The version of the Village at Laguna Hills approved in 2022 had a movie theater, a gym and 465,000 square feet of office space. The version the City Council adopted on August 25, 2026, has none of them.
The pieces that remain are a park with a stage, a specialty grocer, two hotels and the restaurants that never left the site. The project has gone from a regional destination to a neighborhood place to eat and gather. Away from the mall site, a new taproom on Avenida De La Carlota and a December calendar centered on the Community Center are already that kind of place.
As of early November, here is where each piece stands.
What came out of the plan, and what went in
The Orange County Register laid out the changes in July, when the amendments first came before the council. In a report to councilmembers, city staff named economic feasibility as the main reason for cutting the gym and the theater.
| Element | 2022 approved plan | Plan adopted August 25, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Movie theater | Included | Removed |
| Gym | Included | Removed |
| Office space | 465,000 sq ft | None |
| Retail | 250,000 sq ft | About 163,000 sq ft |
| Hotels | One five-story hotel | Two four-story hotels, 239 rooms combined |
| Park | Part of the plan | Enhanced 3-acre community park |
The developer's own project FAQ gives the retail figure as about 165,000 square feet, slightly different from the city staff number, and says the retail program now includes a specialty grocer. The plan also calls for 1,457 homes, at least 200 of them affordable units for seniors.
City officials expect the smaller retail footprint to bring in more for the city, not less. The Register reported a projected annual general fund surplus of $2 million and almost $29 million in developer fee payments, more than $20 million of which would go toward parks and recreation facilities.
The August 25 meeting minutes record the specific plan amendment passing 4 to 1. The amended development agreement with MGP Fund X Laguna Hills, LLC passed 3 to 1, with one councilmember recorded as refusing to vote.
The park moves to the front, and three restaurants stay
The amended plan builds around a park, and the park now has a more visible spot. The developer's FAQ places the reimagined Village Park where people driving on El Toro Road will see it, next to the medical center. The project's homepage describes a stage, a play area, paths and seating. It lists concerts, markets and food-truck festivals as the kinds of events the park would host.
Mayor Don Caskey described the goal to the Orange County Register in plain terms:
"This is about bringing people together. It's a 'happening' place."
The plan keeps the restaurants the site still has. City officials told the Register that BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse, King's Fish House and In-N-Out Burger are expected to remain. The mall closed at the end of 2018 and was razed in 2023.
All of this points to a smaller kind of evening than the 2022 plan described. Without the theater and offices, the plan centers on dinner, a walk through the park, groceries and an event on the lawn.
That kind of evening is already on Avenida De La Carlota
Docent Brewing's fourth taproom is now open at 23301 Avenida De La Carlota, Suite C, in the space GameCraft Brewing used to occupy. WhatNow Orange County reported the takeover in February, when co-founder Brian Hendon said the team hoped to open May 1.
Docent started in San Juan Capistrano. Its Laguna Hills page describes the new location as its beer plus a scratch kitchen, in "a room built for staying a while." The details:
- Hours: Sunday through Tuesday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. The kitchen closes at 8 p.m.
- On tap: Super Tonic, a coffee stout Docent lists as a five-time gold medalist, with Great American Beer Festival golds among them. Also Double Nickels, a pale ale that won gold at the 2024 World Beer Cup.
- From the kitchen: the Korean Reuben, carried over from Docent's other taprooms, with pastrami, Swiss, house kimchi and chile aioli on grilled sourdough. Also a fried chicken sandwich with Fresno chile slaw and hot honey on a challah bun.
The kitchen closes at 8 p.m. every day, an hour before the bar on Wednesday through Saturday, so order food by then. Docent pitches the place as somewhere to "pull up after work" or "bring the family on a Sunday." That is the kind of evening the amended Village plan describes, and Docent is serving it now.
The Village timeline is counted in phases
At the mall site, the official timeline is the main reason to look elsewhere for the next few years. Caskey told the Register that the developer has tentatively split the project into three phases, with completion expected over the next decade.
The developer's FAQ says two hotel brands have committed, without naming them. It sets 2028 as the goal for one hotel to open. The same FAQ, written before the vote, estimated another 6 to 12 months for site development and building permits before the first construction phases could start. No demolition or groundbreaking date for the new buildings has been announced, and no opening date has been set for the park or the retail.
The Register attributed the long gap since the mall came down largely to the developer's concerns about economic feasibility. The amendments are meant to fix that, and the August vote approved the plan. For now, BJ's, King's Fish House and In-N-Out are the businesses officials expect to stay through the buildout.
Until the Village park exists, December happens at 25555 Alicia Parkway
The city's holiday season runs almost entirely through the Community Center this year. Here is the calendar, starting with a November date ahead of the holiday events:
- State of the City, Thursday, November 19, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. It is listed on the Laguna Hills Chamber of Commerce calendar, which doesn't give a venue.
- Tree Lighting Ceremony, Friday, December 4, 6 to 8 p.m., Community Center Plaza. The Chamber listing includes carolers, crafts, snow play, dance performances and photos with Santa.
- Parent's Night Out, Friday, December 11, 6 to 8:30 p.m. It is for children ages 6 to 14 and costs $5 per child. Preregistration is required.
- Breakfast With Santa, Saturday, December 12, Heritage Room. There are two sessions, 9 to 10:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. to noon, and both children and adults must register and pay, per the Chamber listing.
- Holiday Toy Drive, Sunday, December 13, 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., Heritage Room. Christ Community Church hosts, with the city helping to sponsor and coordinate. The listing mentions a meal, crafts and treats.
- Holiday Musical Dance Extravaganza, Friday, December 18, 6:30 to 9 p.m., Laguna Hills Community Center. It includes holiday music, dance and dinner, with tickets at $20 through the city's Eventbrite page.
Breakfast With Santa and Parent's Night Out both require registration, so sign up for those first. The Tree Lighting listing on December 4 shows no registration requirement.
This December, the Community Center hosts the kind of community gathering the Village park is planned for. The El Toro Road park does not have an opening date yet.
If you live near the old mall site and want to talk through what the amended Village plan could mean for your street over the next decade, I'm glad to go over it with you. Adam Nelson follows the Village at Laguna Hills from one council meeting to the next. Let's Connect.
