CITY HALL — The day before the one-year mark from when Santa Monica Place is slated to open, Macerich announced on Wednesday the addition of five new tenants that will join the renovated mall.
Now included in the boosted lineup are Michael Kors, which will open one of its Lifestyle stores specializing in shoes and accessories; Ted Baker, a United Kingdom clothing company for men and women; Swarovski, the famed European retailer of crystals; Bernini, a Southern California based seller of menswear; and Angl, a trendy clothing boutique for young women.
“As a whole all five kind of speak to the overall mix that we’re going for which is pretty balanced in terms of some better price points to moderate price point offerings,” Anne Singleton, the vice president of leasing for Macerich, said.
It’s the first major unveiling of new tenants in the past six months.
Singleton said she expects to sign more tenants in the coming months as retailers, which have adjusted to operate on a quarter-by-quarter basis rather than forecasting long term, are now starting to consider signing with the mall as the opening date — Aug. 6, 2010 — nears.
Macerich already has on board a slew of restaurants — Ozumo Sushi, XINO Restaurant + Lounge, Pizza Antica, La Sandia and Zengo — as well as more than a dozen retailers, including Joe’s Jeans, Kitson, True Religion, Coach and Ed Hardy. Lacoste has backed out of its previously stated commitment, Singleton said.
Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s, which will launch a SoHo theme concept, will serve as anchors, flanking the northwest and southeast sides of the mall, respectively.
While the mall has signed a number of retailers catering to a higher-income clientele, Macerich officials said the goal is to sign tenants that will cover the broad audience in Santa Monica, which has everything from the mansions north of Montana Avenue to the apartments and smaller single-family homes in the Pico Neighborhood and Sunset Park.
“I think our merchandise will have something for everyone,” she said. “Clearly the names you recognize as either having luxury lines or having a higher price point will cater to a certain customer, but we are very careful in selecting moderate price point tenants that will complement the Third Street Promenade as well in all their offerings,” Singleton said.
The Frank Gehry-designed mall opened in the 1980s and at its prime served as a thriving partner to the promenade. One of the largest developers of shopping centers in the country, Macerich originally proposed developing three, 21-story office towers that included retail spaces and residential units, scrapping them after residents came out in opposition, calling it out of character with the neighborhood. What replaced that plan was the redesigned mall, a project that involves tearing off its roof and moving the food court to the top floor, which has ocean views.
The mall was originally scheduled to open in fall 2009 but was postponed for about a year to better time it with the completion of Bloomingdale’s and Nordstrom, the latter of which will go live on Aug. 27, 2010.
