Banana Republic Flagship Store Closing?

Banana Republic, along with Barnes and Noble, has long been considered the northern flagship of the Promenade, but according to several sources the GAP-owned company is looking to sublease its current space at the corner of Wilshire and 3rd Street. Though the 1200 block of the Promenade has always been quieter than the rest of the street, it still managed to attract many prominent retailers such as Mango, Apple, and J. Crew. At this point, it is not clear whether Banana Republic is leaving Santa Monica altogether or whether they are simply moving to a higher traffic space in the newly remodeled mall.

Check out the new Santa Monica Place Website

Macerich just launched a new website for Santa Monica Place. The new site is very well designed and much easier to navigate than the previous one. Also, the website includes some snazzy new renderings of the mall that includes more recent design changes. The Third Street entrance, for example, has been redesigned quite significantly and now features a much darker and more elaborate design for the Nike store. Similarly, the 4th Street entrance, future home of CB2, has also been slightly redesigned. Also, don't miss the renderings of the dining deck and "The Market."

Santa Monica Place

Poquito Mas Replacing Sizzler on Wilshire

"The Original Taco Stand" Poquito Mas was will soon open its first Santa Monica location at 2025 Wilshire Blvd. Though I am personally not familiar with this fast food chain, it seems to be getting pretty decent reviews on yelp. The former Sizzler space is currently being remodeled and will be divided into two spaces. Though the other tenant has not been announced, the remodel will add outdoor seating along Wilshire which will hopefully bring some foot traffic to this rather bland stretch of Wilshire.

Cotton On Coming to Promenade

Australian Fashion retailer Cotton On will be opening their first store in Santa Monica later this year. The chain is moving into a recently vacated space between Broadway and Santa Monica Blvd. The space was formerly occupied by the FCUK chain. While the Cotton On has other stores in Southern California, the Third Street Promenade store is being advertised as a "megastore."

SMP Bloomingdale's Finally Under Construction

All winter long, I was wondering why construction on the new Bloomingdale's hadn't started while the rest of the mall was being remodeled. As the months went by I started worrying that there might be delays with permits or that the department store was backing out of the deal but finally over the last couple of weeks construction has started. Finishing this remodel in time for the grand opening of the mall should be quite a challenge, considering that Nordstrom at the other end of the mall started remodeling their space months ago, in addition to having a later opening date.

Johnny Was at SMP

In just 4 short months we will see the grand opening of the new and improved Santa Monica Place. We've just heard that LA-based women's clothing company Johnny Was will be part of the revamped mall. The company has several showrooms in Europe and the US (including Downtown Los Angeles) and designs clothes for "urban bohemians."

Bike Effect Coming to Broadway

The mixed-use building on Broadway between 9th and 10th Streets is finally getting a new tenant for one of its ground floor retail spaces. While the website is still under construction, Bike Effect advertises itself as "Southern California's Premier Bike Fitting Studio." Sounds promising. Also, check out the company's twitter feed.

Chipotle Opening Date: April 30th!

Just received an email from Chipotle announcing that the 3rd Street Promenade location of the popular chain should be opening its doors in April:

If everything goes according to schedule it looks like the grand opening for that location should be around April 30th.

Sign up for the Chipotle newsletter if you want to receive the latest information about grand openings in the area: http://www.chipotle.com/tunein

Palisades Garden Walk

Ever wondered what the master plan for the civic center area looks like?
There's some interesting projects on that map that I hadn't even heard of. Apparently the parking lot east of Sears is also going to be redeveloped at some point and that huge parking lot next to the civic auditorium will be turned into a nice park... who knew? According to Architect's Newspaper construction is scheduled to begin in the summer of 2011.

Louis Vuitton Coming to Santa Monica

Remember when Macerich promised that they would try to get a good mix of tenants, not just upscale retailers as many people had feared? Well, not surprisingly Macerich has pretty much focused on luxury brands so far and the latest proof of that is the addition of a Louis Vuitton store. While no official announcement has been made, city documents confirm that there will indeed be a LV boutique at the remodeled SM Place along with other high-end retailer like Burburry and Michael Kors. Santa Monica may be wealthy community but we are no Beverly Hills. Do these stores really have a place in our city? Most people already think that stores in Santa Monica are too high-end and those who can afford to shop at those places seem to favor the cute, independent boutiques over on Montana. My guess is that Macerich is hoping that tourists will step in and shop til they drop...

401 Broadway - Review EIR before Comment Period Ends

This project at the corner of 4th and Broadway kind of seems like a no-brainer and makes you wonder why it wasn't built years ago. This highly visible corner will finally be turned into a nice 4-story restaurant/office mixed-use complex. If you want to learn more about this David Forbes Hibbert project, you can check out the EIR here. You can still submit your comments to the city until January 25. When exactly this project will break ground is unclear. The EIR suggests July 2012 while other sources point to 2010.

Public Hearing of Hines' Papermate Project Coming Soon

The building at the corner of 26th and Olympic has been empty ever since Papermate closed its local manufacturing business a couple of years back. Now that the opening of the Expo Line is just a few years away, the owner of the site, Texas developer Hines, is planning to put a large 6-story mixed-use complex there. This project, along with Paseo Nebraska and the Colorado Creative Studios Project around the corner, will surly transform this area into a more urban and walkable neighborhood. Though the project is still in its early planning stages, the project will be heard by the city planning commission on January 27th. Preliminary plans call for creative arts offices (big surprise), neighborhood-serving ground-floor retail, affordable, workforce and market rate housing, plus public open space. There are also plans to add two new streets that would complete the grid and make the area more pedestrian friendly. While there are no renderings available just yet, this project seems like a great addition to an area that is rather sterile and lacks decent stores and restaurants.

1800 Stewart St - New Agensys building?

The area around the future Expo Line station near 26th St is currently getting a lot of interest from developers. The latest proposal calls for a new Agensys building near the corner of Stewart and Olympic, adjacent to the future tracks of the Expo Line and across the street from the planned maintenance facility. Currently an empty warehouse, the project is still in the early stages but the biotech company is holding a community meeting on January 19, 2010, 7 pm at the Virginia Avenue Park