The 75-acre super-regional shopping center at 6633 Fallbrook Ave. underwent two years of redevelopment on the one million sf of covered retail space. General Growth would not say how much it is spending on the conversion, but documents on the publicly held company's Web site report $31.9 million had been spent as of March 31 and the bill will climb to $42.9 million by completion time later this year.

The conversion is in keeping with a trend in Southern California to remove roofs from covered malls and create open-air shopping venues. Like a number of other mall owners in the region, General Growth has "de-malled" an aging property that it bought in 1985.

The renovated Fallbrook Center, which is anchored by Target, Mervyn's and Kohl's, now features what General Growth describes as "value-oriented" retailers. The new mix includes Party City, Michael's Arts & Crafts, Designer Shoe Warehouse, Linens 'N Things, Petco and Hometown Buffet. The 90%-leased center added a seven-screen Laemmle Theaters and coming later this year are Home Depot, Trader Joe's. Yan Can Cook, Cold Stone Creamery and Quizno's.

The center's new look was designed by Nadel Architects of Los Angeles and Callison Architectural Inc. of Seattle. VCC of Dallas is the general contractor.