Del Amo Mall to consolidate Macy's into two stores 

Torrance >> Macy’s has announced it will consolidate its three Del Amo Fashion Center stores into two, removing what some city officials saw as a major obstacle to the ongoing $200 million-plus revitalization of the aging retail giant.

Macy’s will retain its four-story main store at the north end of the mall and its current three-story store just north of the new food court.

Its oldest and southernmost two-story location, originally built in 1959 as The Broadway, is now Macy’s home and furniture store and will close this fall, Macy’s spokesman Jim Sluzewski said.

“As part of this process, some merchandise departments will shift from one Macy’s store to another within Del Amo,” he said. “This spring, Macy’s will begin remodeling its new Men’s/Home store to accommodate home categories and furniture that will relocate from the current Home Store. Categories such as women’s apparel and children’s were recently relocated into the Main Store, which also will be remodeled in a project to begin in summer 2014 and running through 2015.

“We expect to accommodate the vast majority of our existing Del Amo associates in the two remaining Del Amo stores and surrounding Macy’s locations,” he added.

In a swap, mall owner Simon Property Group will now own the south store and Macy’s will own the three-story space to the north it had previously leased. That will allow Simon to attract another anchor tenant above the Jo-Anne Fabric and Craft store, which will remain on the ground floor.

“Macy’s supports Simon’s plans to redevelop and upgrade Del Amo Fashion Center, which we believe will further improve the shopping experience,” Chief Store Officer Peter Sachse said. “We foresee very little disruption to our business.”

Simon is “in discussions” with a tenant and an announcement is expected in the “near future.”

“It was important for us to work with Macy’s to help them determine their future,” said Chuck Davis, Simon’s senior vice president of development. “Until they determined that, it would have been difficult for us to continue to plan into the future.”

A similar consolidation of the Macy’s men’s and home stores with the women’s store on the north side of the Manhattan Village mall at Rosecrans Avenue and Sepulveda Boulevard in Manhattan Beach is underway as part of a $110 million overhaul of the retail property.

Mayor Frank Scotto said he was very pleased with the outcome of what had been lengthy negotiations with Macy’s.

“Now we’re getting closer to the full (economic) potential of the mall,” he said. “We’re going to be able to attract a number of other tenants we’re all going to be happy about.”

Del Amo Fashion Center is finally updating its outdated interior and exterior with a sleek, modern look, building an enlarged food court over Carson Street, constructing a new four-level, almost 2,000-vehicle parking deck on the sunken parking lot to the north of the now-closed Montgomery Ward and adding a new Nordstrom.

Nearly 200,000 square feet of 1960s-era mall space near Fashion Way has been demolished. Work on the Nordstrom and 400,000 square feet of new retail space is expected to begin in 60 to 90 days. In July, the aging medical building on the west side of the mall will be demolished to make way for more parking.

The mall improvements, which will increase the amount of retail space at the Hawthorne Boulevard fixture by 200,000 square feet to 2.6 million square feet, are slated for completion by the end of 2015.

In addition, the 15-acre former Suncal property to the north of the mall was purchased last week by Torrance businessman Fasha Mahjoor, chief executive officer of Torrance-based Phenomenex.

The property where housing was once proposed — and opposed by homeowners groups — ended up in bankruptcy court, a fallout of the meltdown in property values that coincided with the Great Recession.

“He has bought this as an investment and he’s going to wait a period of time to figure out what that piece of property is best suited for,” Scotto said.

Projects could include an upscale office building or medical offices or a hotel, Scotto said. Some housing is also a possibility, but Scotto said he doubts that will occur given the level of community opposition to previous projects that had up to 1,000 units proposed on the tract.

Meanwhile, new and some relocated retailers displaced from the north end of the mall are beginning to move into spaces, many near the Patio Cafes and some with prestigious one-of-a-kind “concept stores.”

• Manhattan Beach-based Sketchers, which has opened a 4,300-square-foot prototype store.

• The Finish Line by Nike in a 8,700-square-foot location.

• Quicksilver, which specializes in snow, surf and skate fashions, will open a 5,800-square-foot space later this month, its first in the South Bay.

• The Disney Store returns later this month in a 4,800-square-foot location, while Starbucks will open a kiosk location nearby.

• Jewelry store Pandora opens a 1,000-square-foot store later this month.

• Purity Cosmetics, which opened its first South Bay location this week.

Reporter covering Torrance, Lomita, Rolling Hills Estates, Palos Verdes Estates. Nick also covers soccer as a sports columnist. Reach the author at nick.green@dailybreeze.com or follow Nick on Twitter: @lasoccerblog @NickGreen007.

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