Macy's says its Bloomingdale's division will develop a three-level 150,000-sf store. Neiman Marcus says it will open a two-level, 120,000-sf store. Both stores will be added to the south side of the mall, between the two existing Macy's stores.

The two anchors account for about half of a planned 500,000-sf expansion at Valley Fair that would add as 70 new retailers, including several restaurants. Upon completion, the mall will total 2 million sf and some 340 stores.

The expansion, which includes parking for an additional 3,000 cars, is slated to begin in January. Most everything except for the two new department store anchors is expected to be up and running in 2010.

With specialty store sales averaging $830 per sf, Valley Fair is one of the top-selling malls in the United States, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers. It is the No. 2 mall in Westfield's US chain, behind only Century City, a much smaller mall (875,000 sf) with average specialty store sales of $896 per sf, according its latest annual report.

Valley Fair is 50-50 joint venture of the Australia-based Westfield Group and JPMorgan Fleming Asset Management on behalf of the Strategic Property Fund, a co-mingled pension trust fund.