Hudson Pacific Properties, Inc. and Macerich have formed a joint venture to transform the Westside Pavilion shopping mall into approximately 500,000 square feet of office space while retaining 100,000 square feet of existing retail space.

The project, which will be owned in a 75-25 split between HPP and Macerich respectively, is budgeted between $425 million and $475 million. Construction of the project is expected to be completed by mid-2021, after which point HPP will serve as managing member and day-to-day operator of the property.

Located in the affluent Rancho Park community, the Westside Pavilion sits a half-mile north of a recently-completed Expo Line Station along Westwood Boulevard, and in close proximity to both the Santa Monica and San Diego Freeways. Yet the mall has not been immune to the pains of a changing landscape for retail in the internet age, with a number of tenants either closing up shop or decamping for other nearby centers. The Westside Pavilion has recently found itself without anchor tenants, as both Macy's and Nordstroms have either shut down their stores or moved elsewhere.

Other Southern California shopping centers have responded to this trend with upgrades, such as the Westfield Century City, which recently completed a $1-billion makeover. Others, such as Westfield's struggling Promenade mall in Warner Center, are being redeveloped with a mix of residential and commercial uses.

HPP, based in Los Angeles, is best known for its recent office building spree in Hollywood, including a pair of mid-rise towers at the Sunset Bronson Studios campus.

Macerich, based out of Santa Monica, owns and operates shopping malls across the United States.