HCohen schreef op 5 augustus 2022 13:15:
Big Box-conversion
Westfield is razing the old Nordstrom building at UTC
www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business... www.urw.com/en/website~o~content/asse... AUG. 3, 2022
The original Nordstrom store at Westfield UTC as seen in 2016 during construction of the mall’s parking garage and new storefronts.(San Diego Union-Tribune)
Shuttered for years but still visible to passersby, the big-box relic of the open-air mall’s past is now set for demolition
The former Nordstrom store at Westfield UTC in University City, a windowless relic of a bygone retail era, will be razed to make room for something new at the operator’s flagship property.
The demolition work is expected to start this month and includes the neighboring dated storefronts that have been fenced off for years.
Westfield hasn’t revealed future plans for the site. However, the activity suggests that parent company Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield is moving forward with a new phase of redevelopment — even as the French firm seeks to simultaneously offload all of its U.S. properties.
“At Westfield, we are passionate about creatively transforming former department store space into exciting and engaging experiences — including highly innovative, non-traditional mall offerings — for our customers and the wider community to enjoy,” said Kim Brewer, who is senior vice president of development for Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield. “We look forward to clearing the former Nordstrom parcel at Westfield UTC and taking another step in the multi-year, resort-inspired evolution of the center which first began nearly a decade ago.”
Opened in 1977, Westfield UTC has undergone a nearly $1 billion transformation over the past 10 years with improvements designed to refashion the outdoor shopping center as a premier dining destination, luxury home address and workplace of the future.
The first phase of work, completed in late 2012 at a cost of $180 million, introduced new facades, a fancier food court and ArcLight Cinemas (the movie theater was recently replaced by AMC).
In 2017, a second, more substantial makeover added 400,000 square feet of space, high-end shops, a five-level parking structure, trendy eateries and office space, at a cost of $600 million. And, in 2019, the mall’s $200 million Palisade residential tower became one of the priciest apartment complexes in town.
Yet just east of Westfield UTC’s glitzy palm-tree lined valet drop-off area, the original Nordstrom building is still standing, visible from La Jolla Village Drive and the mall’s interior. The classic brick-and-mortar building, which opened in 1984, closed in 2017 when a larger Nordstrom store with floor-to-ceiling windows debuted at the west end of the mall.
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield has not disclosed specific plans for the old Nordstrom site, except to note that the parcel and adjacent structures will be cleared completely before the year’s end.