The Palisades Village mall has been a landmark in Pacific Palisades since it opened in 2018.
We used to joke about how the high-end stores were so expensive that even locals in our well-to-do neighborhood struggled to shop there.
But Rick Caruso’s mall became more than a fancy shopping center.
It became a village green, a safe place to leave your kids after school, a romantic place to have a date.
The Palisades Village mall has been a landmark in Pacific Palisades since it opened in 2018. Pedro Colo for CA Post
We used to joke about how the high-end stores were so expensive that even locals in our well-to-do neighborhood struggled to shop there. Pedro Colo for CA Post
But Rick Caruso’s mall became more than a fancy shopping center. Pedro Colo for CA Post
My wife and I had drinks there together, often. We were there on the Wednesday night before Gavin Newsom closed all the restaurants for COVID (except for the French Laundry, of course).
We were there on the Saturday night before the fire, sitting at the bar at Angelini’s. We said hello to old friends and looked ahead to the new year.
Then, the inferno.
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When the smoke cleared, most of the buildings in the center of Pacific Palisades were gone. The Business Block, the oldest commercial building in town, was gutted.
But Caruso’s mall was still there.
A former city water commissioner, Caruso knew how limited and incompetent the city of LA’s response would be. He made sure his mall was built from fire-resistant materials, and he hired private firefighters, with their own water trucks.
Rick Caruso serves meals to construction workers at Palisades Village in Pacific Palisades, California, on Wednesday, August 12, 2026. (Pedro Colo for CA Post) Pedro Colo for CA Post
Standing on the corner of Sunset and Swarthmore, you could see the contrast between what the city had a duty to protect, and what a private property owner had, in fact, protected.
To a few, the difference showed the gap between a city with a large poor population on the one hand, and a billionaire developer on the other.
But to most of us, the fact that the mall was still standing showed that more could have been saved if LA’s city leaders had planned properly — with fire trucks in place beforehand, with water in the reservoirs, and with police to guide evacuations.
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In the 19 months since then, most of us have struggled to rebuild or repair our homes.
My own house survived, in part because I was able to douse the flames on the edge of my property using buckets of water.
Still, we have had to deal with extreme smoke damage. We also had to replace the entire back wall of my house.
In the 19 months since then, most of us have struggled to rebuild or repair our homes. Andy Johnstone for CA Post
I had been feeling hopeful lately, especially after my contractor installed new doors and windows a few weeks ago, the first steps toward putting the place back together.
But when I checked in on my repairs on Friday, I discovered that the giant tree in my front yard — beautiful, majestic — had been chopped down.
I had just hired a gardener to prune it and water it, which we had not been able to do for months.
Then a city subcontractor simply came onto my property and removed it — without notice or permission.
That’s how we have been treated by the city and the various agencies, especially the LA Department of Water and Power, which put up an ugly office building on the lot next door.
Again, without notice or permission.
Then a city subcontractor simply came onto my property and removed it — without notice or permission. CA Post
“Temporary,” they said.
But that means nothing; they do what they want.
I suppose the good news is that you can still build something in LA.
The bad news is that you have to be the government to do it.
Well — that’s how it seemed, for a while.
But then Rick Caruso announced that the Palisades Village mall was going to reopen — with local stores as anchor tenants.
But then Rick Caruso announced that the Palisades Village mall was going to reopen — with local stores as anchor tenants. Pedro Colo for CA Post
He could have walked away. He could have taken the insurance money, or sold the property for its cash value, and bought AI stocks like all the other rich guys.
He could have run for mayor again, or governor. Lots of people were asking him to think about it.
But Caruso decided to do what he does best: To build.
He showed that you don’t have to hold public office to be a leader.
And so if you visit the Palisades Mall, enjoy some ice cream at McConnell’s, just like the old days. Buy some toys for your kids at Loomey’s. Splurge on a dress at Elyse Walker.
Sue Kohl stands outside her home in Pacific Palisades, California, which she is in the process of rebuilding after a fire, on Friday, June 19, 2026. (David Buchan) David Buchan for CA Post
But be sure to notice something even more impressive, and more important:
The homes going up, all around the mall.
One by one, people are rebuilding. They — we — are winning our little battles with the insurance companies.
We’re getting our permits — finally. We’re helping each other through.
Look everywhere, and you’ll see the greatness of America.
Alexis de Tocqueville wrote, 200 years ago, that the beauty of democracy in America wasn’t that we had the right to vote.
It’s that we had the will to govern ourselves.
We’re picking ourselves up in Pacific Palisades — often in spite of our government, not because of it.
That’s what the Palisades Village mall means.
We’re not home yet. But we can see it from here.
Joel Pollak is Opinion editor of the California Post and a homeowner in Pacific Palisades.
