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PHOENIX-One of the Valley's most successful retail centers, Biltmore Fashion Park, will receive a makeover from its owner Westcor, a subsidiary of Santa Monica, CA-based Macerich Co.

Early next year, the REIT will launch a multiphase redevelopment of the 31-year-old lifestyle center, which it acquired from Taubman Centers Inc. last year. "In my opinion, Biltmore has tarnished a bit, and we'd like to take it back to its former grandeur," saysDave Scholl, senior vice president of development for Westcor.

Biltmore Fashion Park, located at 2502 E. Camelback Rd., is anchored by Saks Fifth Avenue and Macy's. The 610,477-sf center, with more than 70 boutiques and restaurants, is about 98% occupied and boasts sales per sf of about $540, Scholl says.

Biltmore Fashion Park's redevelopment will include a complete exterior redesign. Outdoor spaces will be restored, and in some cases, reconfigured. In addition to architecture and landscape redesign, a new pedestrian-level streetscape will open up Biltmore Fashion Park to provide better pedestrian and vehicular flow.

The center's aesthetic and physical transformation will be directed by design firm Nelsen Architects. Biltmore Fashion Park's outdoor spaces will be redesigned by EDAW. "We're going to bite off the redevelopment building by building," Scholl says.

Scholl tells GlobeSt.com that the cost of the redevelopment is still being hashed out. "We don't even have totals yet. It's almost impossible to say how much it will cost right now," he explains. However, it is worth noting that Macerich, which owns 12 centers in the Phoenix area, has made significant investments in redevelopment including the $200-million redevelopment of Queens Center in Elmhurst, NY. The Biltmore project is scheduled to begin early next year and continue through late 2006.

Instant Insights /

610,477-SF Biltmore Fashion Park Getting Makeover

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