The complex fills space previously occupied by an orchard and nursery, which were the last remains of a dairy farm owned by A. F. Gilmore in the latter part of the 19th century.

The developers began demolition of an antiques alley and other older buildings on Third Street behind CBS Television City, and broke ground for the new mall in 1999.

There was some controversy over potentially increasing traffic in a busy Los Angeles neighborhood that already offered several other shopping venues, including the Beverly Center.

[2] In 1989, A. F. Gilmore announced that it was going to build a US$300 million mall adjacent to the existing Farmers Market and that the new project would be managed by JMB/Urban Development of Chicago.

[5] During the next decade, A. F. Gilmore announced in 1998 a further scaled down plan with Caruso Affiliated as the new development partner for a new proposal that eventually became The Grove at Farmers Market, a $100-million project on 25 acres (10 ha).

[18] Caruso responded with an open letter that made a point of supporting the cause of the demonstrators, but criticized unspecified Los Angeles officials who failed to prevent violence that damaged many small businesses along the nearby streets that may never reopen.

Initial architectural design was performed in-house by David Williams of Caruso Affiliated Holdings and by KMD Architects of San Francisco.

[6] Caruso Affiliated claims to have modeled its architectural designs on indigenous Los Angeles buildings, influenced by classic historic districts, with shopping alleys, broad plazas, and intimate courtyards.

The Farmers Market features 28 restaurants offering a diverse selection of cuisines, including American, Mexican, Asian/Pacific, Brazilian, Cajun, French, Greek/Middle Eastern, Italian, Japanese, Korean, and seafood.

[26][27] In more recent years, The Grove also transforms "into a winter wonderland" where artificial snow falls every evening at 7 & 8 pm, through Christmas Eve.