> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # DOWNTOWN Bloomingdale’s is coming to town. - URL: https://www.smdp.com/brandon-wise-brandonw-smdp-com-coming-to-downtown-high-end-retailer-bloomingdales-has-signed-on-to-set-up-shop-at-santa-monica-place-it-will-replace-a-2/ - Published: 2008-09-11T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-24T20:59:54.000Z - Author: Melody Hanatani - Tags: Business, Downtown, #archive-import *High-end retailer to open in 2010* DOWNTOWN Bloomingdale’s is coming to town. The high-end retailer, which made the Manhattan corner of 59th and Lexington Avenue famous, will join the newly remodeled Santa Monica Place, replacing Macy’s, currently the only store in operation during the mall’s renovation. Macerich, one of the largest developers of shopping centers in the country, announced the addition of Bloomingdale’s on Wednesday, marking the department’s store’s fourth location in the Los Angeles area and eighth in the state since branching out to California in 1996. “Bloomingdale’s fits better than Macy’s with our planned merchandise mix,” said Randy Brant, Macerich’s executive vice president of real estate.“We are currently negotiating with retailers to become part of our project and the level of quality and level of fashion of the tenants we are currently working with currently complements Bloomingdale’s — and Bloomingdale’s complements them — more so than Macy’s.” The department store joins Nordstrom as the two anchors for the newly renovated mall. Seattle-based Nordstrom announced in July that it would be opening a three-level, 122,000-square-foot store in fall 2010 at the corner of Broadway and Second Street. The mall is expected to reopen in fall 2009. Macy’s Inc., which owns Bloomingdale’s, announced two other store openings for its upscale retail brand on Wednesday, including San Jose and Washington D.C. “Santa Monica Place is being redeveloped into a very high-end fashion-forward destination, which is really in sync with the Bloomingdale’s customer so we are very excited about that,” said Sharon Bateman, spokeswoman for Macy’s Inc.“It also adds to our presence in the Los Angeles and Southern California market.” The new store will be a slight departure from its standard stores, taking a concept approach similar to the Bloomingdale’s branch in the SoHo district of Manhattan. “The merchandise is much more tightly edited for men and women,” Bateman said. The Santa Monica Place store will not have a home goods section and merchandise will be tailored to the local market, she added. The existing space, which is currently three stories, will be scaled down to two-levels, requiring extensive reconstruction starting in February 2009 when Macy’s moves out. Construction costs will be paid for by Macy’s Inc. The facade will also be altered. Founded in 1872, Bloomingdale’s has more than 40 locations across the country, heading west in the mid-90s when it opened stores in Century City, Newport Beach, Sherman Oaks and Palo Alto. Brant said the significance of Bloomingdale’s committing to Santa Monica Place illustrates that the department store understands the difference in the market between here and Century City, which is located about six miles away. “Bloomingdale’s has their flagship store in Midtown Manhattan and about three or four years ago, they opened a store in SoHo,” he said. “It’s a much smaller store and it serves a market that has a different psychographic than Midtown,” he said. “That is how they look at this opportunity.” The 1980s era mall designed by Frank Gehry has been under construction since the spring. Macerich officials originally proposed building three, 21-story office towers that included office and retail spaces and residential units. Those plans were later scrapped after residents decried the proposal, calling it out of character with the neighborhood. The developer held a series of community workshops that resulted in a revised plan that called for an open-air shopping center that would utilize Southern California’s greatest resource — the weather. The project includes tearing the roof off of the shopping center’s central spine, making way for an open-air walkway and rooftop dining deck, providing shoppers with a panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean. When the three-story mall opens, it will better connect with the Santa Monica Pier, Civic Center and Third Street Promenade. The announcement received mixed reaction from locals. Socorro Rodriguez, an Inglewood resident who works in Santa Monica, said she prefers Macy’s, but admits she isn’t too familiar with Bloomingdale’s. “(Macy’s) has a lot of good things,” she said. *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 11, 2008.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/091108.pdf?ref=smdp.com)