Billionaire developer Rick Caruso urges builders to invest in Pacific Palisades after devastating wildfires

Billionaire developer Rick Caruso is pressuring property owners and major retailers to rebuild in Pacific Palisades, pointing to strong turnout at his reopened Palisades Village as proof the fire-ravaged community is ready for businesses to return

“This message goes out to my fellow commercial property owners and big tenants that used to be in the Palisades. I really encourage you to look forward with confidence,” Caruso said in one-minute video posted on X Tuesday.

Caruso also urged developers and other commercial property owners to “take the lead” by investing in the neighborhood, saying their return could help give homeowners confidence to rebuild and move back.

“We need to take the lead and show our confidence, and everybody else is gonna benefit from that in rebuilding their homes and moving back in the neighborhood,” he said.

In an accompanying post on X, Caruso called out Ralphs and Gelson’s, writing that the community “needs a traditional market.”

Gelson’s has already expressed a firm intention to return. 

The grocer announced in March that it plans to rebuild its Pacific Palisades store at its longtime location at 15424 Sunset Blvd. The company said it was moving forward with the rebuilding process, but no construction timeline or reopening date has been set.

Gelson’s has said its Pacific Palisades store had been part of the community for decades and that it intends to return in a way that reflects its long-term investment in the neighborhood. 

Ralphs also has expressed interest in returning to the Palisades, according to numerous reporting but no reopening date has been announced.

A June economic update from the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. listed both Gelson’s and Ralphs as planning to rebuild. 

The California Post has reached out to Ralphs and Gelson’s for comment.

In a new press release shared Wednesday, the former mayoral candidate boasted about the success of the reopening of the Village.

“The response this weekend exceeded every expectation. The overwhelming turnout and support for our merchants demonstrated not only the strength of the Palisades community, but also the important role local businesses and gathering places play in recovery,” he said.

The message comes as the Palisades continues to struggle with a major gap between commercial and residential recovery.

Palisades Village reopened Aug. 15 after a more than $100 million restoration, 19 months after the January 2025 Palisades Fire devastated the neighborhood.

The shopping center itself did not completely burn down. It escaped the worst of the flames, in part because of fire-protection measures, but suffered extensive smoke, ash and water damage that required a massive overhaul.

Buildings were stripped down in places, treated and rebuilt, with restaurant kitchens, drywall, appliances and air-conditioning systems replaced. 

Caruso’s investment has produced a nearly full shopping center, with Palisades Village now 99% leased and more than 40 businesses returning or opening. Roughly one-third of the tenants are new. 

Returning businesses include Erewhon, Blue Ribbon Sushi, Buck Mason and Anine Bing, while fire-displaced local businesses including K Bakery and Loomey’s Toys have returned in new spaces.

Additional retail and dining concepts are expected to open in the coming months, including Brunello Cucinelli, STAUD, TWP, MOTHER, Toteme, Loomey’s Toys, Carla Café and Buck Mason Women’s. Spacca Tutto, acclaimed chef Nancy Silverton’s first Westside restaurant, is scheduled to open in September.

The Palisades Fire destroyed more than 6,800 structures, including thousands of homes. While more than 1,000 homes have entered construction, only a fraction have been completed and occupied. 

The real estate tycoon also called on his commercial neighbors to clean up properties that remain vacant.

“I would also ask for my neighboring commercial owners do a little TLC, and let’s clean up the property and clean up the weeds and sweep things out and make it look nice,” Caruso said.

“People are living in the palisades now, shopping in the Palisades and hanging out in the palisades, and we should all put our best foot forward to support this dear community.”

Caruso’s own reopening effort has become one of the most visible signs of recovery in the neighborhood.

At Saturday’s grand reopening, he described the Village as a major but incomplete step in rebuilding the community.

“We are in the middle of a recovery, and this is one chapter. It’s a mega-step, no doubt, but there’s many more mega-steps to come,” Caruso said at the reopening. 

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