HUNTINGTON BEACH
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City officials have confirmed that the Macerich Co., the nationwide company that owns most of the aging Huntington Center, plans to pack up and leave. For the city, the firm’s anticipated departure marks a bitter finale to a relationship once filled with promise. Until late last year, Macerich offered a tantalizing plan to convert the indoor mall into an open-air entertainment plaza similar to the Irvine Spectrum. The centerpiece would have been a 5,000-seat, 18-screen Edwards Cinema movie theater to replace the abandoned Broadway building. The plan also envisioned a 100,000-square-foot retail complex, City Administrator Ray Silver said. Macerich officials were unavailable for comment, but Silver said the company is weighing six proposals from prospective buyers.
The new owner will have to grapple with the independently owned Montgomery Wards and Mervyn’s, which have resisted updating their stores.
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