Renovation and construction work on the 550,000 square feet Santa Monica Place mall took two years to complete. It will house Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s department stores, white-tablecloth restaurants, a food market and a mix of high-end retailers. Originally designed by the renowned architect Frank Gehry, the new Santa Monica Place mall has retained the use of chain link for signage.
Macerich Co has brought major players such as Nordstrom, Barneys New York Co-op, Tiffany & Co., Betsey Johnson and Louis Vuitton to the mall. The new mall will focus more on food with six chef-driven fancy restaurants and nine fast-casual dining spots, taking up a third of the space in the center. A marketplace, inspired by tenants of the Ferry Building in San Francisco, will also open on the dining deck a few months after the inauguration. It will house 27 independent purveyors of delicacies such as gourmet chocolates, cheeses and fresh bread.
Macerich initially wanted to demolish Santa Monica Place and replace it with a 10-acre complex of high-rise condominiums, shops and offices over underground parking. The company scrapped the ambitious plans in 2006 after being hit with a wave of opposition from local critics.
