Development plans for the long-vacant Hawthorne Plaza mall have been canceled by the city after its owner backed out of an agreement to build a massive entertainment and retail center peppered with hundreds of homes.

The blighted, hulking center in the middle of town, most recently used as an apocalyptic backdrop in Taylor Swift and Beyonce music videos as well as in movies and TV shows, has been largely empty since the 1990s. It covers six blocks along Hawthorne Boulevard, near the 105 Freeway.

Hollywood-based Charles Co., owner of the roughly 1-million-square-foot mall, filed plans with the city in late 2016 to begin work on a $500 million overhaul, starting with a new $25 million office building. Plans were for a movie theater, gym, bowling alley, and many shops, offices and homes.

But work never began. And in late 2017, city leaders gave the company an ultimatum to begin construction or lose its development entitlements.

Still, nothing happened, prompting the city to rescind its approvals. The developer now has to request authorization from the city to do any work there — a move partially designed to prevent the haphazard construction of housing without accompanying commercial development.

City Manager Arnie Shadbehr vowed the city would aggressively cite the owner for code violations, as the site is a haven for transients, bands of feral cats and vermin.

“We did everything we could to make this happen. We felt like we were light-years ahead but, again, it just fell through the cracks,” Shadbehr said. “We want to do everything in our power and ability to address the blight. We can cite him for unsightliness, trash, blight, homeless issues and stray cats. We want to make him take care of these things.”

For more than a decade, Arman Gabay, a Charles Co. managing partner, has repeatedly brought plans forward to the city for development projects that never materialized. He has blamed city leaders in the past for blocking high numbers of proposed apartments at the site.

But, this time, city officials gave him the go-ahead to develop 600 residential units as long as restaurants, retail stores and offices also were erected.

A Charles Co. spokesman said the project has stalled because of changing market conditions.

“The market in real estate continues to change rapidly and my client is continuing to work on this project,” said spokesman Aaron Green. “They are working on a new plan and a new proposal that’s more in keeping with the market. Those plans are still being refined, so I want to reserve comment” about what those designs will be.

The mall’s redevelopment is widely believed to be the key to revitalizing old downtown Hawthorne, which was once a thriving destination. It’s now a strip of aging, small storefronts with patchwork improvements.

The mall, which was anchored by The Broadway, J.C. Penney and Montgomery Ward, replaced a downtown plaza area when it was built in the 1970s. The Plaza Theater, a movie house, was a popular attraction.

But it only remained viable for about two decades, when a swift decline forced store closures and an upswing never materialized.

Hawthorne Mayor Alex Vargas had high hopes for its redevelopment, but said he still believes community redevelopment can occur around the unsightly Goliath.

“It seemed like we, as a City Council, had a great compromise with the Charles Co. We were very generous,” Vargas said. “But he just never moved on the project that he proposed. He needs to explain why he didn’t do this.

“We want to have development at the Hawthorne mall but not at any cost. We’re not going to just have anything there if it isn’t good for the city.”