Back in Fashion : Rebuilt and Spiffed Up, Quake-Battered Northridge Mall Reopens

Eighteen months after construction crews began repairing massive earthquake damage, more than 50,000 people returned to Northridge Fashion Center on Monday for its reopening. Only one-third of the mall’s stores were ready for business, but that didn’t seem to matter to shoppers. For many of them, the mall had always been more than just a place to shop. It had long served as a town square, and Monday’s return marked a significant step toward resuming life as usual.

“I’ve been waiting long enough,” said Pat Cronkrite, 52, of Van Nuys, one of the hard-core shoppers who arrived early. “When the mall was destroyed, I told my husband, ‘The first day this place reopens, I’m taking the day off work.’ ”

Cronkrite joined a swarm of people to stroll excitedly along mall corridors refurbished with skylights, fountains and two-story-high palm trees.

Some people snapped photographs or recorded the moment on videotape. Others filed into a cinnamon bun stand that had been a morning gathering place for years.

“I just called in three more workers. Got them out of bed,” said Gary Reed, the stand’s manager, as he spread icing across a pan of hot buns. “We expected it to be a little busy, but nothing like this.”

Mall officials have grand opening ceremonies planned for Aug. 2, when most of the mall’s 180 stores will be open.

Monday’s reopening was a rare economic benefit in a bumpy earthquake recovery. Some economists have wondered why, despite an influx of nearly $20 billion in quake-related aid, there has been no construction boom for the many, just boomlets for the few. Although the earthquake may have added a few thousand jobs in the county, the average number of construction jobs in May in Los Angeles County was a mere 108,000, compared with 140,000 five years ago, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

None of this was on the minds of shoppers who were backed up in the Northridge mall’s parking garages, which became jammed as early as 10:30 a.m.

The same site had provided one of the earthquake’s most searing images, as television cameras broadcast the rescue of a maintenance worker trapped beneath rubble of one of the garages.

For many, the will to shop overcame any lingering fear.

Mall officials boasted of safety precautions used in the rebuilding of the center. Not only were the structures built to be safe, officials said, they were built to look safe.

Parking garages were designed to allow more sunlight, and columns were poured in conical shapes that give a clear impression of strength.

Inside the mall, structural elements that are usually hidden were left exposed. The mall advertises that its new skylights are made of safety glass mounted in rubber.

The strategy seemed to work.

“The pillars on the parking structure look technical,” said Eileen Schiller, 35, of Granada Hills, who brought her 12-year-old daughter Megan to shop for school clothes. “They may not be any safer, but they look that way.”

Nearly every inch of ceiling overlooking the mall corridors has been converted to skylights--some arched and others with conical or peaked designs. Carpeting was replaced by imported granite. Fluorescent lighting was replaced by sunlight, and the thrum of echoed footsteps was muted by the burbling of water from mall fountains.

“It’s nice and airy and open,” said Scott Allen, 43, of Van Nuys. “A hell of an improvement over what it was.”

Even with these changes, the mall retains some of its old look. Many previous merchants remain, including department stores such as Sears, J.C. Penney and Broadway. Bullocks is scheduled to be ready for the mall’s reopening ceremony, followed soon after by Robinsons-May.

“I think it’s very healing getting back open, both for the customers and for us,” said Shari Mendez, who became manager of the mall’s candy store just two months before the earthquake. “I was working in a lot of different shops in the meantime, but this is my shop, so I felt like an orphan.”

At the cinnamon bun stand, longtime customers stopped by to say hello. Amid the chatter and the bustle, Allen said he was reminded of the mall’s opening in 1971.

“Look at all these people,”’ he said. “It’s a shot in the arm for everybody who lives in this area.”

Times staff writer Jill Leovy contributed to this story.

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Profile: Northridge Fashion Center * First opened: 1971

* Size: 1.5 million square feet

* Major changes: Some spaces have been enlarged during the rebuilding, leaving space for about 180 stores--down from the 200 before the Northridge quake. So far, 60 stores have reopened, with others to follow over the next few weeks. The decor has been refurbished and updated, although there are no major changes in the layout of the mall itself.

* Other changes: A 25,000-square-foot food court has been added, with a ceiling made almost entirely of shatterproof skylights.

* Anchor stores: Sears, J.C. Penney, Broadway, Bullock’s (set to reopen on Aug. 9) and Robinsons/May (set to reopen on Aug. 30).

* Grand reopening: Scheduled for Aug. 2, when about 110 stores are expected to be open.