Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Michaels Arts & Crafts, Chili's Grill & Bar and Macaroni Grill have signed leases with Center Trust Inc. of Manhattan Beach, whose officials said last month at a city Planning Commission meeting they would bring top-tier tenants to the site. But they said then that they wouldn't sign leases until the commission decided whether to approve their plan to demolish the old center and rebuild it 1 1/2 times the size of the original. Commissioners unanimously approved the plan July 22.

The center, on the southwest corner of Vista Way and El Camino Real, is one of the city's oldest, built in 1980. One of the buildings demolished was a multiplex Mann Theatre.

The complex is anchored by Stein-Mart, Mervyn's, Petco and Toys R Us and contains banks, restaurants and fast-food establishments. All four new businesses plan to open next summer, according to the REIT, which says facades and traffic flow would be improved and landscaping would be added.