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Westfield plans 80-store expansion at Southcenter

By Blanca Torres
Seattle Times business reporter

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Construction on a new wing of Westfield Shoppingtown Southcenter could be under way in the spring.

Westfield, the Australian company that owns the mall, plans to add about 450,000 square feet to create a 1.7 million-square-foot shopping center. The company announced the project last year.

Tukwila's planning department completed its environmental-impact study of the proposal last month, said Steve Lancaster, the city's director of community development.

The next step is for the city's Board of Architectural Review to approve the project's site plan and design, which could happen this month. Then Westfield will need building permits.

The mall has about 162 stores now and the expansion would add space for about 80 more.

"It's a very large shopping center, but what it doesn't have is a lot of specialty shops," said Greg Fitchitt, Westfield's development director.

So far, AMC has signed on to build a 16-screen movie theater. The company is negotiating with other retailers to bring five or six restaurants and more bookstores, clothing and specialty shops, and home-furnishings stores. Westfield did not release names of potential vendors.

"What we're doing is really going to create a different face on Southcenter," said Larry Green, Westfield's vice president for development. Westfield is using the expansion to implement its one-stop shopping-and-entertainment concept, which involves offering more entertainment and a broader range of vendors than most regional malls.

The company will tear down a former Red Lion hotel on 6 acres at the corner of Southcenter Parkway and Strander Boulevard.

Westfield is considering putting in a new hotel, Green said.
 
The company is working on its other Washington state properties. Improvements to ceilings, floors and the food court at Westfield Shoppingtown Capital in Olympia should be complete this month, and the company plans to remodel its Vancouver, Wash., mall.

Blanca Torres: 206-515-5066