Westfield Shoppingtown is a joint venture of Westfield, a shopping center REIT with interests in 39 major shopping centers, and J.P. Morgan Investment Management Inc., which is acting on behalf of its pension trust clients. The shopping center is opening on time and on budget and completely leased, though only 85% of the new stores are open, says Westfield America CEO Peter Lowy.

In addition to the new 225,000-sf Nordstrom, the expansion lineup also includes many stores that are new to the South Bay Area. They include Restoration Hardware, Kenneth Cole, J.Crew and J.Crew Kid, Bang & Olufsen, Build-A-Bear Workshop, People's Pottery, Brighton, and Naartjie.

Phase Two, scheduled to open in Spring, 2002, will add an approximate 30 additional shops including the recently announced Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Tiffany & Co. and Fendi, for a total of over 260 stores. Completion of both phases will cement Valley Fair's position as the largest collection of specialty stores in Northern California.