Demolition of abandoned Westminster Mall begins as new development breaks ground

The new owners of the Westminster Mall demolished one of the main entrances of the building on Wednesday, breaking ground on the more than 80-acre mixed-use development that will take its place.

NBCLA has been covering the property for months as it sat empty, overrun with vandals breaking windows and doors, and taggers spraying graffiti inside. There was even someone living inside.

The front entrance came crashing down within minutes, marking the end of an era for the shuttered property, which first opened its doors in 1974.

“As far as I could remember, Westminster Mall has been part of my childhood,” Westminster City Manager Christine Cordon said. “It was a place we could belong. That sentiment has traveled down into my adulthood.”

Shopoff Realty, the new property owner, envisions thousands of homes, shops, restaurants, a hotel, and open green spaces and walking trails.

“Today is kind of the culmination, but really the beginning at the same time,” said Bill Shopoff, president and CEO of Shopoff Investments. “By early next year, we will deliver basically the part of the land where we are sitting on today, will become about 855 new homes. We’ve got 1,450 apartments.”

Someone may have lived inside the abandoned mall in Westminster. Hetty Chang reports for the NBC4 News at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026.

Economists say the slow decline of malls like Westminster’s shows the malls of the ’70s and ’80s are no longer what consumers want. Jan Brueckner, an economics professor at the University of California, Irvine, said big malls, such as South Coast Plaza in Orange County, will continue to be popular over time.

“But I think weaker malls can be undercut by online shopping and that may be the difference between life and death,” Brueckner said.

Shopoff says it’s not just e-commerce bringing malls down.

“We don’t need an enclosed mall here in California,” Shopoff said. “Look at the weather today. It couldn’t be more beautiful.”

According to Shopoff Realty, 10% of the homes being built in this project will be designated for low-income housing, while the rest will be sold at “market values.”

The $2.5-billion project is expected to be fully finished in the next five years.