Santa Ana Fashion Square

MainPlace Mall

Company type	Shopping mall
Industry	Retail
Founded	1958
Headquarters	Santa Ana , United States
Area served	Orange County, California
Products	Shopping center with retail stores and entertainment venues
Website	www.westfield.com/mainplace

MainPlace Mall—previously known as Westfield MainPlace—is a fully enclosed shopping center situated on the northern perimeter of Santa Ana, California, near Downtown Santa Ana. It lies adjacent to the City of Orange and close to the Orange Crush interchange, where the Santa Ana, Garden Grove, and Orange freeways converge. The mall's primary anchors include JCPenney, 24 Hour Fitness, Ashley HomeStore, Round 1 Entertainment, DXL Mens Apparel, and Macy's. One anchor location remains unoccupied, previously housing Nordstrom.

Anchor stores: present and past

Current occupants	Previous occupants or branding
Macy's	Originally opened as Bullock's, a founding tenant of Fashion Square in 1958; later rebranded as Macy's
I. Magnin	A founding Fashion Square tenant from 1958 until closure in 1987; since demolished
JCPenney	Launched as May Co. in 1991; later rebranded to Robinsons-May Women's & Children's department; closed September 2006; JCPenney took over in March 2007
Vacant	Previously housed OC Open Market and later Nordstrom occupying approximately 169,000 square feet (15,700 m2); original MainPlace tenant from 1987 until closure in 2017
24 Hour Fitness, Ashley HomeStore, Round One Entertainment	Initially opened as J.W. Robinson's in 1987; transitioned to Robinsons-May Men's and Home Store, then Macy's Men's and Home Store before closing in 2012

Fashion Square origins

MainPlace Mall stands on the grounds where a smaller open-air shopping complex once existed, originally launched by Los Angeles-based department store Bullock's in 1958 under the name Bullock's Fashion Square. The project, designed by the firm Pereira & Luckman, represented an $11.5 million investment by Bullock's. Upon opening, Bullock's Fashion Square featured 32 retailers, including boutique department stores such as I. Magnin, Desmond's, Haggarty's, and Mandel's, alongside the Jolly Roger restaurant. The facility offered parking accommodations for 3,000 vehicles, attracting an estimated crowd of 40,000 visitors from across Orange County, California on its inaugural day, according to reports from the Los Angeles Times. As Bullock’s expanded similar Fashion Square malls throughout Southern California, this location adopted the name Santa Ana Fashion Square.

File:Mainplace-ext.jpg

Exterior view of the mall

File:Mainplace-int.jpg

Interior view of the mall

Transition to MainPlace

Following a decline period, JMB Property opted to demolish the majority of the shopping center, sparing only the anchor stores, and introduced MainPlace in 1987. While Bullock's decided to remain, I. Magnin chose to close its doors on February 14, 1987. At MainPlace’s grand opening, Bullock's, Nordstrom, and J.W. Robinson's served as the primary anchor tenants. A new wing was unveiled in November 1990, featuring May Company California as the fourth anchor, which officially opened in May 1991. By January 1993, the merger of Robinson's and May Company resulted in the creation of Robinsons-May, leading to the original May Company location closing and reopening as Robinsons-May Women’s & Children’s store, while the former J.W. Robinson's transformed into Robinsons-May Men's & Home store. In May 1996, Bullock's was rebranded as Macy's.Template:Fix/category

In 2000, JMB Urban—JMB’s successor—transferred ownership of MainPlace along with other malls to the American division of Rodamco. Subsequently, in 2002, Rodamco divested its North American assets to Westfield Group. After this acquisition, the mall was renamed Westfield Shoppingtown MainPlace; however, by 2005, the "Shoppingtown" designation was removed.

By September 2006, the Robinsons-May Women’s & Children’s store closed following Macy’s and Bloomingdale's acquisition of Robinsons-May. The Robinsons-May Men’s & Home store remained operational but transitioned into Macy’s Men’s & Home store. In March 2007, JCPenney occupied the vacant space previously held by Robinsons-May Women’s & Children’s store.Template:Fix/category

Facing competition from South Coast Plaza, California’s largest and highest-grossing mall located just 6.5 miles (10.5 km) south, Westfield Group initiated plans in 2006 to revitalize MainPlace. This commitment continued with a $50 million renovation announcement in 2014.

In 2012, Macy’s closed its Men’s & Home store at MainPlace and consolidated those departments into its main location. The former J.W. Robinson's building was repurposed to house 24 Hour Fitness, Ashley Furniture Home Store, and an entertainment venue. December 2015 saw Westfield selling the mall to a consortium led by Centennial Real Estate Company alongside Montgomery Street Partners and USAA Real Estate Company.

Nordstrom, an original anchor since MainPlace's opening in September 1987, ceased operations in 2017.

Plans for redevelopment

By 2019, MainPlace Mall experienced the closure of 35 stores and a decline in gross sales amounting to $54 million within just two years. In March of that year, a $300 million initiative was unveiled to convert the mall into an open-air complex by removing its central section. The redevelopment plan includes introducing a food hall designed in the style of a "European marketplace," an interactive children’s play area, enhancements to the existing cinema, a new grocery store, and the addition of two residential complexes comprising 700 apartments. Alongside these new housing developments near the mall, the total number of residential units in the vicinity is projected to reach 3,000. As of 2024, it has been announced that an FYE retail outlet will open at the location.

External links

• Westfield MainPlace Official Site