Mayor Johnson turns up the heat on Westfield

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson threw an elbow Tuesday in the city's years-long game with Westfield, the company that owns the Downtown Plaza.

Come up with a plan to revitalize the downtrodden mall by the end of the year or get out, he said.

After several other meetings had fallen through, Johnson finally got together with Westfield officials Friday in Los Angeles and told them he expected them to invest in the Downtown Plaza.

Both sides agreed to work on a plan over the next four months to revive a mall where many storefronts sit empty.

"If we cannot get to where we need to be by the end of the year, then I think it's inevitable that we will be in a place where we really have to part ways," Johnson said.

Westfield officials said they are eager to work with the city.

"We will be working with the mayor and the city over the next several months to look at broader plans for the revitalization of K Street and downtown, and how we can best integrate improvements to the mall into those plans," said company spokeswoman Catharine Dickey.

While the mayor does not have the authority to force Westfield to sell the plaza, his statements Tuesday were his harshest to date on the state of the mall.

His meeting with Westfield officials followed months of delays on a planned $120 million renovation of the Downtown Plaza. In May, Westfield said it would not undertake any major construction at the mall for at least the remainder of the year.

Meanwhile, the company is in the midst of a $240 million expansion at its posh Westfield Galleria at Roseville.

"Let's not play games, let's not say we're going to do something that we're not going to do," Johnson said.

Downtown officials applauded Johnson's public challenge to Westfield.

Michael Ault, executive director of the Downtown Sacramento Partnership, said the mall "is in critical need of reinvestment."

"Something clearly needs to be done to push this project along," Ault said.

"If the mayor wants to play a larger role in that, great, hallelujah."

The mayor would not provide details on what it would take to meet his demands. However, some ideas that have been floated by city leaders include incorporating residential and office space into the mall.

Ault said there is much the city has done to bring life back to the downtown core surrounding the mall.

Plans are moving forward to move the Greyhound bus station to Richards Boulevard, and a streetscape project is under way along the 700 block of K Street at the mall's east end.

"Westfield is going to need to believe that this is a market they can be successful in," Ault said.

"They're not going to throw money at a project that doesn't make sense."

What stores would you like to see come in?

Source Sac Bee