Rick Caruso Confirms 2026 Reopening of Palisades Village, New Elyse Walker Flagship Boutique

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After being affected by devastating fires, the high-end shopping and dining center known as Palisades Village, which functioned like a posh community square for residents of Pacific Palisades, California, is planning to reopen around early to mid 2026.

On Wednesday afternoon, Rick Caruso, owner of Palisades Village, and essential members of his Caruso team held an official press conference to share updates and unveil that fashion retail expert Elyse Walker will contribute to the revitalization by establishing her namesake boutique in the flagship location on Sunset Boulevard and Swarthmore Avenue. Notably, Walker operated a store in the Palisades since 1999, which over time evolved into a significant retail enterprise with stores in New York, Newport Beach, and Southampton. Unfortunately, her shop on Antioch Street was destroyed in the Palisades Fire.

Today, Palisades Village reached a significant point in its journey, symbolizing not just optimism, but our unyielding dedication to the Palisades. The future of Palisades Village shines more brilliantly than ever before, according to Caruso CEO Corinne Verdery at the beginning of the press conference amidst an bustling construction site, complete with hard hats. Our objective is straightforward: we aim to attract families, stimulate local businesses, create employment opportunities, foster economic growth, and ultimately, strengthen Palisades.

They intend to achieve this by revamping the central park within Palisades Village, renovating the surrounding streets to enhance their aesthetics with improved sidewalks, lighting, and landscaping. This season, they aim to resurrect the annual Christmas tree lighting and Menorah celebration. Additionally, a captivating new dining concept will be introduced, details of which Verdery has confirmed will be revealed in the upcoming months.

After inviting him up on stage, I found myself standing beside Caruso, a billionaire entrepreneur with aspirations to lead Los Angeles as mayor. This man has been a significant player in our city’s reconstruction projects. He established Steadfast L.A., an initiative driven by the private sector that emphasizes swift action, responsibility, and tangible outcomes over bureaucratic hurdles.

When the fire struck, it affected every nook of our city. This incident made me study what’s required to restore a city, town, or community after a catastrophe,” Caruso began his speech. He discovered that public and private collaborations play a significant role in rebuilding processes because the challenges are too enormous for a government to handle alone, and that communal areas become even more vital during such times.

People crave social interaction. They long for shopping experiences, dining out, meeting up with friends and loved ones, perhaps even sharing a cup of coffee together. The question is, how do we speed up this process? It’s not just about restoring the town, it’s about expediting its recovery. As he continued, “I firmly believe that an economic driver is crucial. By examining examples from across the nation and around the globe, you’ll notice that when a business – be it a retailer or a restaurant – invests in a community with a commitment to both thriving commerce and strong community ties, it fosters a potent alliance.

A few weeks back, Caruso’s thoughts prompted me to reach out and propose an exciting venture: transforming the vacated Palisades Village space, once home to Saint Laurent, into our new shared space. As I recall, Elyse immediately jumped on board with her enthusiasm, saying, “Let’s revitalize the Palisades!” In that moment, she added something inspiring: “We will be a force to be reckoned with.” This is the spirit that helped save Palisades Village in the past, and it continues to drive us forward today.

Later, Caruso warmly introduced Walker to the stage with a heartfelt praise: “Over the past 35 years in the development industry, I’ve collaborated with numerous retailers, some of the finest and most talented, but let me make this clear, there is simply no one superior to Elyse Walker.” The long-time Palisades resident and retail expert, who raised her sons in this city and opened a store here so she could escort them to school, expressed hope about the announcement while acknowledging the ongoing destruction that can still be seen on all nearby streets.

Today carries a mix of excitement and sentiment for us. Five months ago, our cherished Pacific Palisades community endured significant hardship, and unfortunately, my team and I also lost our primary Elyse Walker Palisades store, a place that had proudly celebrated 25 years as our work family. Yet, I’ve always been confident about the resilience of the Palisades community, and I believed that we would find healing and growth together. Today marks the start of our rebuilding journey.

She labeled this period as “the most significant epoch in the history of the Palisades community,” and expressed that her new site will resemble the old one while complementing what Caruso has established at Palisades Village by serving as a gathering spot for the community, offering more than just a retail space for clothing, handbags, and luxury goods.

Our aim is to generate employment opportunities and excitement. The plan to reopen in the Palisades and relocate our main store to the Palisades Village is extremely thrilling and significant for us, as we channel our energies towards bolstering this robust and resilient town,” she stated. “We are eagerly anticipating a near future when we can welcome our customers back into our revamped store at the Palisades Village, bringing our community together once more.

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2025-05-29 04:54