and will try to find another tenant for the space, according to Sluzewski. A neighboring Macy’s, located at 750 W. Seventh St. at Macy’s Plaza, will continue doing business.
The Citicorp Plaza Macy’s space might remain vacant for a long time, according to Jack Kyser, the chief economist for Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. The rough economy put many companies’ retail expansion plans to a standstill. However, Kyser said the Citicorp property could be considered highly valuable soon. He forecast tourist and convention business will grow, with the recently debuted L.A. Live entertainment center in downtown Los Angeles.
L.A. Live is located adjacent to the Los Angeles Convention Center and Staples Center, the home of sports teams Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Kings and Los Angeles Clippers. “There’s a lot of entertainment, not much retail,” Kyser said of L.A. Live, which features nightclubs and gourmet restaurants.
Perhaps making the area more attractive, in early 2010, two hotels are scheduled to be constructed by L.A. Live. They will be the 878-room JW Marriott hotel and the 123-room Ritz-Carlton hotel.
