From Deseret News archives:
Fashion Place to expand
Mall plans include new 150,000 square feet
Few details were available about the project Monday, according to Fashion Place spokeswoman Tamara DeMilt.
"At this point, we're still fine-tuning the redevelopment plans," DeMilt said. "We don't have a picture or a site plan available."
DeMilt said the 150,000-square-foot expansion will include shops and restaurants. No information was available regarding the cost of the expansion, potential new tenants or the project's start date.
And while the expansion could include an outdoor component, DeMilt said the mall will not become "another Gateway."
The only firm announcement regarding the project came Monday from Nordstrom, which said it will open a new two-level store at the mall. The 140,000-square-foot store, which is in addition to the 150,000-square-foot overall Fashion Place expansion, is expected to open in spring 2009.
That target date coincides with what Fashion Place hopes will be the completion of its entire project, DeMilt said.
"We don't have an exact time line, but yes, that is the intent," she said. "Nordstrom is the first step in this process. Securing Nordstrom allows us to develop our plans further. This is the starting point for us now."
The news about Fashion Place was included in a larger agreement between Nordstrom and General Growth Properties Inc. — which owns the Murray mall — to open three new Nordstrom stores in Ohio, Missouri and Delaware, relocate the Fashion Place store and renovate the Nordstrom location at Montclair Plaza in Montclair, Calif.
Monday's announcement is also the latest in a string of mall renovations planned along the Wasatch Front — all announced or started within the last year — including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' City Creek development, Trolley Square, South Towne Center, Valley Fair Mall and expansions ongoing at The Gateway.
Nordstrom opened its current Fashion Place store in 1981, and that store will continue to serve customers until the new store is complete, said Nordstrom spokeswoman Brooke White.
"Typically, in this situation, we'll close one day and move all the merchandise overnight, and open the next day in the new location," White said. "We've done this a fair amount of times."
The new store will be 30,000 square feet larger than the current Fashion Place store, but White said it "will feel a lot bigger than that."
"Because of the way we build stores today, we're able to commit more space to selling space," White said. "So it will feel a lot bigger."
The new store is set to be built just north of the current store, on what is now a parking lot.
"We are excited about it," White said. "We have talked about the importance of having a mall be a great destination, where you've got a compelling reason why customers would choose to visit a mall. We can't function alone. So we think it's terrific for Murray and for Fashion Place to have this significant renovation."
As for the broader expansion, DeMilt said, there will be structural changes to the mall, though information about the impact to tenants and parking wasn't available Monday.
"The existing mall will still exist," DeMilt said. "This is an expansion."
More information on the project will be released as it becomes available, she said.
E-mail: jnii@desnews.com
