NEWPORT BEACH : Panel to Consider Mall Expansion Plan

The Newport Beach Planning Commission will consider a proposal today to expand Fashion Island by 20%, which would make the shopping center more competitive with South Coast Plaza and increase the city’s sales tax base.

New stores in the planned 310,000-square-foot addition are expected to do $75 million a year in sales, bringing in $750,000 in sales tax revenue to the city.

City officials have been trying to lure Bloomingdale’s as an anchor store for the expanded mall.

Advance planner Patricia Temple’s report to the commission notes that expansion of the outdoor mall is not expected to significantly detract from the eight smaller commercial centers in the city--Corona del Mar, Mariner’s Mile, Balboa Island, Central Balboa, West Newport, Old Newport Boulevard, Cannery Village and McFadden Square--which cater to small, specific local populations. Together, those areas generated $190 million in sales last year.

The Fashion Island expansion is expected to draw 90% of its new business from other malls--primarily South Coast Plaza/ Crystal Court, the Brea Mall and MainPlace/Santa Ana. An estimated $3 million would be shifted from other areas of Newport Beach.

If the commission approves the staff proposal, it will go to the City Council for final approval.

Traffic in the Newport Center area is not expected to increase significantly after the expansion, except during peak shopping periods, such as the Christmas season. The commission must grapple with potential holiday parking problems.

The planned expansion would add at a minimum of 280,000 square feet to the mall. The developer, the Irvine Co., will add another 30,000 square feet if it completes plans to build low-income senior housing at its Lower Bayview Landing project.