COSTA MESA, CA-Los Angeles-based clothing retailer Forever 21 has signed a long-term lease for 43,000 square feet of the Sears store at South Coast Plaza and is slated to move into portions of two floors at the store in the spring of 2011. Sears will continue to operate in the remainder of the store, which will feature a new layout to accommodate Forever 21's larger store concept, XXI Forever.

The new location will be a flagship store for XXI Forever, according to Larry Meyer, Forever 21 executive vice president. Sears Holdings vice president of leasing Alan Shaw says that the Forever 21 location in the northwest quadrant of South Coast Plaza is expected to benefit all the retailers in this area with the traffic that Forever 21 generates. He says that the new Forever 21 store's proximity to Bristol Street and customer parking "make the Sears location one of the best locations at South Coast Plaza."

At the Sears-owned property at South Coast Plaza, XXI Forever will lease a small portion of the upper level and a portion of the lower level space. The store will feature an entrance facing Bristol Street and a dedicated entry into the center on the lower level.

The deal for the Costa Mesa space follows another large lease signed for the XXI Forever format, which is the newest concept from Forever 21. The L.A.-based retailer recently leased a 53,442-square-foot retail space at 2 Stockton St. in San Francisco's Union Square that previously was occupied by Virgin Records―a building that is considered one of the most iconic retail locations in Downtown San Francisco.