LOS ANGELES — The Westfield Group is bringing luxury to the San Fernando Valley — with a touch of discount chic.
The shopping center development company is sinking $330 million into a renovation and expansion of its Westfield Topanga center in Canoga Park, Calif. Central to its plans is the first-time pairing of a Neiman Marcus department store with a Target discount store.
Larry Green, senior vice president of development for Westfield, said the company conducted extensive market research before moving forward with the unusual matchup.
“We got ourselves convinced that the Neiman Marcus customer shops at Target,” he said. “Neiman Marcus was receptive from the get-go. They get it. It was a surprisingly easy decision.”
Neiman Marcus and Target did not return calls seeking comment.
Post-renovation, the mall will expand from 1 million square feet to roughly 1.6 million square feet.
The big-box stores will help frame approximately 300,000 square feet of new small-shop space in the 42-year-old mall, which the Westfield Group bought in 1994.
In addition to the 167,000-square-foot Target and 120,000-square-foot Neiman Marcus, the expansion will feature a three-level, 205,000-square-foot Nordstrom flagship. An existing 252,000-square-foot Robinsons-May store will be converted into a Macy’s flagship.
The mall is scheduled to open on Oct. 6. Neiman Marcus — which will move into what is currently a Nordstrom — won’t open until fall 2008.
According to the Westfield Group, projected post-renovation annual sales for the center are $605 million.
The shopping center will introduce 63 retailers to the San Fernando Valley, including a clutch of luxury shops — among them, Furla, Burberry and Movado — that will line a 300-by-100-square-foot, skylit corridor called the Canyon.
“You’re not going to have to drive to Beverly Hills for [those retailers] anymore,” said Green. (Canoga Park is 25 miles northwest of Los Angeles.) “To get on the freeways or over the Sepulveda Pass is a challenge.”
The mall will be arranged in “precincts,” or clusters of stores, that target various demographics, including children, teens, luxury and contemporary shoppers.
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It will feature three fast-fashion retailers: MNG by Mango, H&M and Zara, along with contemporary mainstays Arden B., Cole Haan and Bebe Sport.
Architectural elements in the extension will be added to the existing mall. “We’re carrying finishes throughout, and the woods, tiles, rails and ceilings,” said Brandi Friel, marketing director for Westfield Topanga. “A lot of the old stores are renovating, as well.”
Three new covered parking garages will encircle the shopping center, for a total of 6,100 parking spaces. “In the Valley, it means a lot to have a parking space…out of the sun,” said Green.
The company has worked closely with Canoga Park city officials on the project, and has addressed fears of increased traffic congestion by widening streets bordering the mall, adding two street lights and making improvements at 14 nearby intersections.
“Westfield has been very cooperative,” said Joe Andrews, president of the Canoga Park Chamber of Commerce, adding, “I think the [upscale] stores are a great sign for the community….They will attract shoppers from lots of nearby communities — West Hills, Encino, Calabasas, Thousand Oaks and Woodland Hills. I think local businesses will benefit, too.”
The completed mall will employ around 3,000 people.
The company operates a second shopping center in Canoga Park, Westfield Promenade, only blocks away on Topanga Canyon Boulevard.
“I think the Promenade is going to evolve into more entertainment and food,” said Green. “The restaurants do phenomenally well there; so does the movie theater and the Barnes & Noble.”
The Westfield Group — one of the biggest mall developers in the world — operates 120 shopping centers, chiefly in the U.S. and Australia. The company is valued at more than $38.2 billion, with total assets of around $52 billion.