Sears Site Back in De La Hoya’s Corner

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Oscar De La Hoya has reached a new agreement to buy the landmark Sears property in Boyle Heights after a previous agreement with owner Mark Weinstein collapsed.


Terms of the new deal were not disclosed, but last summer De La Hoya’s company, Golden Boy Enterprises LLC, and two partners, agreed buy the 22-acre site from Weinstein’s MJW Investments Inc. for more than $70 million.


De La Hoya has plans to build a mixed-use development on the site at Olympic Boulevard and Soto Street.


“Not only does this project ideally fit our mission, it is special to me as it has the potential to be a revitalizing force for the neighborhood where I grew up,” said De La Hoya in a statement Wednesday. “We have every confidence that we will meet the challenge.”


The deal fell apart late last year when the buyers told MJW Investments that they needed more time to finalize the retail component before a $2 million deposit was due Dec. 31. The cancellation prompted speculation that financing was a problem, but Weinstein has said that was not the case.


A press release from Golden Boy Enterprises said that the transaction has been complicated by “the growing uncertainties in the economy” in addition to a recent reorganization plan announced by Sears Holding Corp.


The property has long been viewed as one of the most important redevelopment sites in East Los Angeles. It contains a shuttered, 1.8-million-square-foot Sears, Roebuck & Co. distribution center, but the Sears retail store does brisk business. De La Hoya’s plans are said to include up to 900,000 square feet of retail space and hundreds of housing units.


De La Hoya’s partners are Southern California developers Manarino Realty and Highridge Partners Inc.


Weinstein said other parties are still interested in the site and are doing due diligence. He added he retained the right to review back-up offers should De La Hoya’s offer fall through again, though he hoped it would close.


“It will take all parties working together to make this work,” Weinstein said.

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