The Paseo is an outdoor mall in Pasadena, California, covering three city blocks with office space, shops, restaurants, a movie theater, and 400 loft-style condominiums (called Terrace Apartment Homes) above.

The Paseo
Map
LocationPasadena, California, United States
Coordinates34°08′43″N 118°08′40″W / 34.145162°N 118.144314°W / 34.145162; -118.144314
Address300 E. Colorado Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91101
Opening dateSeptember 2001; 23 years ago (2001-09)
OwnerCypress Equities
ArchitectCharles Kober & Associates
No. of anchor tenants1 (2 at peak)
Total retail floor area553,377 sq ft (51,410.4 m2)
No. of floors2
Public transit access
Websitewww.thepaseopasadena.com

It is located in downtown Pasadena between Colorado Boulevard to the north and Green Street to the south. Paseo Colorado is just east of and connected by a pedestrian bridge, the Garfield Promenade, to Old Town Pasadena, and west of the center of downtown. The mall is located across Green Street from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in the Pasadena Conference Center. As of 2014, the mall is currently without an anchor retail chain stores since both Macy's and a Gelson's Markets had closed in 2013.

History

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Plaza Pasadena (1980 – 2001)

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The site was originally occupied by a shopping mall called Plaza Pasadena, which opened in 1980 and featured three anchor stores: J.C. Penney, The Broadway, and May Company California.[1][2] It was built by The Hahn Company at a cost of $115 million on an 11-acre site and had featured over 120 stores.[3] The development was designed by Charles Kober & Associates and the resulting design was awarded a Progressive Architecture Magazine Design Award in 1979.

May Company closed its store there in 1989, and the space was divided among smaller stores.[4]

In 1998, following the conversion of the Broadway store to Macy's and the closure of J.C. Penney,[5] the developers announced plans to tear down the mall and replace it with an outdoor center.[6]

Paseo Colorado (2001 – 2017)

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Paseo Colorado opened in September 2001, retaining the Macy's store from the original development and added a supermarket and movie theater complex.[7] Two years later, the outdoor center was sold to Developers Diversified Realty Corp. for $114 million in 2003.[8]

In May 2010, Pacific Paseo 14 was replaced by ArcLight Pasadena.[9][10] A few months later, the Paseo Colorado saw the opening of Noor, a 16,000 sq ft event space featuring state-of-the-art audio/visual and lighting and seating for up to 350 guests for banquets in its large ballroom, the Sofia, and 140 guests for banquets in its smaller ballroom, the Ella in November 2010.[11]

On January 3, 2013, Macy's announced their store at Paseo Colorado would close in early spring 2013.[12] At the time of the store closure, there were plans to demolish the Macy's building and replace it with a multi-story hotel.[13]

In March 2013, Gelson's announced that they would close their store at Paseo Colorado on July 21, 2013.[14][15] This store had been at this location since Paseo Colorado first opened 12 years prior. The closing of the supermarket in 2013 resulted for the first time in which the shopping development did not having a major retail anchor on the premise and thus marking the gradual move away from retailing and towards the hospitality industry.

By late 2014, the mall was in the process of obtaining the necessary local governmental licenses to replace the vacant Macy's Department Store with a Hyatt Place hotel and mixed-use condominium complex.[16][17] After obtaining the necessary permits, DDR began the demolition process in August 2015.[18]

In January 2016, DDR sold the retail development to Cypress Equities of Dallas.[19][20]

The Paseo (2017 – present)

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The shopping development was renamed The Paseo[21] in 2017.[22] H&M opened a new store in the development in December 2017.[23] A Hyatt Place finally open on the site of a former Macy’s in December 2018.[24]

ArcLight Pasadena was closed in March 2020 as a result of the COVID pandemic. In April 2021, its parent company announced that none of its theaters would reopen.[25] In April 2023, it was announced that Regal Cinemas had acquired the lease to the former Arclight Cinema at the mall and that it would reopen as part of the company's chain.[26] On June 1, 2023, Regal Cinemas opened its doors at the former Arclight Cinemas.[27]

Rubio's Coastal Grill closed a third of its restaurants including its Paseo Pasadena location while it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June 2024.[28]

References

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  1. ^ Directory of major malls. MJJTM Publications Corp. 1990. p. 66.
  2. ^ "Pasadena's $115-Million Plaza Officially Opens". Los Angeles Times. September 28, 1980. p. I30. ProQuest 162935700. The $115-million Plaza Pasadena, bordered by Colorado Boulevard, Los Robles and Marengo avenues and Green Street in downtown Pasadena, has opened its doors to the public. The three major stores in the project, J.C. Penney, May Co. and the Broadway, opened in mid-August. Charles Kober & Associates, architect for the plaza, won the 1979 architectural award from Progressive Architecture magazine for the project's design. The mall contains 120 shops on two levels.
  3. ^ "Plaza Pasadena opens with 125 stores". Los Angeles Times. October 26, 1980. p. Y12. ProQuest 162944123. The newest addition to the San Gabriel Valley is Plaza Pasadena, a downtown Pasadena redevelopment shopping center. The plaza, which is a project of Ernest W. Hahn Inc., is located at Colorado Boulevard and Los Robles. It opened on Sept. 3. With a total of 600,000 square feet, the plaza consists of 122 specialty shops plus the Broadway, J.C. Penney's and the May Co. Also located in the plaza are the Pasadena Arts Council offices. The plaza centerpiece is the magnificent Garfield Arch, which stands 65 feet tall and 58 feet wide.[dead link]
  4. ^ Torres, Vicki (December 27, 1990). "Where San Gabriel Valley Shops: Plaza Pasadena Tries to Overcome the Odds". Los Angeles Times.
  5. ^ "Owners Propose Face-Lift for Plaza Pasadena Mall". Los Angeles Times. March 26, 1998.
  6. ^ Ellingwood, Ken (January 27, 1998). "Redemption for a Mall? Development: Plaza Pasadena divided the city 20 years ago. But a new proposal would turn the indoor center inside-out to take advantage of vibrant street life". Los Angeles Times.
  7. ^ Lee, Elizabeth (September 29, 2001). "Pasadena Mall Opens With Festival-Style Flair". Daily News (Los Angeles). Archived from the original on March 29, 2015.
  8. ^ Vincent, Roger (January 4, 2003). "Paseo Colorado Center Is Sold". Los Angeles Times.
  9. ^ Carter, Ryan (March 16, 2010). "Arclight to expand into Pasadena". Pasadena Star News.
  10. ^ "ArcLight Pasadena opens its doors at Paseo Colorado". Los Angeles Daily News. May 10, 2010.
  11. ^ Kamal, Tariq (July 1, 2014). "Pasadena's Unofficial Community Center". Pasadena Weekly. Archived from the original on August 19, 2016.
  12. ^ Piasecki, Joe (January 5, 2013). "Paseo Colorado Macy's closing in early spring: Workers will be offered transfers where possible after spring closure". Pasadena Sun. Archived from the original on February 10, 2015.
  13. ^ Williams, Janette (February 28, 2013). "Macy's to face wrecking ball in planned Paseo Colorado project". Pasadena Star-News.
  14. ^ Gold, Lauren (March 21, 2013). "Gelson's Market to close at Paseo Colorado". Pasadena Star-News.
  15. ^ Piasecki, Joe (March 22, 2013). "Gelson's closing store in Paseo Colorado". Pasadena Sun. Archived from the original on February 10, 2015.
  16. ^ Barragan, Bianca (September 9, 2014). "Hyatt Hotel and Condos Headed for Pas's Paseo Colorado". Curbed LA.
  17. ^ Gold, Lauren (December 2, 2014). "Plans for Hyatt Place hotel at Paseo Colorado in Pasadena move forward". Pasadena Star-News.
  18. ^ Smith, Kevin (August 19, 2015). "Pasadena's Paseo Colorado to get $70 million makeover". San Gabriel Valley Tribune.
  19. ^ Smith, Kevin (January 28, 2016). "Cypress Equities acquires Paseo Colorado center in Pasadena". San Gabriel Valley Tribune.
  20. ^ Coleman, André (February 18, 2016). "Paseo Purchased: Cypress Equities buys Paseo Colorado". Pasadena Weekly.
  21. ^ Lee, Patrick (March 9, 2017). "Pasadena's Paseo Colorado mall gets a new name, restaurants, and H&M: A new hotel will also open soon". Curbed LA.
  22. ^ Smith, Kevin (March 6, 2017). "Paseo Colorado gets a new name, will add two restaurants, hotel". Pasadena Star News.
  23. ^ Smith, Kevin (December 1, 2017). "H&M unveils new store at Paseo Colorado in Pasadena". Pasadena Star News.
  24. ^ Lindahl, Chris (December 28, 2018). "Hyatt Place adds much-needed hotel rooms in Pasadena". Pasadena Star News.
  25. ^ Faughnder, Ryan (April 12, 2021). "Pacific and ArcLight theaters will not reopen after the pandemic, company says". Los Angeles Times.
  26. ^ Goldsmith, Jill (April 13, 2023). "Regal To Reopen Former ArcLight Theatre At The Paseo In Pasadena". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  27. ^ "The Regal Paseo Movie Theater Opens, Replacing the ArcLight". Pasadena Now. June 3, 2023. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
  28. ^ "Rubio's shutters 48 California restaurants, blames business climate". The Real Deal (magazine). June 4, 2024.
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