Addition at South Coast Plaza to Open : Broadway, Robinson’s Will Anchor $100-Million Expansion
When the $100-million, 685,000-square-foot Crystal Court at South Coast Plaza opens Friday--Halloween--C. J. Segerstrom & Sons believes that the shoppers of Orange County are in for a treat. The only trick might be finding a place to park.
Located on 17.8 acres at 3333 Bear St., Costa Mesa, the latest expansion of the 19-year-old South Coast Plaza mall by California Pacific Properties is anchored by a 200,000-square-foot Broadway store and a 215,000-square-foot J. W. Robinson’s.
The addition makes the 2.9-million-square-foot South Coast Plaza complex the largest shopping mall in the nation, substantially larger than the 2.65-million-square foot Del Amo Fashion Center in Torrance or the 2.4-million-square-foot Lakewood Center Mall in Lakewood, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers, a New York-based trade group. The largest mall in North America is the 4-million-square-foot Edmonton Mall in Edmonton, Canada.
A separate three-level parking structure constructed by Charles Pankow Builders, Altadena, will accommodate 2,700 vehicles. A spokeswoman for the owners said that a free shuttle is planned to link the extension with the original mall along Bristol Street, just north of the San Diego (405) Freeway.
The 270,000-square-foot three-story mall will have 70 specialty stores, among them Alcott & Andrews, North Face, Scribner Books, Coach Leather, Daniel Cremieux, El Portal Luggage, North Face, Jessica McClintock, Koala Blue, Papagallo and Ralph Lauren-Polo.
Architectural elements of the dual-axis mall, designed by Architects Pacifica Ltd., Newport Beach, include a tiered center rotunda and four barrel-shaped skylights.
The firm also was responsible for the design of the Broadway store; Leach, Cleveland, Hayakawa, Barry & Associates of Burbank designed the Robinson’s store.
Macco Constructors Inc., Paramount, was the general contractor for the mall; Nuhahn Inc., Harbor City, was the Broadway contractor and Bernards Bros. Inc., San Fernando, was the Robinson’s contractor.
Jack H. Matthess, the center’s general manager, said that with the opening of its latest expansion, South Coast Plaza now has eight department store anchors, more than any other Southland shopping mall. The eight stores are: Bullock’s, May Co., Sears, Nordstrom, Robinson’s, Broadway, Saks Fifth Avenue and I. Magnin.
