South Bay Galleria · May 2026
The slow rebirth of the South Bay Galleria.
A 67-year-old, 30-acre, 955,000-square-foot mall that's been through three owners in seven years and is currently halfway through being remade. The plan, approved across two phases by two different city bodies, would add 650 housing units on the parking lots, a 150-room hotel, and a transit-adjacent mixed-use district — eventually anchored by a K Line station that arrives in 2036. This report traces what happened, what's coming, and where the City government has actually had a hand in it.
Site
30 acres
955K sqft mall
Year opened
1959
Enclosed 1985
New housing units
650
across Phase 1 + Phase 2
K Line stationLA Metro Board approved the Hawthorne alignment on January 22, 2026, which includes a K Line station in the Hawthorne median directly adjacent to the Galleria. Construction starts later this decade.
2036
next to the mall
Timeline
Sixty-seven years, four owners, two phases.
The arc bends from an open-air shopping center in the Eisenhower era to a fully-enclosed indoor mall in the 80s, through the slow collapse of department-store retail, to the residential-led redevelopment we're watching now. Color-coded by era.
Aug 22, 1959
OriginSouth Bay Center opens
Opens as an open-air shopping center with 37 tenants on ~30 acres. May Company anchors the property. Shaded walkways, a movie theater added later.
Nov 1, 1960
OriginJFK campaigns on site
John F. Kennedy delivers a campaign speech at South Bay Center during the final week of his 1960 presidential bid.
1985
Enclosed eraForest City builds the enclosed mall
Forest City Development demolishes the open-air center and rebuilds it as a glass-domed, fully-enclosed three-level shopping mall. Renamed 'Galleria at South Bay.' Nordstrom and Mervyn's open as new anchors alongside May Company.
1992
Enclosed eraCalPERS takes a 50% stake
Forest City sells half-ownership to the California Public Employees' Retirement System. Mall keeps operating but ownership economics shift.
1997
Enclosed era16-screen multiplex opens
General Cinema builds a 16-screen multiplex. AMC acquires it five years later.
2001
Enclosed eraRenamed 'South Bay Galleria'
Forest City repurchases the CalPERS stake and formally renames the property.
Dec 2008
Tenant turnoverMervyn's closes nationwide
Mervyn's declares Chapter 11 and shutters every location. Kohl's eventually picks up the Galleria space as part of a 48-store national portfolio acquisition.
Dec 4, 2012
Tenant turnoverNordstrom announces departure
After nearly 30 years, Nordstrom announces it is relocating to Del Amo Fashion Center. The Nordstrom space becomes the largest vacancy in the property and stays mostly empty for the next decade.
Aug 2015
Tenant turnoverNordstrom replacement deferred
Management says it will defer filling the Nordstrom space until a mall-wide renovation is planned. Temporary tenants — 'Wonder of Dinosaurs' exhibit, a pop-up department store called 'Q' — fill the void.
Jan 25, 2018
Redevelopment eraQIC acquires from Forest City
Australian investment firm QIC takes ownership. Public announcement frames the future as six acres of landscaped outdoor space and standalone mixed-use buildings — the first public outline of what becomes the SOLO master plan.
2019
Redevelopment eraMaster plan approved by City Council
City Council approves the multi-phase mixed-use master plan that lays out 650 housing units, a 150-room hotel, adaptive reuse of the former Nordstrom space for office, and a town square.
Nov 2019
Redevelopment eraForever 21 closes
Forever 21 announces it will shutter the Galleria store as part of its national Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Closure finalizes January 2020.
Nov 2021
Redevelopment eraPhase 1 details unveiled
L Catterton + QIC reveal specifics: 300-unit apartment building with 15,730 sqft of ground-floor retail, a 150-room boutique hotel with 17,000 sqft retail, adaptive reuse of the former Nordstrom for up to 175,000 sqft of office, gateway monuments, plaza. Designed by AO. Approved but not yet built.
Spring 2025
Redevelopment eraKennedy Wilson acquires via foreclosure
Beverly Hills-based Kennedy Wilson takes the property out of foreclosure from L Catterton. Inherits the approved master plan and the still-unbuilt Phase 1. Confirms intent to proceed with redevelopment.
Aug 21, 2025
Redevelopment eraPlanning Commission approves Phase 2
After an hours-long hearing, the Planning Commission approves Phase 2 — 335 apartments, 15 townhomes, 8,300 sqft of retail, 845-car garage on the southwest parking lot. Vote: 6–1, Commissioner Doug Boswell dissenting on traffic grounds. Multiple commissioners cite SB 330 as constraining their ability to deny the project.
Jan 22, 2026
Redevelopment eraK Line Hawthorne alignment confirmed
LA Metro Board certifies the Final EIR and approves the Hawthorne Boulevard alignment for the K Line Extension to Torrance — including a station in the median directly adjacent to the Galleria. Service projected to open 2036.
Where it stands today
What's actually there right now.
Kennedy Wilson took control out of foreclosure in mid-2025. Macy's, Kohl's, and the AMC 16 still operate. The former Nordstrom has been dark for fourteen years.
Macy's
Anchor · OpenOriginal May Company → Robinsons-May → Macy's, in place since 1985.
Kohl's
Anchor · OpenTook over the former Mervyn's space after the 2008 bankruptcy.
AMC 16 Theater
Anchor · OpenOriginally General Cinema (1997); acquired by AMC in 2002.
Former Nordstrom
Anchor · ClosedVacant since 2012. Slated for adaptive reuse as 175K sqft of office in Phase 1.
Wonder of Dinosaurs / Q
Temporary · OpenPop-up tenants filling former Nordstrom space and the surrounding wing.
Phase 1
The 2019 master plan, on paper.
Approved by City Council in 2019 under QIC ownership, detailed in November 2021 under L Catterton, now inherited by Kennedy Wilson. Not yet built. The biggest moves are residential infill on the northeast parking lot and an adaptive reuseAdaptive reuse means repurposing an existing building rather than tearing it down. The former Nordstrom building's structure stays; the interior gets converted to office space. of the empty Nordstrom anchor.
- Status
- Approved
- Approved
- 2019 (master plan), Nov 2021 (details)
- Housing units
- 300
- Hotel keys
- 150
- Office (adaptive reuse)
- 175K sqft
- Ground-floor retail
- 33K sqft
- Parking
- 3,835 stalls
- Height
- varies — apt building, hotel, plaza
- Designer
- AO
- Location
- Northeast parking lot, hotel parcel, former Nordstrom
City Council
20% low income + 10% very low
Boutique
Former Nordstrom
Phase 2
350 more units, on a 6–1 vote.
Planning Commission approved Phase 2 on August 21, 2025, after an hours-long hearing. Commissioner Doug BoswellDoug Boswell, who cited cumulative traffic impacts: '650 residents all leaving for work at 7:30 in the morning, it's Armageddon.' cast the lone dissenting vote on traffic grounds. Multiple commissioners stated on the record that they were operating under SB 330Senate Bill 330, the Housing Crisis Act of 2019. Limits a city's ability to deny housing projects that comply with state housing law, restricts cities from down-zoning, and caps the number of public hearings. The Galleria Phase 2 came in compliant; commissioners had limited grounds to refuse it. constraints — they could not legally deny a state-compliant housing project on the grounds many residents wanted to use (density, traffic, height).
- Status
- Approved
- Approved
- Aug 21, 2025
- Housing units
- 350
- Ground-floor retail
- 8K sqft
- Parking
- 845 stalls
- Height
- 3–8 stories, up to 89 ft
- Designer
- Studio One Eleven
- Location
- Southwest parking lot, opposite the AMC theater on Kingsdale Ave
Planning Commission (6–1)
35 very-low + 70 low income (set-aside)
What the commission did get
Three modifications negotiated during the hearing: semi-permeable surface treatment for stormwater management, public access to commercial-lot parking if the residential garage is unavailable, and an enhanced tree canopy standard modeled on Pasadena's ordinance.
What it adds up to
The full buildout, side by side.
| Component | Phase 1 | Phase 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 300 | 350 | 650 |
| Hotel keys | 150 | — | 150 |
| New retail (ground floor) | 33K sqft | 8K sqft | 41K sqft |
| Adaptive-reuse office | 175K sqft | — | 175K sqft |
For context: 650 new units would represent roughly 2% of the City's existing housing stock (~31,000 units) added in two buildings, on a single site, on what is currently surface parking. The Galleria redevelopment is — quietly — the single largest housing project in Redondo Beach's modern history outside of the AES site proposal (which remains in litigation).
The City's actual role
What Redondo Beach decided, and didn't.
A useful exercise in tracing where local control actually exists in the current state housing-law framework. The City has shaped the project around the edges — and not at all in the broad strokes.
2019
City Council approves the multi-phase master plan, setting the framework for everything that follows.
2025
Planning Commission approves Phase 2 6-1, with several commissioners on record that SB 330 (the 2019 Housing Crisis Act) tied their hands — the project came in compliant with state housing law and could not legally be denied on the grounds many residents wanted to use (density, traffic, height beyond the city's 60-foot limit).
2025
Three modifications negotiated by commissioners during the hearing: semi-permeable surfaces for stormwater retention, commercial-lot parking access if the garage is unavailable, and enhanced tree canopy modeled on Pasadena's ordinance.
2026
City participates in the Metro K Line EIR process. The Hawthorne alignment includes a station directly adjacent to the Galleria — a long-term planning win even if rail service is still a decade away.
The most consequential City decision was the 2019 master plan approval — which set the framework that every owner since has inherited. Once a state-compliant master plan exists for a parcel, replacement owners can execute it without needing to re-win local approval at the level of detail many residents expect.
The K Line connection
Why the timeline says 2036.
On January 22, 2026, LA Metro's Board certified the Final Environmental Impact Report for the K Line Extension to Torrance and approved the Hawthorne Boulevard alignment. The plan includes a station in the median of Hawthorne, fully grade-separated, with the Galleria as the primary station-area destination. The extension is projected to open for service in 2036 — meaning the current redevelopment will be a decade into operation by the time rail arrives.
That sequencing matters. The Phase 2 housing comes online well before the rail does, which means the project's near-term traffic impact (Commissioner Boswell's concern) is real and worth monitoring. The longer-term picture — a transit-served, residential-anchored mixed-use district — is the planning bet the City has been making since 2019.
The honest assessment
What it adds up to.
The mall as we knew it is over. Three department-store anchors became one. The Nordstrom space has been dark for 14 years. National retail has shifted. The people running the property — across QIC, L Catterton, and now Kennedy Wilson — have all agreed the future is mixed-use, and the City Council ratified that direction in 2019.
The redevelopment is bigger than most residents realize. 650 housing units is roughly half of what the AES site proposal would add, on a site one-third the size, with no litigation and quiet bipartisan approval. It is, by attendance and visibility, the most under-discussed major project in town.
Local control has narrowed. The Phase 2 commissioner debate is a clean case study in what SB 330 actually does — a City that disagrees with the broad density choices being made, but cannot legally deny a state-compliant project, can still negotiate trees, stormwater, and parking-access details. That is real value at the margin. It is not the kind of value most residents have in mind when they think about Planning Commission authority.
Execution risk is real. Phase 1 has been approved since 2019 and has not been built. The property has changed hands twice since then. Kennedy Wilson is credibly capitalized and credibly experienced, but mixed-use development at this scale takes years. Don't expect cranes in 2026; expect entitlements in 2026 and groundbreaking later.
Sources
- South Bay Galleria — Wikipedia · Comprehensive tenant + ownership history
- Easy Reader — Planning Commission approves Phase 2 · Aug 2025 hearing detail, vote tally, commissioner statements
- Urbanize LA — Housing planned for west side of South Bay Galleria · Phase 2 specifications, Studio One Eleven design
- Urbanize LA — First phase of South Bay Galleria redevelopment · Phase 1 detail — 300 units, 150-room hotel, AO design
- KTLA — South Bay mall redevelopment moves forward after foreclosure · Kennedy Wilson takeover from L Catterton, 2025
- City of Redondo Beach — Major Development Projects · Official planning page; current proposal status
- LA Metro — K Line Extension to Torrance · Hawthorne alignment + Galleria station confirmation; 2036 service
Ownership history, anchor-tenant sequence, and dates back to 1955 are sourced from public coverage and the property's Wikipedia entry, cross-checked against contemporaneous news reporting. Phase 1 and Phase 2 specifications come from the City's planning page and Urbanize LA's coverage of each approval. The 2025 Planning Commission vote detail (6–1, Boswell dissenting, SB 330 discussion) is sourced from Easy Reader's hearing coverage. The K Line station and 2036 service date are from LA Metro Board documents. Numbers are official where available and rounded for readability.