Caruso Buying Up Palisades Village

The sleepy commercial strip of Los Angeles’ wealthy Pacific Palisades neighborhood might get an overhaul from one of Los Angeles’ most successful mall developers.

Rick Caruso, developer of popular The Grove and The Americana at Brand malls, is in escrow to buy 10 parcels of property at the Village section of Pacific Palisades, according to newspaper reports.Galit Shokrian, a spokesperson for Los Angeles–based Caruso Affiliated, declined to comment on the reported land deals.

The Palisades’ Village section is the address for popular fashion boutiques Boca and Madison, but it is not meeting the needs of a big, wealthy community, said Chuck Dembo, a Pacific Palisades resident and partner with commercial real estate company Dembo Realty.

“Any change will be positive. There are a lot of empty storefronts here,” Dembo said of the Village. “There are too many banks and real estate offices. We need more retail. We need more restaurants and cafes here.”

Pacific Palisades shoppers often drive to neighboring Malibu and farther to Santa Monica and Beverly Hills to shop for clothes, he noted. —Andrew Asch