Shopping Centers Today

MAY 2012

Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)

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SHOPPING CENTERS TODAY CENTER STAGE +1 646 728 3800 Fax: +1 732 694 1730 www.icsc.org Editor in Chief EDMUND MANDER +1 646 728 3487 EDITORIAL Managing Editor BRANNON BOSWELL +1 646 728 3488 Copy Chief DAVID S. ORTIZ Copy Editor VALERIE DAVID Art Director JOHN D. LEWIS Contributing Editors MAURA K. AMMENHEUSER STEVE BERGSMAN MARÍA BIRD PICÓ MADHUSMITA BORA DAVID BRINN RENÉE DEGROSS VALDÉS JOE DISTEFANO NICKY GODDING JOEL GROOVER CURT HAZLETT MATT HUDGINS DEVONY JACKSON BEN JOHNSON BETH KARLIN ELANA KRASNER BETH MATTSON-TEIG STEVE MCLINDEN MISTY MILIOTO REAGIN ANNA ROBATON DEES STRIBLING BENNETT VOYLES ADVERTISING & MARKETING AMIE LEIBOVITZ +1 773 360 1179 aleibovitz@icsc.org SUZANNE TANGUAY +1 646 728 3475 stanguay@icsc.org SALLY STEPHENSON +1 847 835 1617 sstephenson@icsc.org Production Coordinator DAVID STACKHOUSE +1 646 728 3482 dstackhouse@icsc.org ICSC OFFICERS Chair man DAVID B. HENRY President and CEO MICHAEL P. KERCHEVAL Vice Presidents LEE T. HANDLEY GAR HERRING, CDP DANIEL B. HURWITZ ADAM W. IFSHIN JOHN P. MORRISON Secretary-Treasurer KENNETH A. MCINTYRE JR. For article reprints, call (866) 879-9144 or contact sales@fostereprints.com SCT (ISSN 0885-9841) is pub lished monthly. VOLUME 33, ISSUE 5 © 2012, International Coun cil of Shop ping Cen ters, 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020-1099; phone, +1 (646) 728 3800; fax, +1 732 694 1730. All rights reserved. Periodicals postage paid at New York, N.Y., and ad di tion al mailing offices. Sub- scrip tions $70 per year; Canada and other foreign $99. Single-copy price $20 (May issue $30). For subscription information call +1 727 784 2000. POST MAS TER: Send address changes to Shopping Cen ters Today, Yizeth Vergara, 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020-1099. Publications mail agreement No. 41482022, return undeliverable Canadian addresses to PO Box 503, RPO West Beaver Creek, Richmond Hill ON L4B 4R6. S TAY CURRENT, OR STAGNATE — a retail imperative. Indeed, not even an upscale open-air mall like Fash- ion Island, in the affluent town of Newport Beach, Calif., is immune from aging. So The Irvine Co., the property's owner, decided to plow $100 million into remaking the place. The renovation changed the overall design, added retail space and amenities, and up- graded infrastructure. Much of the construc- tion work is done, but the addition of new tenants continues to be part of the overhaul. The redevelopment proceeded despite the recession. "The property's going to last a lot longer than any soft economy, and it needs to be competitive whatever the economic cli- mate," said Dan Sheridan, president of the Ir- vine Co.'s retail division. "When you've held a property as long as we've held this one, you think in the long term." The Irvine Co. built the center in 1967, so long ago that the charter anchors are now, with one exception, best-known to retail historians: The Broadway, Buffum's, J.W. Robinson's and JCPenney. A few renovations and countless mi- nor changes were done over the decades, and by 2010 the anchor roster for the 1.3 million- square-foot property included Bloomingdale's, Macy's Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom. The property has considerable strength to build on. Its ocean view, for one thing, is a rar- ity among shopping centers. Fashion Island re- ceives about 13 million visitors a year, both resi- dents and tourists. Among the locals who visit, 22 percent report household income in excess of $250,000 a year. Total expenditure per per- son per visit is $194, roughly twice the average for U.S. regional centers as estimated by ICSC. Tourists, who account for about 16 percent of the visits, drop an average of $411 per trip. The Irvine Co. wanted the look to be more in step with the Resort at Pelican Hill, its Palladian-style resort and golf club on the coast, about two miles from Fashion Island. The former Spanish Mediterranean styling of Fashion Island gave way to an Italianate look. Particularly notable are the new water features: a 24-foot-high water wall and a hand-carved granite fountain inspired by the Fountain of the Four Rivers, in the Piazza Navona, in Rome. Overseeing the new style was Robert El- liott, Irvine Co.'s group senior vice president of urban planning and design. "Every physical improvement we planned throughout Fashion Island, from the water wall to the styles and col- ors of new tables and chairs, plays an important part in adding richness and texture to the cen- ter's ambiance and sense of place," Elliott said. Keeping the tenant mix interesting is part of the long-term plan too, says Sheridan. Since the redevelopment began, some 40 new tenants have come, some of which operate nowhere else in Orange County, including Roberta Roller Rabbit, offering clothing by artisans in India, and 'Lette Macarons, which sells traditional French macaroons. "It's important to create a distinct new look, which we've certainly done," said Sheri- dan. "But without an equally interesting ten- ant mix, including new one-of-a-kinds in our market, we wouldn't be a place where people want to come and spend time." SCT MAY 2012 / SCT 19 Mall makeover IRVINE CO.'S FASHION ISLAND IS MORE FASHIONABLE THAN EVER By Dees Stribling

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