Westminster Mall, a once-popular shopping center that has been desecrated by graffiti and vandalism since it closed last year, is on track for demolition soon.
It will be replaced with housing, a hotel and some shops and stores, part of a nationwide trend that is seeing outdated, failed malls in high-traffic locations swapped for mixed-use development that typically includes apartments. The process is often lengthy, leaving empty malls in danger of abuse
In recent weeks, videos have circulated on social media showing rampant paint tagging and destruction inside the structure that was a cultural touchstone in the Orange County city of Westminster for decades after it opened in 1974…