One thousand residential units, 400 hotel rooms, 1.4 million total square feet of commercial space, and up to 750,000 square feet of office space. MainPlace Mall, an iconic landmark in the city of Santa Ana, is going through renovations that’ll change its appearance and experience. But do people even care anymore?
Ivan Rivas, a community member in the city of Santa Ana, had a positive attitude toward the renovation project.
“I haven’t heard about the new renovation project, but I think it’s a good thing, and I can’t wait for it to be done,” Rivas said.
NPR reporter Madeline Veira, in her article “Teens And Mall Culture: The Fading Love Affair,”explained how the relationship between malls and people is starting to fade away.
“There were about 3 million retail jobs for 16 to 19-year-olds in 1990, but today, it’s closer to 1 million, according to the Labor Department. In addition to dwindling jobs, the rise in technology is making it hard to even get teens to spend time in malls,” said Veira.
Santa Ana police officer Saul Esquivel said that he’s heard about the project but isn’t very sure about it.
“I have heard about the renovations in special events meeting at city hall and this could be a bad thing because we are going to be impacted with traffic and parking, and the traffic flow in Santa Ana isn’t currently the greatest,” Esquivel said.
The “New MainPlace Project” stated that the project would be adding a total of 1.4 million square feet, a small shop space with two operating department stores, a concert venue with the max capacity of 4,000 people, 720 multifamily units, 140,000 square feet of office, and an immersive food experience with an array of indoor and outdoor dining activated plaza.
Kevin Olivarez, who grew up going to MainPlace, said he wouldn’t want to even live there.
“I wouldn’t see myself living there because I think the pricing would be out of my range and I would say it’s more for upper middle class people with a decent amount of money,” Olivarez said.
The renovation of MainPlace Mall in Santa Ana is being met with a mix of positivity and skepticism. While some community members see it as a positive change, others are concerned about its accessibility and the potential impacts it will have on different income groups. The success of the project will depend on how well it can face these concerns and adapt to changing people’s preferences.
