Hawthorne Plaza Shops Around for a Way to Survive Slump : Retail: The number of stores at the mall has dropped from 130 a few years ago to just 87 last month.

When the Hawthorne Plaza shopping center opened in 1977, civic leaders hailed it as a shopper’s paradise. But lately, as stores have pulled out and sales have dropped, the mall has seemed more like a developer’s nightmare.

Eight shops closed in early January, bringing the number of tenants down to 87. Just a few years ago, the mall had 130 stores. Sales at Hawthorne Plaza, at El Segundo and Hawthorne boulevards, fell 3% last year to $27 million, even though most local shopping centers posted modest gains.

Now, city officials and others are wondering what the future holds for the 35-acre shopping complex, and what its troubles mean for the city. The mall pays nearly $1 million a year to the city in sales taxes.

The stores that left in 1994 include See’s Candies, Woman’s World, Regal Shoes and B. Dalton Bookseller.

City and mall officials blamed the mall’s woes on layoffs in the aerospace industry, the area’s major employer, and competition from malls in Culver City, Redondo Beach and Torrance.

Last week, a trustee appointed by the Los Angeles Superior Court took control of the struggling mall because its owner, Larry Faigin, had failed to make more than $900,000 in mortgage payments since October.

Trustee Bruce L. Goodwin said Monday he doesn’t foresee any radical changes at the mall, but he added that something must be done to revitalize the shopping center.

“We’re going to take a very open-minded look at our options,” Goodwin said. “The answers aren’t always apparent in these situations.”

One solution may be to continue the mall’s strategy of attracting small “mom and pop” stores in an effort to give Hawthorne Plaza a more distinct, homespun identity. So far, the approach has met with some success, according to the mall’s general manager.

A proposed light-rail line might also help bring in customers by the end of the decade. Two proposals for the Crenshaw Rail Line proposed by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority would have trains stopping at the mall.

Under an agreement with the lender, Goodwin has about a year to help bring the mall back to financial health.