What was once one of West Los Angeles’ busiest malls, featured in hit movies and music videos, has sat largely empty since 2019, crushing nearby businesses and leaving neighbors frustrated.
“The West Side Pavilion was like an anchor store for the small businesses here on Pico,” said Lisa Morocco, business chair of the Westside Neighborhood Council.
“When you lose that, there’s a big vacuum. it’s been a long and protracted process.”
“We’re saying please, please, please because our businesses are dying,” added Terri Tippit, chair of the Westside Neighborhood Council and a nearby resident for 54 years.
“We need to have a vibrant business district in order for the residential district to survive too.”
The Westside Pavilion, which appeared in “Clueless” and Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin’” video, among others, began to decline along with similar malls in the 2000s.
It was later slated for redevelopment into One Westside, a tech office complex anchored by Google.
“Google came in and promised us the world,” Tippit said. “They spent a couple of years [on construction] … and then the pandemic came and they decided no one’s coming back to work.”
The Westside Tavern and Landmark Theater were expected to remain open, but both eventually closed, largely due to the economic strain of the COVID-19 pandemic.
UCLA, whose main campus is about two miles north, purchased the property in 2024 to build the UCLA Research Park, which has been under construction ever since.
Businesses along Pico Boulevard have closed in droves since the mall was vacated, including what was once a popular Islands restaurant.
“If I owned a business here, I would be upset, I would be angry, I would be anxious,” Morocco said. “Because we have been telling them, “Oh, just wait until Google gets in. It’s going to be great. Oh, it’s going to be UCLA. Just wait another year and another two.’”
According to UCLA, initial occupancy is expected by 2028, with full occupancy by 2035.
“It’s not UCLA’s fault that they’re not here yet,” Morocco added.
“It’s just that they have to go through the process and the permitting of the city, and the city moves in strange and mysterious ways.”
The 700,000-square-foot facility, one of roughly 200 others across the country, will be shared by academic, public and industry researchers and innovators.
“It’s not some business who has a lease for 10 or 15 years, they are building things here,” she said. “They’re solving big scientific questions here. I think honestly, when we look back in five years, we’re going to be super proud that we’re home to the Research Park.”
Tippit recalled when Australia’s Westfield Group first opened the mall in 1985 as an open-air shopping center.
“They said, because it never rains in California, and as soon as it opened, we had our wettest season,” she said.
Macerich, the developer of Santa Monica Place, later took over but defaulted, setting the stage for Google’s abandoned redevelopment plan.
“Businesses are desperate,” Morocco said. “Come on, UCLA, put on some speed. But we also understand that you have to go through the certain processes. So I guess the short answer is we want them to be here.”
Tippit added that she believes UCLA will enhance the community.
“I think the experience that we’re having here is probably something that’s happening all over the city,” she continued. “And we are lucky, actually, that we get someone like UCLA to come in and lift the tide.”
“But in the interim,” Morocco said. “The Shop Local concept isn’t just a cute idea, it’s a lifeline now. … Go out to a meal. Buy something. Walk the street, even just have some activity.”
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