LOS ANGELES-Downtown retail here has reached a tipping point and may soon become a major destination for shoppers on par with San Francisco and New York. At least that's the claim of an executive with Brookfield Office Properties, which has laid a $40-million bet on the proposition.

Ed Hogan, the national director of retail leasing for Brookfield Office Properties, claims a key sign of downtown's potential transformation into a shopping destination is the recent commitment of Zara, a contemporary fashion outlet for men, women and children.

Zara has just signed to open a 27,000-square-foot flagship store in the FIGat7th shopping center, which has undergone a $40-million renovation by Brookfield. Zara's new store is expected to open in spring, 2014, and will showcase the brand's fashions within its signature store architecture and design.

FIGat7th is part of Brookfield's Ernst & Young Plaza class-A office towers environment. Although Brookfield is primarily an office owner and operator, it also has a portfolio of urban retail shopping centers that are part of the mixed-use environments. Their other properties include Brookfield Place at the World Financial Center in New York.

FIGat7th is anchored by one of the nation's first City Target stores. It has more than 330,000 square feet of retail and public space, including the TASTE FIGat7th dining area, which features outlets from Mendocino Farms, Sprinkles Cupcakes, Paul Shoemaker's Juicy Lucy Burger Bar, Oleego by Parks BBQ, Indus by Saffron from Bhupender Singh, George's Greek Grill and the MELT.

Other dining options set to open include Loteria from Jimmy Shaw, Pazzo Gelato, the Pizza Studio and the Flying Pig. FIGat7th offers indoor and outdoor seating for more than 500 dining guests, terraces, green space and casual café-style dining.

Later this year, an urban format Sport Chalet, a flagship restaurant from City Tavern, and other contemporary fashion and product retailers will open at FIGat7th.

The mall opened in 1986 as Seventh Market Place, and was anchored by smaller versions of the Bullock's and May Co. department stores.

Bullock's closed at the end of the last century, while the May Co. evolved into a Macy's before closing four years ago. The mall was revitalized by Target's 2010 decision to open its store. The $40-million facelift also added a 60-foot stairway from Figueroa to the mall's second level, part of the overall redesign to contemporize the dowdy property.

Hogan says the new downtown L.A. residents are young, well-educated and “also rather international.”

“There are a lot of Europeans and Asians,” he says. “They have a comfort level living in dense urban areas and are more at home in downtown than in a suburban-type development. They are very progressive and forward-thinking and Zara took that into consideration when selecting to open downtown.”

FIGat7th is banking on its proximity to Staples Center and LA Live to create a new environment “block by block, store by store,” as Hogan puts it. “It will happen over time. Those modes are interconnected and that's when you will see downtown L.A. compete with other cities.”

Hogan says other fashion retailers will take note of Zara's entrance into the downtown area.

“They are a leader and others will follow,” he says. “I think one store isn't going to make it a walking city, but one store will bring like-kind retail and will make it a shopping destination. There are a number of other retail projects in plans or under various stages or work. The success of our project will spur other projects. We have not been able to accommodate every retailer that wants to be in our center, which bodes well for downtown.”

Earlier on GlobeSt.com, Alan Mark of the Mark Co. noted that a severe lack of new condominium inventory downtown makes it an ideal time for construction.