Fashion Square to expand:

Proposed addition to include theater, retail space, garage

The Scottsdale mall’s owner looks to build a larger movie theater and add a garage and more retail space north of Barneys New York and along Scottsdale Road.

The owner of Scottsdale Fashion Square is planning a major expansion of the shopping center, with a new, larger movie theater and new retail space.

The additions would be built north of Barneys New York and along Scottsdale Road. As the largest mall in Arizona, Fashion Square currently includes nearly 2 million square feet of space and more than 250 shops at the northwest corner of Scottsdale and Camelback roads.

Nelsen Partners, the architecture firm on the project, has submitted an application with the city of Scottsdale seeking Development Review Board approval of the site plan, elevations and landscape plans for the project.

Fashion Square is owned by Santa Monica, Calif.-based Macerich, one of the nation’s largest shopping-center real-estate investment trusts.

The expansion would take place on acreage that formerly housed a Robinsons-May department store and accompanying parking garage. The store and garage were demolished in fall 2007.

The expansion would connect to the rear east mall entrance and extend north across the western portion of what is now a parking lot. The building will add more than 141,600 square feet of new development, including about 50,000 square feet of new retail on the ground floor and about 91,700 square feet for the theater on the second floor. It also would include a one-level underground parking garage with 132 spaces.

This would be the mall’s biggest expansion project since a new wing for Barneys New York, H&M and other retailers was completed in late 2009.

“This will give us a state-ofthe-art theater complex that will enhance the overall attraction of the shopping center,” said Steve Helm, Fashion Square’s assistant vice president of property management.

Fashion Square originally was built in 1961 and underwent expansions or renovations in 1989, 1991, 1998, 2007 and 2009.

Among its high-end retailers are Barneys New York, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Tiffany & Co., and Prada.

Zoning already is in place to accommodate the expansion, said Dan Symer, senior city planner. Approval from the Development Review Board and construction permits are all that are needed for the expansion to proceed, he said. “This was originally planned in 2007, but they just didn’t know what it would be,” Symer said.

The addition would “energize the east side of the mall and increase the pedestrian traffic to this portion of the mall,” said George Melara, vice president and director of design for Nelsen Partners’ Scottsdale office.

“The new theater addition will be a wash as the total number of seats provided will be the same as currently provided at the (Harkins) Camelview and (Fashion Square 7) inside the mall,” he said.

The new theater will replace the theater inside the mall, at the food court, Helm said. Additional details on the theater were not available Monday.

The Development Review Board is expected to consider the proposal before the end of the year, Symer said. The renderings include some building heights, including a 120-foot tower element, that exceed the height limit in the area, he said.

“They’re planning to get me revised drawings within a couple of weeks,” he said.

Macerich owns several other shopping centers in the Valley, such as Arrowhead Towne Center, Biltmore Fashion Park, Chandler Fashion Center, SanTan Village and Fiesta Mall.