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Buena Park council to consider housing development to replace closed Sears

June 26, 2023

A proposed mixed-use project, estimated to develop some 1,300 residential units on about 25 acres, is before the Buena Park City Council on Tuesday, June 27.

The proposal is to redevelop the property, on the corner of La Palma and Stanton avenues, that houses a vacant Sears and Sears Auto Center as well as surface parking lots into a mix of 1,176 apartments and 126 townhomes as well as nearly 3,000 parking spaces (bike and electric vehicle parking spots would also be available) and a publicly-accessible one-acre park.

Since the Sears department store shuttered, the space has been used for a farmer’s market, pumpkin patch, Christmas tree lot, Tesla vehicle storage and more, according to a staff report.

The Village at Buena Park — as it’s called by San Diego-based real estate investor Merlone Geier Partners, which acquired the property a few years ago — would be walkable to restaurants, shopping and entertainment.

It is adjacent to the Buena Park Downtown Mall and nearby Knott’s Berry Farm and Soak City.

Construction would be expected to take part in two phases, according to a planning staff report, with the first phase to take place between 2023 and 2025 and the next phase from 2024 to 2027.

The apartment complex, according to that report, would consist of five- to seven-story buildings with balconies and a contemporary architecture in an earth-toned color palette. The townhomes would rise three stories and include front patios on the ground level and balconies on the second, the report said.

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A website from Merlone Geier promoting the project and soliciting feedback says area traffic would not be impacted when compared to the existing allowed commercial use of the property.

The project is before the City Council on Tuesday without any recommendation from the city’s Planning Commission, where it got a 2-2 vote with two commissioners recommending approval, two recommending rejection, two absent from the vote and another abstaining.

The council will consider the proposed development, a zoning change from regional commercial to general mixed-use and a tentative tract map at its meeting.

Other malls are having to figure out what to do with their shuttered Sears, as well. Recently, the owner of the regional mall in Brea got city approval to build a five-story, 380-unit apartment complex along with new restaurants, shops and a fitness center.

The Buena Park City Council meeting can be attended in person at 6650 Beach Blvd., or it can be viewed online.

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