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SAN FRANCISCO-The $460-million addition to Westfield San Francisco Centre opens at the end of the week, adding 950,000 sf to the existing 500,000-sf mall. The transformation of the landmark Emporium site by Forest City Enterprises and Westfield Group adds among other things a 357,000-sf Bloomingdale's department store, the first new ground-up Bloomingdale's on the West Coast and the largest outside of Manhattan. The site retains only the Emporium's facade and its 102-foot-wide skylit dome built in 1908.
San Francisco Centre opened in 1988, anchored by what was then the largest Nordstrom in the nation. In 1996, the adjoining Emporium closed after its parent, Broadway Stores, was acquired by Federated Department Stores. The following year, the REIT Urban Shopping Centers Inc. acquired a half interest in the property as well as the management assignment. Westfield Group acquired the REIT in 2002 and the following year cut a joint venture agreement with Forest City Enterprises, which had acquired the redevelopment rights to the Emporium site from Federated.
Even without the addition, Westfield San Francisco is already a destination, drawing 9 million visitors in 2005 to the five-story Nordstrom and 64 other retailers. The expanded center is expected to attract 25 million visitors per year and generate in excess of $600 million in annual retail sales.
Each level of the addition is connected to the existing mall. In addition to Bloomingdale's, the new space will house the first West Coast mi adidas, an athletic shoe customization station located inside the Adidas Sport Performance Store, and the first Northern California outposts of Bristol Farms, an upscale grocer; MNG, a trendy women's clothing store by Mango of Spain; and Martin + Osa, American Eagle Outfitters' attempt to the reach post-college crowd. A nine-screen Century Theatres also is part of the expansion.
To compete with the new Bloomingdale's Nordstrom has been spending millions on a renovation that will open this weekend along with the new addition. Several other stores within the existing mall also have renewed their spaces for the occasion.
Taking the standard food court to the next level, the expansion has 14 "fast-casual" gourmet eateries that will serve meals on china plates and use glass stemware and real cutlery. In addition, the mall will have seven higher-end restaurants.
In similar fashion, the mall will be the first Westfield property with a five-language electronic directory, helping shoppers not only find their favorite store but also public transportation options. In addition, the concierge desk will have computers with DSL connections for shoppers to use.
The mall's 250,000-sf office component will become the new location of San Francisco State University's College of Extended Learning. It also will be the home for all graduate programs within the University's College of Business.
Across the street from the new addition to the mall, an eight-story, 49,000-sf triangle-shaped building changed hands for $22.76 million earlier this month. The long-time location of California Savings Bank was acquired by an entity of Los Angeles-based brokerage firm Blatteis & Schnur. The new ownership plans to invest another $15 million or so to renovate and reposition the lower floors as a flagship retail location, which should take about 18 months.
In May, Blatteis & Schnur paid $1,575 per sf ($12.6 million) for a vacant but well-located building on the northeast corner at Powell and O'Farrell streets, two blocks from San Francisco Centre and one block off Union Square. The three-level structure was acquired in partnership with Washington, DC-based ASB Capital Management. The business plan includes a full interior and exterior renovation to reposition the building as another flagship retail location.
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