Historic Landmarks Commission reviews Paseo Nuevo pre‑application; commissioners press for Paseo connections, massing refinements and stronger public realm

The Historic Landmarks Commission on Sept. 24 held a one‑time pre‑application review of a large redevelopment plan for the Paseo Nuevo mall site (701 State Street et al., and 914 Chapala Street). The city staff and the applicant team presented a concept that would remove the former Macy’s building, add roughly 233 market‑rate housing units on the Macy’s parcel, and construct about 80 income‑restricted units on a portion of City Lot 2, along with a reduced but re‑oriented retail program and a proposed grocery at State and Ortega.

City Administrator Kelly McAdoo framed the meeting: the city owns the land under the mall via prior ground‑lease arrangements, and because the current ground lease terms (about 40 years remaining) make full redevelopment financially impractical for either party, the city and developer (a subsidiary of AllianceBernstein, referred to as AB in staff materials) are negotiating a disposition and development agreement (DDA). The DDA would extinguish the current leasehold structure and set conditions — including timing for delivery of affordable housing, design review processes, and potential city contributions — before the city transfers fee interests to the developer.

City Attorney Sarah Connect explained why the commission’s input at this pre‑application…