CANOGA PARK : Topanga Plaza Store Plans Addition

CenterMark Properties is seeking approval to add a two-story, 75,000-square-foot addition to the Robinsons May department store in Topanga Plaza.

The addition would replace the existing third floor of the store, which would close, with construction scheduled to begin this summer.

“A three-story store doesn’t work with a two-story mall,” said Chris Funk, CenterMark attorney.

Shoppers tend to linger on the floors that are on the same level as the mall entries, and business tends to be slower on an upper story, he said.

The proposed expansion is the most recent in a series of improvements to the mall. Fifty new stores were added in the mid-1980s, and last year, despite a nationwide retail slump, CenterMark spent $45 million to give Topanga Plaza a more elegant look, adding skylights, marble floors and new storefronts.

CenterMark is also seeking permits to build a 300,000-square-foot, 12-story office building across the street, on a 37-acre lot on Topanga Canyon Boulevard south of Victory Boulevard.