Northridge Fashion Center Being Sold to Chicago-Based Mall Operator

Northridge Fashion Center is being sold by its British owner to General Growth Properties, a Chicago-based operator of shopping malls across the country.

The sale will have no impact on the ongoing renovation of the center’s north wing, where movie theaters and an open air entertainment complex are expected to open by the end of this year, said Annette Bethers, the mall’s marketing director.

The developers have received city approval to build as many as eight full-service restaurants in the entertainment wing, but said they may initially open only four restaurants when the construction project is complete.

The developers asked for a city permit for eight eateries selling alcoholic beverages so they would not be limited in planning, Bethers said.

While eight may seem like a lot given the number of restaurants along Tampa Avenue, the area can support them, Bethers said.

“Consumers definitely want more sit-down, full-service restaurants here,” she said. “We are hearing from them that they are looking for a more upscale dining experience, an outside dining experience and we’re not seeing much of that in this area.”

Included in the number of restaurants would be the existing Pizzeria Uno and the new Claim Jumpers steakhouse, now under construction.

Bethers said the mall’s owners hope to be able to unveil the new stores, restaurants and a 10-screen Pacific Theater by the end of the year.

The entertainment complex is envisioned as an open-air promenade with boutiques and restaurants, stretching from the old Broadway department store to the new multiplex on Shirley Avenue along the northern side of the shopping center.

The Broadway building, vacated in 1996, is expected to be split into two sections to hold two or three large retail stores, including a Borders bookstore. The section also will have two large courtyards with fountains and gathering places, with Mediterranean accents throughout, Bethers said.

*

The mall’s current owner, MEPC plc, based in London, made an unlucky purchase of the property just one month before the January 1994 Northridge earthquake.

The quake left Northridge Fashion Center the most badly damaged of any retail center in the Valley, and was essentially closed for most of 1994. Eventually, more than $50 million was spent to repair damage and redesign the mall before it reopened.

MEPC decided to sell the Northridge mall as part of a divestiture of all its properties outside the United Kingdom, Bethers said. The sale is expected to close within 45 days.

General Growth Properties is paying MEPC $871 million to purchase eight shopping centers in seven states, including Valley Plaza Mall in Bakersfield. General Growth Properties owns 107 shopping malls in 37 states.

Stavro is a Times staff writer; Oliande is a correspondent.