Rick Caruso and Elyse Walker Announce Plans for Palisades Village Reopening Following SoCal Fires

Yahoo

4 days ago

Five months after a devastating wildfire ripped through the tony beachside enclave, Los Angeles' Palisades neighborhood is on the road to revival.
With construction on fire-damaged homes and now-empty lots springing up all around, the Palisades Village shopping center, owned by billionaire real estate mogul Rick Caruso, is laying the groundwork for a grand reopening targeted for mid-2026.
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The reimagined outdoor mall will welcome back many of its current and former tenants, and it will also feature new, yet-to-be-announced arrivals in the form of retail shops and dining, Caruso told reporters at a press conference Wednesday.
While the Village itself skirted much physical damage, its storefronts have stood empty for weeks upon weeks, their windows darkened. Across the street, the burned-out remnants of a large building that once housed a bustling Starbucks casts a grim shadow. Driving into the area—which is heavily patrolled by police and blanketed by contractors on their way to building projects—still requires a city-issued pass.
But Caruso is confident that the area will return to its former glory in due time. He plans to announce a new dining concept in the coming months, and bring back the Village's annual Christmas tree lighting and Menorah celebration over the holiday season. He's also committed to funding the revitalization of neighboring retail-filled streets, including sidewalks and landscaping.
Shoppers—as well as tenants—will again flock to what has become the neighborhood's central commerce hub, Caruso believes. 'I'm very confident we're going to open up fully leased. There's a lot of interest, and most of the tenants that are here want to come back,' he told WWD. The village houses storefronts for brands like Reformation, A.L.C., Aesop, Sephora, Vince, Veronica Beard, Anine Bing, Alo Yoga and Paige, among others.
Asked whether the Village would be offering special terms for prospective new businesses looking for a place to land, The Grove owner said, 'Just like we did in Covid, especially for smaller, independent businesses, it's all about supporting them to get reopened, being able to operate very properly. Absolutely, we're structuring deals.'
The Caruso real estate group's CEO, Corinne Verdery, said some brands are still working with their insurance providers to chart a course forward. 'We're certainly going to work hard to bring them back,' she said, echoing Caruso's sentiments about working with tenants during the pandemic and its aftermath. 'We're very used to and accustomed to leaning in with each individual tenant to figure out how can we best support them.'
With January's trauma still fresh in the minds of many, Verdery said the group is focused on rebuilding with an eye toward safety and resilience. 'We will continue to use our non-combustible, commercial-grade fire-retardant materials. We'll continue to underground all of our utilities,' she said, noting that those decisions likely saved the Village from incurring more damage, though some torched wooden decks will be replaced with different materials. 'We're using some of our learnings,' she said.
Fashion industry stalwart Elyse Walker, who founded footwear brand Capretto and owns of a fleet of nationwide stores, joined Caruso on Wednesday to tout the commencement of rebuilding efforts within the neighborhood. Walker—whose 26-year-old eponymous Elysewalker flagship store was housed across the street and was damaged in the fires—plans to reopen within the Village, claiming its most visible corner lot on Sunset Boulevard.
'Today is the beginning of our rebuilding efforts, and I am proud to be here with Rick and his family and his team to renew our commitment to this wonderful community,' she told reporters. 'Our goal is to create jobs and enthusiasm. Reopening in the Palisades and moving our flagship across the street to the Palisades Village is incredibly exciting and important as we focus our efforts on supporting this strong and resilient town,' she added.
Walker told WWD that when she opened her store in the Palisades a quarter century ago, the area was not known for retail. It was a choice she made with a practical objective: she wanted to be close to her kids' school. Over time, the location became a community gathering place, spurring other businesses to take root nearby.
'I truly believe what's good for one is good for all. If you look at car dealerships, they're all next to each other,' she said. 'Sometimes retailers are a little protective, but competition's good.'
When Caruso revealed his plans to open the Palisades Village in 2018, Walker was all in. The stated objective—to support the town—resonated with her, and Towne by Elysewalker was born in the Village, across the street from her flagship. It featured a more laid-back selection of men's and women's merchandise, from clothing and shoes to accessories. 'We put couches in the middle. And the idea is, we just want people to come and hang out. We had a vintage car book, we had backgammon sets, and sometimes you would shop, but it was a more casual vibe.'
The store was a hit, becoming one of the shopping center's signature staples. Before the fires, the 1,500-square-foot location was raking in $4,500 per square foot, she said. 'I used to keep those things quiet, and now I want to brag and blurt it out because I want people to understand how much business there is in the Palisades.'
Following the fires and the closure of both stores, Walker scrambled to reroute many of her associates and stylists. 'We gathered them. I said, 'There's no four walls that will ever define me, and there's no four walls that will ever define the hard work you do, the relationships you build, the businesses you helped build—that did not go away. We will find you another four walls as soon as we can.''
The retailer set up a mini pop-up shop at its warehouse in Culver City. Some stylists now commute to other Elysewalker locations in Calabasas and Newport Beach. Some even fly up to the Napa Valley in Northern California, where Walker now resides and operates a storefront, to work for up to a month at a time. The boutique's brand partners also stepped up, offering flexible payment terms and offering to take back unsold merchandise, or shipping goods purchased for the Palisades stores to different locations—even the Elysewalker on Madison Avenue.
Asked about her mindset throughout the past five months, Walker said, 'It's just basically rolling up your sleeves and dealing with the punches or the blows or the losses and being resourceful—maybe feeling badly for yourself for a little bit, but then rising to the occasion. And for me, this rise was very, very easy.' She credited her team for springing into action to help develop the contingency plans that will allow the Palisades businesses to live on, even during the coming months of reconstruction.
'This is our home. We helped build it, and I hope that today really serves as a day to give people the extra push and a vote of confidence,' she added. 'Everyone's going to come back. I just want them to come back sooner, quicker and faster, because the sooner we do that, the faster everyone can heal.'