Sherman Oaks Mall Unveils New Tenants

Hoping to make the Sherman Oaks Galleria stomping grounds for a new generation of Valley Girls, developers announced the first slate of retail tenants for the reopening of the mall next spring.

The 300,000-square-foot retail-entertainment component will be anchored by a 16-screen Pacific Theaters; a Tower Books, Records and Video store that would be the nation’s largest; and restaurants including Cheesecake Factory and Johnny Rockets, said Mike Keurjian, the mall’s general manager.

Once completed, the upgraded Galleria will shed its enclosed box-like look, morphing into an open-air complex with pedestrian promenades.

“We are transforming the Galleria from the standard department-store-anchored mall to more of an entertainment and lifestyle center,” Keurjian said.

But it will be more office building than mall. When the renovation is finished, there will be a total of 700,000 square feet of office space--300,000 in the existing Imperial Bank building adjoining the mall, and 400,000 square feet of new space.

New office tenants include Warner Bros.’ animation division, which will take 180,000 square feet of space early next year, said Gina Guarino of Douglas Emmett Co. of Santa Monica, the mall’s owner.

Keurjian said “almost all” the retail space at the facility has been leased. Other retail tenants include Starbucks Coffee, Quizno’s, Robek’s Juice and Ben & Jerry’s, he said.

He said the new Tower store would be 50,000 square feet.

The Galleria, which was immortalized in the Frank Zappa song “Valley Girl” and in films such as “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” shut down in late 1998 amid flagging sales. But in its new incarnation, observers said, the business presence will aid retailers.

“The business presence alone won’t support the center,” said Richard Giss, partner in the retail services group of Deloitte & Touche, Los Angeles, “But having it there is definitely a plus that makes it different from its previous incarnation.”

Mall operators are banking on the new 16-theater multiplex, with 4,000 stadium seats, to be a big draw. And despite scores of theaters populating the Valley from Burbank to Chatsworth, some say the Sherman Oaks Galleria will fare very well.

“Newer theaters do better than the older,” said Giss. “Seating, amenities and sound systems draw people.”