Malibu's New Shopping Center

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Apr 16th 2009 at 8:02PM

Summer in Malibu, California can often mean hours spent on Pacific Coast Highway to run even the simplest of errands. But soon Malibu's wealthy residents won't have so far to travel. The LA Times reports on the Malibu Lumber Yard, a new $25-million shopping complex built on the site of the old lumber yard. The new center will include shops from James Perse, Tory Burch and J. Crew. The 2,400-square-foot special resort store, J.Crew at-the-Beach will offer beach delivery service and a Malibu House Guest Survival Kit, a beach bag filled with flip-flops, swimwear and another beach-friendly items.

The two-story, open-air center will offer a laidback hangout in the form of a central deck with lounge chairs and hammocks for children's activities, outdoor dining and wireless computer access. A few local business will be included and are paying reduced rent.

Some longtime Malibu residents question the need for another shopping center in Malibu, especially one that is stuffed with upscale retail chains. It's another sign that the town, once a funky surfer's paradise, is now the home of the exclusive rich.

Tags: j crew, james perse, JamesPerse, JCrew, malibu, malibu lumber yard, MalibuLumberYard

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Andy Apr 16th 2009 9:00PM

This is absolutely fabulous. Always good to see more businesses come into Malibu.

Tom Corell Apr 17th 2009 12:36AM

That photo is of Santa Monica. You couldn't find a photo of Malibu? Really?

azumaguy Apr 17th 2009 2:38PM

This retail temple to $400.00 jeans for empty-headed consumerist women is build on the bones of a store we in Malibu actually needed: a full-service hardware store and lumber yard. Now we have J-Crew and a "high-end" cupcake store. The vast majority of Malibu's 13,000 residents are middle class folks who laugh at the self-centered antics of the rich and famous amongst us. Thank God they lock themselves up in their gilded personal prisons each night to protect the rest of us real Malibuites. Luxist my ass!

catlipz Apr 17th 2009 4:20PM

How any self respecting person can get excited about pricey clothes, cupcakes and other useless stuff in this economy is beyond me. As a local in Malibu, I am disgusted by the loss of our small businesses and the lumberyard. We have to waste gas to drive 30 minutes each way to get a fricking hammer and nails. This is progress? A green shopping center cannot make up for the loss of what really matters in our town ...small town local businesses who actually care about us. No one I know in Malibu is rich.

susan Apr 17th 2009 4:33PM

Beach delivery service???? From a clothing store? What panties on a plate? This is disgusting and everyone involved in the shopping center should be horrified at the excess in this time of huge unemployment. Put in an animal shelter, a kid adoption center, an unemployment office and a food bank and call it quits.

May Rindge is Mad Apr 17th 2009 5:23PM

I can't see much reason to go here, these businesses in the mall are not viable in this economy. High end cupcakes are mostly catering to the business and corporate world, can't imagine that HR Labs will provide enough orders to keep the bakery open and those $400 jeans are another inexcusable display of consumptive wealth which isn't PC these days. "Andy" comments that it's good to see more business in Malibu, but I don't think this represents business that is viable and community serving.
Be sure to do a follow up story after the first quarter sales reports are in so we can have facts rather than rah-rahs and dissenting opinions.

OldMalibu Apr 19th 2009 5:25PM

This shopping center has as much identity with real Malibu as the tourists and townies who drive out here only to buy a coffee at Starbucks and gawk at each other. It is a slap in the face for what Malibu has always been, a lovely, UNPRETENTIOUS and lowkey paradise for families, eccentrics and even the once in awhile movie star ("celebrity"--what is that??) could all ramble around peacefully. Now we have the faux Lumberyard moniker reminding us everyday of what we do not have--basic services that every community enjoys, even Bevery Hills! Way to go, City Council!