Westfield Century City

Westfield Century City, formerly known as Century Square Shopping Center, is a two-level, 900,000-square-foot outdoor shopping mall in the Century City commercial district in Los Angeles, California. It is owned by Westfield Corporation. Its anchor stores include Bloomingdale's, Macy's, a Gelson's supermarket, and a 15-screen AMC multiplex. It is currently undergoing an $800 million expansion,^[2] which will add a Nordstrom flagship store.

History

Westfield Century City opened in 1964 as the Century Square Shopping Center, anchored by The Broadway. In 1976, the mall's parking lot was turned into an expansion of the mall, bringing a Bullock's and several new retail stores. An AMC cinema and a new food court, referred to as "The Marketplace" opened in 1987.^[3] In 1996 both The Broadway and Bullock's closed when The Broadway's struggling parent Carter Hawley Hale was acquired by Federated Department Stores. Federated converted The Broadway store into Bloomingdale's and the Bullock's into a Macy's.

Australian shopping center developer Westfield Group acquired a 50% stake in the shopping center in 2002^[4] and renamed it "Westfield Shoppingtown Century City". The Shoppingtown moniker was dropped from all Westfield properties in 2005.^[5]

In 2004, Westfield initiated a $160 million renovation.^[6] The renovation replaced the 1980s-era food court and movie theater with an alfresco Dining Terrace and a flagship 15-screen AMC cinema. The renovation also brought a new two-level retail building housing a Borders bookstore and a Container Store on the top level and numerous retailers on the bottom, a reskin of the existing Bloomingdale's store, the addition of a restaurant row facing Santa Monica Boulevard, and a general remodeling of the center. The Borders Bookstore went out of business in 2011.

Expansion

In 2009, a radical expansion and renovation of Westfield Century City was approved. The original plans for the expansion called for a 49-story residential and office building with a relocated Bloomingdale's at the base, the addition of more than 350,000 square feet of retail space, and more than 1,000 new parking spaces.^[7] 10 levels were quickly lobbed off of the proposed building at the behest of Century City residents.^[8]

After years of delays, lawsuits, and neighborhood protests, a revamped expansion plan was unveiled in 2013. The new proposal now includes:

• A 15-story residential and office building in place of the Welton Becket-designed Gateway West Building^[9]
• The addition of 422,000 square feet of retail space and more than 1,000 new parking spaces ^[9]
• A new Nordstrom store, to open in 2017 in the empty Bullock's space.^[10]
• A relocated 155,000 square foot Macy's to open in 2016^[11]
• A major remodel to the existing Bloomingdale's store^[11]
• The addition of Italian marketplace concept Eataly, in its first West Coast location.^[12]

See also

• Westfield Group

References

Westfield Shopping Centers in the United States
California (Northern)	Galleria at Roseville Oakridge San Francisco Centre Valley Fair
California (Southern)	Century City Culver City Fashion Square Horton Plaza Mission Valley North County Palm Desert Plaza Bonita Promenade Santa Anita Topanga UTC Valencia Town Center
Connecticut	Meriden Trumbull
Florida	Brandon Broward Citrus Park Countryside Sarasota Square Southgate
Illinois	Old Orchard
Maryland	Annapolis Montgomery Wheaton
New Jersey	Garden State Plaza
New York	South Shore Sunrise World Trade Center
Washington	Southcenter
Westfield Corporation