The upgrade--which added about 300,000-sf of small-shop space, anchors Nordstrom and Bloomingdale's Home, as well as other features--was expected by Rouse officials to nearly double the mall's sales per-sf to around $1,000. (Chicago-based General Growth does not release sales per-sf for its individual malls, though executives say its performance is in the top 5% of its portfolio.)

The renovation also included the expansion of existing Dillard's, Macy's, Neiman-Marcus, Robinsons-May and Saks Fifth Avenue anchors, as well as the addition of a 480-foot-long canopy 128 feet over the center called the Cloud, on which images are projected at night.

Despite all of those additions, the work at Fashion Show might not be done. May Department Stores had planned to build a Lord & Taylor unit at the center, but the retailer scrapped those plans after it reassessed its strategy for that chain in 2003.