A public relations firm hired by legal representatives of the owners of the Trancas Country Market shopping center has revealed the owners’ identity after more than a month of speculation. Joann Killeen, President and CEO of the PR firm Killeen Furtney Group, Inc., wrote in an email Tuesday to The Malibu Times that the owners of the shopping center are Paige and Bo Dubbert. Paige Dubbert is the daughter of Walmart heiress Nancy Walton Laurie, although Killeen wrote that neither Laurie nor her husband, Bill Laurie, have an ownership interest in the property.
The shopping center is listed under the ownership of Zuma Beach Properties, LLC, which is based in St. Louis, Missouri. Killeen wrote that Zuma Beach LLC is owned by Thrasher LLC, for which the Dubberts are listed as the managers. Killeen also wrote that Ken Karasiuk of Westlake oversees real estate development for the Dubberts. Linda Bernhardt, Managing Director at Los Angeles law firm Loeb and Loeb, is the Dubberts’ legal representative.
The identity of the owners has been the subject of heavy speculation since early April, when Trancas Gardens Nursery, a longtime tenant of the shopping center, was served a 30-day eviction notice from representatives of the owners. The eviction notice prompted a dramatic outpouring of support from community members who want the nursery to stay.