Irvine Co. Adds to Fashion Island Center

NEWPORT BEACH, CA-The Irvine Company is expanding its Fashion Island open-air shopping center with 35,000 sf of additional retail and restaurant space in the auto court area between Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s. The additional space is expected to open in the spring of 2002.

“We’ve brought together an exciting collection of new stores that will be a welcome addition to the Orange County retail scene, and will have additional shopping to offer once the latest expansion is complete,” says Keith Eyrich, president of The Irvine Company’s Retail Properties which owns the center .

In addition to the new space, four new tenants are occupying existing space including Kenneth Cole, Parallel, SARA and Aerosoles. Anchor tenant Neiman Marcus is currently expanding its store, adding a 33,000-sf third level, plus renovating the store’s other levels and moving its Zodiac Restaurant to the new third level to provide an ocean view and outdoor terrace dining.

With its 200 retail outlets and restaurants and seven movie theaters, Fashion Island is the latest of the Irvine Company’s retail holdings to add a significant amount of space. The firm’s Irvine Spectrum shopping center currently has an additional 200,000 sf of retail space under construction.