Nordstrom stepping into new Murray digs

The new 138,000-square-foot Nordstrom in Fashion Place Mall may be the gem for General Growth Properties Inc. in Utah, since the company has halted redevelopment of the Cottonwood Mall.

On Thursday, employees of Seattle-based Nordstrom Inc. are moving into the new space on the north side of Fashion Place from the 110,000-square-foot space on the west side of the mall, which was built in 1981.

Friday is the grand opening for the new store, and 80 new employees have been hired. "And 35 of those are for our new restaurant or cafe/bistro," said Nordstrom spokeswoman Brooke White.

Consumer confidence and spending are down because people are either out of work or are afraid they'll soon be out of work. Was it wise for Nordstrom to open a new store during the recession?

White said the company hopes sales in the new store will be higher than the old store.

"This is a tough environment," she said. "But we've been serving customers here for nearly 30 years. So this is a very successful store; the Murray store has been very successful for a long time. We're expanding something that has done well for us in the past."

General Growth Properties plans to renovate the old Nordstrom space and lease it out to retailers, said Kris Longson, vice president of development for General Growth.

"We have no signed leases" for the space, Longson said. "We have a lot of work to do. We can't do anything until that Nordstrom moves out."

Also planned at Fashion Place Mall is a new Dillard's and tearing down the old Dillard's space. Longson said that General Growth is still in talks with Dillard's and hasn't finalized the plans.

Longson does not know what project will take place first — the renovation of the old Nordstrom or the new Dillard's. Some tenants have expressed interest in moving into the old Nordstrom space.

"But nothing is moving fast in this market," he said.

A couple miles to the east of Fashion Place is Chicago-based General Growth's other Utah mall, Cottonwood. General Growth hired crews to level everything except for Macy's. The new Cottonwood development has been described as a European village, which will cost about $650 million, with about 500 townhomes, condos, and single-family detached homes, as well as 400,000 square feet of retail and 400,000 square feet of office space.