Oaks Shopping Center Suspends Its Expansion Plans

Operators of The Oaks mall have put the brakes on plans to renovate and expand Ventura County’s largest shopping center, saying they want to see how the merger between Federated Department Stores Inc. and May Department Stores Co. proceeds before moving ahead.

Earlier this week, Santa Monica-based mall operator Macerich Co. canceled public hearings on the expansion plans scheduled for April and May before the Thousand Oaks Planning Commission and the City Council.

Federated and May have four anchor stores at The Oaks, including Macy’s and Robinsons-May. Macerich has been planning a $100-million project that would expand one of two Robinsons-May stores at the Thousand Oaks center and add a Nordstrom department store, two restaurants and dozens of luxury stores.

Macerich spokesman Steve Spector said Thursday that the company wanted to hear from the retailers before pushing forward with the project.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty,” said Spector, a senior vice president with the company, which owns more than a dozen shopping centers with both Federated and May stores. “We are still committed and confident that we can facilitate Nordstrom coming to The Oaks mall, but the plans on how to do that are up in the air,” he said.

Thousand Oaks officials said they have no doubt that the project eventually will go forward, saying that a strong economy and the community’s relative affluence make the center ripe for growth and a makeover.

“It’s not a question of if, it’s a question of when,” Assistant City Manager Scott Mitnick said. “We may have to end up waiting a little longer, but that’s OK. We may end with an even better project.”

Federated agreed earlier this week to buy May Department Stores Co. in an $11-billion deal that could potentially alter Southern California’s department store landscape. There are 28 shopping malls across the Southland with stores owned by both companies, including the Glendale Galleria and the Northridge Fashion Center.

Some analysts have said the merger would spell the end of Robinsons-May, while others predicted that the deal could provide an opening for retail chains such as Wal-Mart and Target that are seeking to expand.