Karen S. Kim
MEDIA CITY CENTER -- Businesses at the Media City Center are moving
and shaking and coming and going, but the mall's occupancy rate based on
its square footage is nearly 94%, officials said Tuesday.
"That's not bad at all for businesses that are open and occupied,"
said David Palomo, general manager of the shopping center. "But it
fluctuates all the time with new tenants coming in, tenants leaving,
expansions."
The 1.2-million-square-foot shopping center includes several
surrounding retailers including IKEA, California Pizza Kitchen, Barnes &
Noble, In-N-Out, Koo Koo Roo and the Virgin Megastore.
In addition to expecting a few new tenants, the Media City Center's
existing businesses are busy renovating or moving to expanded locations,
Palomo said.
Radio Shack is under construction for a new store, Claire's is moving
to a new location, Lerner's is renovating its existing store, Mandarin
Gems is renovating its storefront, and Forever 21 is planning to expand
and renovate its existing store. KB Toys and GNC have already opened new
locations in the mall, Palomo said.
"The center turned 10 years old last year, so a lot of leases are
renewing," Palomo said. "It's a great opportunity for us to bring the
latest store designs, so we're very excited about it."
New businesses are moving into the mall as well, Palomo said.
Mongolian Grill is scheduled to open in the food court by next week and
P.F. Chang's China Bistro has also expressed its interest in opening up a
location in the mall.
"We've signed a letter of intent, which means we're working on a
deal," said Laura Cherry, spokeswoman for P.F. Chang's.
Cherry added that no lease has been signed, and the restaurant would
not open before next year.
"I'm satisfied with the direction that the mall is going," said
Palomo, whose company General Growth Management took over managing the
mall almost two years ago. "There's great things to come."
