CIM Group has purchased a property at 5601 Santa Monica Blvd. where a shuttered Sears department store is currently located.

CIM Group has purchased the former Sears department store on Santa Monica Boulevard in Hollywood. (photo by Edwin Folven)

A representative for CIM confirmed the property had been purchased but declined to comment on what is planned or the purchase price. The Sears store closed in 2008, and plans by a previous owner for a mixed-use development fell through. The building, located on Santa Monica Boulevard and Saint Andrews Place, just west of Western Avenue, has remained vacant for nearly eight years.

The previously planned development, known as Paseo Plaza Hollywood, included 475 units of housing and approximately 370,000 square feet of retail space. Councilman Mitch O’Farrell, 13th District, said he believes CIM Group’s proposal will be similar. He added that the area is in need of revitalization.

“I would consider the Sears site as the biggest blight in that part of the 13th District,” O’Farrell said. “It is my understanding that it is going to bring thousands of jobs during the construction phase, affordable housing and lots of retail space.”

Doug Haines, a member of the La Mirada Avenue Homeowners Association, said he has not been informed about CIM Group’s plans at the site, but if it is similar to the previously approved project, he doesn’t have a problem with it.

“Sears left, so for eight years, you’ve had this derelict structure. Since then, it’s been abandoned,” Haines said. “The project was a victim of the recession and a pie-in-the-sky dream. The neighborhood supported it. The only issue was traffic mitigation.”

Haines added that he will monitor the development to ensure any new project approved at the site follows the plan to implement traffic measures in the neighborhood. He added that he would like to see something built at the location.

“It’s a great site for Target,” Haines said jokingly, referring to the unfinished project at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Western Avenue that remains stalled pending changes proposed by the city and the appeal of a lawsuit. “Any project that has significant impacts on the area, those are supposed to be addressed.”